Chapter 1: The Wedding

[ MIRA’S POV ]

"Mom, please stop. Today is a big day for me. It’s my wedding day, Mom. My wedding."

"Yes, I know, honey," she whispered, her eyes swimming with a pain that frightened me. "I know what today means to you, and I know how much you love David. But… but I don't want you to go through with this anymore. Can you just do that for me? Hmm? Mira, please."

I yanked my hand away from her as if her touch had suddenly burned my skin. I stared at her, completely breathless. This was the woman I had adored my entire life, the person I trusted above everyone else. And here she was, on the very morning of my marriage, begging me to call off a wedding I had spent months planning, sweating, and praying for.

"Honey..." she started again, reaching out.

"No, Mom, stop!" I barked, stepping backward. "Don't 'honey' me. Just don't. Why? Why would you just wake up on my wedding day and ask me not to marry David?"

My mother swallowed hard. She looked around the bridal suite nervously, her eyes darting to the corners of the room as if the words she wanted to speak were a dangerous secret that could cost both of our lives.

"Yesterday," she began, her voice dropping into a shaky whisper. "Just when I was arranging the gifts to give to your guests... I saw David. And..."

Inside my chest, a sudden, wild panic flared up like a wildfire. My heart didn't just beat faster, it hammered against my ribs so violently it made me dizzy. A cold sweat broke out along my spine, making my heavy wedding gown feel suffocatingly tight.

My mind instantly raced to the absolute worst dark corners. Did something happen to him? Is he hurt? Is he in trouble? The thought of David being in danger made the room spin. I couldn't lose him. I couldn't let anything happen to the man who held my entire world in his hands.

"Mom, is he okay?" I gasped, grabbing her arms, my fingers digging into her skin. "Is he being threatened? Don't just look at me like that, Mom. Talk to me!"

"No... no, honey, it’s not that," she said, her voice cracking as she forced the truth out. "I saw David... with your cousin Sarah. They were kissing."

The moment the words left her mouth, my entire body went rigid. I literally stopped breathing for a few agonizing seconds. The world went completely silent. But then, as the meaning of her words finally registered in my head, the tight knot of terror in my chest suddenly unraveled.

I heaved a massive sigh of relief. It wasn't an accident. He wasn't dead. He wasn't hurt.

"Mom, you can be so extra sometimes," I said, a breathless, defensive laugh escaping my lips. I let go of her arms and turned back toward the mirror, smoothing down my skirt. "David would never do such a thing. You know how much he loves me. You know how much he cherishes our relationship."

"Relationship? Cherish?" My mother’s voice rose, filled with disbelief and frustration. "If he truly cherishes you, Mira, why would he—"

"He didn't, Mom! He didn't!" I shouted, my voice rising to drown hers out. I could feel the hot pricks of defensive anger behind my eyes. I couldn't let her speak that ugliness into existence. If I listened to her, my perfect day would shatter.

"David would never do that," I repeated, hammering the words down like a shield. "Maybe it wasn't him you saw. Whoever you saw, or whoever you think you saw, can never be my David."

I turned to look at her, my jaw set, silently begging her with my eyes to drop it.

A confusing flash of doubt and deep sorrow passed through my mom's gaze. She stared at me for a long, heavy moment, seeing the brick wall of denial I had built around myself. Slowly, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. The fight had completely left her.

"Maybe, Mira," she whispered softly, her shoulders slumping. "Maybe I saw wrong. I'm sorry."

A sharp knock on the bridal suite door suddenly stopped our conversation. I pulled away from Mom and saw the door open slightly. It was one of the security guards David had assigned to keep me safe for the day.

"Ma’am, you need to be out in ten minutes to walk down the aisle," he said politely before closing the door.

"Thank you, I'll be right out," I murmured.

I took a deep breath, pushing the unsettling conversation about my cousin Sarah completely out of my mind, and faced Mom again. I adjusted my veil and took a step toward her.

"Are you ready for this, Mom?" I asked, forcing the brightest, most beautiful smile onto my face. I wanted her to see that I was completely happy, that nothing could shake my trust in David.

Mom stared at me for a second, her eyes still holding that lingering trace of sadness. But then, she shook her head slightly and smiled back. She reached out, holding both of my cheeks fondly in her warm hands, and dropped a tender kiss right onto my forehead.

"I am forever ready, my love. Let’s go," she said softly, her voice returning to its normal, comforting tone. "I am sure your dad is already getting restless out there, wondering what is keeping his ladies for so long."

"Hahaha!" A genuine laugh escaped my lips at her words.

A wave of relief washed over me. I was so happy that the tension had melted away, and that she was finally smiling on my big day. With my mother by my side and my mind completely wiped clean of all doubts, I took her hand. I was ready to walk down the aisle to my David.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Congratulations, honey!"

"Congratulations, Mira!"

Friends and family kept crowding around me, offering their congratulations, and oh God, I loved every single second of it. This was exactly what I had dreamed of. A few feet away, David was standing in the corner of the reception hall, laughing, chatting, and bumping fists with his friends. The absolute love of my life.

Everything had gone so smoothly. Walking down the aisle with my hand tightly locked in my dad's arm, listening to the cheers and the loud whistles from the crowd, it had all made me feel like the luckiest woman alive.

"David!"

A loud, piercing voice suddenly cut through the music and the laughter, catching everyone's attention in an instant. The entire room went dead silent.

I turned toward the entrance. A young woman was standing there in a tight red dress, holding the hand of a little boy.

"Daddy!" the little boy called out again.

Before anyone could even move, the boy let go of the woman's hand and ran straight across the room. Out of all the men standing in that hall, he ran directly to only one person. My own David.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach. A sudden, suffocating coldness washed over me. I looked over at my mom, and she looked just as completely shocked as I was. My legs went totally weak, and I stumbled backward, my hand frantically reaching out to grab the back of a nearby chair just to keep myself from crashing to the floor.

Dad? My David?