♡♡♡

●ARIA POV●

"Aria! Help!" I hear Delilah call for me . I walk into her room and see her trying on her wedding dress .

"What's wrong?" I ask her .

"I think they gave me the wrong dress," she pouts.

I look at her and notice just how loose everything looks . I then grabbed the hanger with the cover on there and checked the name . Sure enough they handed her someone else's .

"They did. Let me call the dress shop to let them know ," I proceed to dial their number and once I spoke to the manager I explained to them the situation . At first they wanted to argue with me but when I told them I'm staring at the cover and it has someone else's name they quickly backtracked.

I waited a few minutes and when they came back on the line they informed me the other dress was picked up and they couldn't contact that bride . Apparently her wedding was a destination one and she's likely on a plane as we speak. Leave it to them to ruin two weddings.

Not wanting Delilah to have a full on meltdown I told the shop owner that we need them to get a seamstress there in the next hour to fix this . That they were to do the alterations at no extra cost AND discount this dress . We aren't hard up on money but this was not a mistake they should have made.

I told Lilah what happened and what the plan of action was . At first she went into a panic but I was able to calm her down . When we got to the shop the owner was very apologetic. They had hired a new girl and she wasn't paying attention to the names . She grabbed Larson instead of Lawson and it just so happen that they both got the same dress.

While we were getting the final touch up of the dress they got a very angry phone call . Sure enough it was the other bride complaining that this dress was too small . The woes this shop was experiencing today . To say that new employee was in trouble is a complete understatement.

We finally fixed the issue of her wedding dress and headed back to the house . Once we arrived the rest of the bridal party was there and the festivities were about to kick off. The first on the list was to finish putting together the place cards and their corresponding escort cards including the sign that was to be put on the entrance table. Next we helped her put together a rather fancy scrapbook guestbook .

While we were scrolling and folding the cards Delilah started the gossip , "Dylan and Bitchny aren't together anymore."

The girls are murmured a sigh of relief because they all hated her . Sonja looked at me and shrugged . I looked up and they were all staring, "What?" I ask.

"You're awfully quiet . Did you already know?" Jessica asked me.

I sighed , I don't really want to tell them anything into my complicated life but they won't let it go if I don't say something , "he showed up at my apartment the other night."

They all held their breaths with their hands on their mouths, overdramatic I tell ya , "what happened?" Marie asks .

"He told me that they ended things and that Brittany skipped town."

"Yup! And Henry also told me that Dylan never loved her . Something about him being blackmailed. I don't know the details but Dylan is still in love with Aria," Lilah says.

"Well he screwed up a good thing , that's why Aria has a new and a much improved boyfriend," Jessica added.

I really did not want to get into this conversation so early in the week. But you know how women can get when we're gathered in a group. I didn't add too much more because if I did it would only add onto their curiosity. And right now I didnt have answers to questions they may ask me about everything. Plus , I might accidentally talk about the reason for the blackmailing.

The rest of the day went on with ease . By the evening we were 3 bottles deep in pinot . I was feeling good and happy . The guys walked in and Henry took Delilah up to her room to lay her down . Dylan stood there rubbing the back of his neck staring at me . And that's when the flood of emotions hit me.

《FLASHBACK》

My heart feels like it was ripped out of my chest and I can't breathe . Dylan promised me forever , he promised that he would neve leave me , that he would always protect me . But I wasn't expecting for him to completely destroy my whole being .

We had plans . I loved him so deeply and now , what do I do? Did I not do enough ? I ran as fast as I could out of that damned building. The pure pleasure on Brittany's face kept stabbing me over and over and over again . How could he? How could he give something so precious to someone else ?

Not thinking clearly I got into my car and drove back to our apartment . I didn't know what time it was but I called Delilah completely panicked and incoherently crying into the phone explaining what happened, "Dyl....... dyl...... cheating on me," I finally mustered .

Delilah didn't ask me to slow down and repeat myself. Instead she came to me as quickly as possible. When I opened the door I had dropped to the floor sobbing , "shhh shhh , I'm here Ar, I'm here . Let's get his shit out of the apartment. He's not living here anymore, I don't care what you say to me ."

After that shocker of a day , Henry and Delilah kept me company . I couldn't sleep well and I have period of anxiety attacks that rendered me immobile . I threw up from the pain I was experiencing. Dylan had tried to call me and text me but Delilah made sure that I didn't read any of the messages or listened to them. I felt so lost .

A week after all of this drama Sonja came to live with me. At first it was to keep me company but her presence had helped me begin to pick up the pieces . Then I had Sonja , Jessica and Marie alternating days of keeping me occupied. The first two months felt like death . If they weren't around I might have died of a broken heart .

Then the months began to roll on by . And I started finding my footing again . I started feeling like the life was finally breathing back into me .

Before I knew it six months was approaching . I made sure to stay away from social media , at least my personal one . I kept a strict no contact because that was the only way to really get myself to move forward . Although I missed Dylan and what we had I didn't miss the pain and turmoil he willingly put me through. I promised myself that I will NEVER let this happen again . That's I'd be even more careful with the next man.

《PRESENT DAY》

I look up and see Dylan I don't know if it's because of the alcohol but I begin to cry . His face falls flat and he rushes next to me , "Why , Dylan ? You had a choice and you chose to hurt me? Why?" I asked him over and over again . Choked on the sob that was let free and he hugged me .

He hugged me just like he hugged me all those other times . The feeling of his warmth , his body , it made me cry even more. I missed him , I missed this and I just kept repeating the same thing over and over again, "why?"

Dylan whispered against my forehead, "I'm sorry . I'm so sorry . I would take it all back if I could. I'm so sorry," he starts to cry . We sat there for a good few minutes just holding each other and crying . He was supposed to be my end game . This was suppose to be forever for us .

"Aria?" I hear a stern but worried voice . When I looked up I saw Alex standing there with concern all over his face .

"Alex," my strained voice called out . Dylan was still next to me on the couch , how we got here I have no clue .

"Are you okay?" He looks me over as he takes in my puffy face . "Did he hurt you?"

I shake my head , "we had some closure . The only pain I felt was here," I point to my chest .

He sighs deeply, "Sonja told me to come and get you. "

I nod at him, "okay," leaving my spot next to Dylan . Alex helps me up as my legs buckle.

"How much did you drink?" He asked .

"Enough to not want to drink like that for awhile," I answer as he steadies me .

I look back to where Dylan was sitting , passed out. Although I loved him deeply and immensely , love should have never had to hurt like this . The decisions he made clearly show he wasn't ready for us .

Alex walked me to my room and helped me into bed . I looked at him and smiled, he really is handsome. Still feeling the affects of the wine I reached out and stroked his face . He held my hand to his cheek and embraced that moment . If things were different, I could have really let myself fall for him . But what happened last week was a sharp reminder of how badly Dylan betrayed me . It might not have hurt as much but the action was enough to make me become more careful with him.

"I'm sorry Aria," he whispers to me , "I promise to do better," and he helps lay me down . Alex places a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.

I didn't allow myself to drown in this emotion because sleep took over quickly . That night , I dreamt of an alternate reality . One that I saw myself laughing and feeling the most loved . One that I saw the man that my heart desired the most.