What I must do.

"Milady, your mother is here."

Cold sweat trickled down my back as I tried to relax my tensed shoulders on hearing the excited voice of a maid.

"Mum" I whispered, as I stood up from the chair I had been sitting on to take my mother into an embrace, I didn't know why but at that moment I felt a certain urge to hug her.

I thought I had prepared myself properly these last few days but it seemed that my fears and uncertainties were threatening to crush my resolve.

"Oh dear," my mother mumbled in surprise at my sudden action, she placed a hand on my back and patted it gently.

"Is everything okay my dear?" She inquired, pulling away from me to gaze at my face as if studying my facial expression. I could see the concerned look in her eye but I didn't want her to worry.

She had always been a conscious soul and could especially be more attentive when it involved her children or the ones important to her. Sometimes I felt like she knew me better than I knew myself and because of that, I could hardly ever lie to her.

"Of course Mum" I reassured, moving my eye away from her as I could never look her in the eye and lie to her. I embraced her once more, hiding my face away from her, so I wouldn't be putting my emotions out in the open. The last thing I wanted was to give her a reason to be suspicious of my decisions.

"I'm just really...nervous" I voiced, pausing seldomly which was something I never did whenever we talked.

I didn't want to lie to her, she is one of the most important people in my life but I figure it was for the best, it would be better if she is kept in the dark about everything.

"Is that really all my dear?" She questioned, pulling away again, with a concerned look still plastered on her face.

"Yeah" I replied with a light smile, that I could barely muster.

She scrutinized my face for a while before she took my hand, guiding me back to the chair.

"If that's the case, then it's nothing strange my dear" she relayed, pausing only to help me adjust my dress before I took my place on the chair.

"I was once like you, you know, this nervousness you're feeling is only normal, it happens to everyone, you, after all, are getting married" She continued in a matter-of-fact voice, rubbing

my shoulders and giving them a light squeeze.

"I guess you are right" I took my place back on the chair as I watched my mother's reflection in the mirror in front of me. She placed her two hands on each side of my shoulder.

"You'll be fine, my dear" She encouraged as she watched me through the mirror, our gaze meeting"You look so beautiful, even with only just your wedding gown on, any man would be delighted to have you as a bride ." She rubbed my shoulders with a smile. "I'll be going to meet the guests now so you get ready and don't take too long okay."

She leaned down, and kissed me on the forehead, taking one last glance at me, after which she exited the room.

I closed my eye with the bridal attendants hovering around me, as I tried my best to calm my pounding heart.

Was I making the right decision? I reasoned, now opening my eye as I watched my reflection, my palms suddenly became sweaty and I took my handkerchief from the table.

l had been so distracted by my thoughts that I continued to wipe my hands with the handkerchief even with no sweat left on them, this continued until one of the wedding attendants startled me as she expressed in a loud cheerful voice.

"The Mistress is indeed stunning."

"She really is, we barely had to do anything" The others commented in agreement.

My eye flew to the mirror and I studied my reflection.

My hair was beautifully arranged in a half up half down, with some held to the back with a pin, strands of my hair rested on each side of my face, and my face was painted just enough to emphasize my almost delicate but natural looks.

The makeup was light, and just as I liked it, I was never one to give too much attention to my looks.

I continued to stare at my reflection, quietly and mindlessly, today was the day, the day of my wedding.

Truthfully I had never imagined myself getting married, marriage was the last thing on my mind, daydreaming or fantasizing was not my thing and to even meet the man that was meant for me sounded more like a fairytale than reality.

This was all because I didn't believe in true love, to me, it was more like a fairytale bullish*t, well at least I didn't want to believe, but at a point in my life I used to believe in true love but that was all changed with a single incident and maybe a tiny part of me still held on to that hopeless fantasy but that tiny part of me had been locked away never to surface.

Yes, I was getting married to a man that could be regarded as every woman's dream man, a twenty-first-century prince who was considered one of the most, if not the most eligible bachelor in the whole city.

But I couldn't help but wonder if this was the type of marriage that a hopeless fraction of me would have wanted, somehow at the back of my mind, I felt I already knew the answer.

Needless to say, the current me couldn't care less, I had a duty, and to fulfill it is what I must do.

"let's go" I ordered in a bold voice as I pulled the veil over my face and walked out of the room with the maid and wedding attendants following close.