Valentine sucked in a deep breath, straightened her back then started, “Well… we met.”
“How?” Missy asked, blatant enough that she was eager to know more about her best friend’s story.
“W–We met at the bar?”
“Why does it seem like you’re questioning?” Delilah asked, confused.
Clearing her throat, Valentine repeated. “We met at the bar.”
“You went partying?” Missy asked, surprised. “Why didn’t you invite me? I’m confused… why did you went out partying? Didn’t you like parties? You even refused our invitations a thousand times. What’s with the change of–.”
“Please, let her talk,” Sofie interrupted them and both Delilah and Missy behaved.
Valentine officially got the time to herself, explaining how she and William met but, that was the problem. She didn’t know which story she&
Her fiancé pushed the door open to his house and she stepped in, greeted by a girl who appeared to be in her early teenage years. She ducked her head slightly. She was dressed like she’s at her own house–her shorts reaching mid-thigh and she wore a shirt bigger than her size. Every strand of her raven hair was tied up into a ponytail.“Welcome back, sir. I arranged miss’s properties according to what you told me to.”“Very good, what about dinner?”“All cooked,” she replied promptly, raising her head up to see them. The girl had tanned skin and scars on both arms and legs. Her smile was too wide to the point where it reached her eyes, her slightly yellow teeth exposing themselves at Valentine. “Pretty…”“Baby, this is my helper, Mary,” William introduced. “Mary, say hi to my fiancé, Valentine.”“Baby?” She felt her heart sink.
To Valentine, it was quite a bit of a shock but she still had to lie. William was out, heading Mary back to her house to her mother. He insisted on bringing Valentine along but she politely declined, looked up for an excuse to be left alone as she didn’t want to talk to Mary. In her young age, she’d be curious of so many things.As she entered the room William told her to go, she was rather enthralled with the sight of it. This was one of the rooms she entered yesterday morning since it was locked. It wasn’t really that huge compare to his but it had enough space.It felt like she was in William’s room. The arrangement of the bed, the mirror, the cabinet and the bedside table were exactly the same but the difference was, all her properties are stored within the furniture.“Do you like it?”Her body instantly shivered as William’s warm breath tickled against her ear. “Don’t get near me.” She warne
“Miss?”Valentine’s ears perked up at Mary’s voice. “Yeah?” she yawned.“Sir William told me to wake you before 8. It’s already 9 and the seamstress is here with loads of wedding dresses ready for you to choose!” she shrieked in excitement.Valentine’s eyes shot open and realized that she had overslept. It was unusual for her to be oversleeping. Plus, they were supposed to talk to Sofie today about her requesting for three days off.“Where’s William?” she asked, trying to make herself listening intently to Mary regardless of how much her head still wanted to drop on the pillow.“He’s already gone off to work. But… I think I remember him telling me that he will take care of your three days off… was it?”“Ah.” She sighed, she was worried for nothing. “What about the seamstress?”“She’s still a
Pepper didn’t say anything after hearing Valentine’s words. Perhaps she wasn’t expecting for Valentine to act like that, considering how innocent and stupid she actually looked. “P-Please choose dresses between those 2 racks. They contain dresses that reach up to your size. These 3 racks near me are… smaller,” she said, in a quieter tone.Triumphantly, Valentine treaded closer to the two racks while Mary kept herself comfortable on the couch, watching her pick. Her fingers running along from fabric to fabric. There were few who had sequins on it, ones had laces, and there were some that were only made from cloth but styled differently.She couldn’t deny though, the dresses were indeed wonderful, but she was only going to be using a dress once. Why did even William say he was going to buy it? Just in case everything ends well, they divorce then he can get married again and have his soon-to-be wife wear the same? That would
She expected for Pepper to talk back and so, she shifted her attention back to the dress to observe it further; wondering if it would fit her.Unexpectedly, she heard a loud sniff from behind her and a sob.“Did I say something bad?” Valentine fully shown that she was undeniably worried of her words. Her eyes travelled from Pepper to Mary. Instead of disgust to be written in Mary’s face, she was proud. Pepper had her face down on both of her palms. She was wiping her tears away.Valentine placed the dress back to the rack and went closer to Pepper. “I really didn’t mean to hurt you.” She slightly bent her knees to take a glance of Pepper’s face but she failed. She held the seamstress’s wrists and said, “I’m so sorry.”“No, you’re right. I really shouldn’t have let my husband’s words in to me,” Pepper sobbed.“Mary, can you go fetch a glass of water
The door slowly creaked open. Valentine felt her ear slightly perk up as it picked up the sound and she opened her eyes. They landed upon a beaming Mary, her hair was tied into a ponytail and she was looking fresh than ever. “Good afternoon, miss,” she chirped. “Good aftern– Wait, it’s already afternoon?” Valentine sat upright, with the palm of her hand pressed against her forehead. How did she even sleep that long? What was she doing yesterday? Picking dresses. Who would have ever thought that picking wedding dresses would tire her out? She remembered the wedding and asked about it. She could have been late. There was no way she was going to be late for a wedding. Mary told her to calm down and relayed the words William had asked her earlier in the morning before he went off to work. Hurriedly, Valentine ate the pizza displaying itself on the table at the kitchen. She offered the half of it to Mary, who agreed. She took her shower afterwards, not onc
Valentine’s eye squinted as she watched every person around her. They had just finished eating dinner and she was full. A hand on her tummy proved it that she had eaten too much. The service crew had just taken every empty plate and used utensils, leaving only champagne, glasses and finger foods for some who wanted them. An hour before, Valentine and William had shared their first dance together in which they didn’t rehearsed. She constantly and purposely stepped on his foot several times. When she did it, she would tilt her head slightly, push up a brow and smirk triumphantly. That was the best moment Valentine had during the reception so far. The rest were not good; for the number of guests invited, the two men constantly flashing their cameras at them, and the noise irritated her. “I thought we were going to have a wedding with only a few guests?” Through gritted teeth, Valentine asked as she leaned slightly close to his ear. “I know and I’m sorry
“What were you doing?” William’s voice landed in her ear and she groaned. “Shh… quiet.” “You’re drunk.” “No, I’m not,” Valentine replied immediately. “You are.” She turned around to face him. Her eye lids were getting heavier and heavier by the second. She pushed her index finger against his lips and smiled goofily. “Kiss me.” “You moved your head earlier because you didn’t want me to kiss you and now, you want to?” She giggled and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer. William bent down, placed his arm to the back of her knees while the other hand on her back. He lifted her up and he walked back to shore. Valentine gave him a tight-lipped smile with her eyes half-closed. “William?” He didn’t respond to her. Instead, he brought the both of them to the hotel. The place where the reception was held became noisier–joyful cheers and disco music boomed. It seemed more like a party than a wedding recep