🔹️🔹️Crystal Hayes🔹️🔹️

D-Day.

Excitement, joy, the feeling of butterflies in the stomach, the rapid heartbeat... is what I fantasized to feel at my wedding.

But I felt none.

I stood in front of a long mirror, running a hand through the heavy white dress. The sweetheart net gown paired with a small diamond pendant made me look more beautiful than ever. My wavy hair was left open, letting it fall over my shoulders and a net veil pinned in them. Everything looked perfect until one thing ruined it. My hollow, emotionless eyes.

The stylists and the make-up artists were done with their work and had left me alone in the room while I waited for my que to go out. Saying I was nervous is probably an understatement. The count of the guests attending the wedding were in the hundreds. Adrien had informed me that there would be reporters and journalists too. I wasn't really ready to face all of this, but I had no choice.

Sitting on the couch in the dressing room, I kept scrolling through my phone when Hannah came in with a huge grin. Hannah, Ethan and Evan were the only people attending the wedding from my side. Mr. & Mrs. Johanson along with Megan had some important appointments due to which they couldn't show up.

Speaking of Evan, we had talked about the happenings. Evan promised me to not tell anyone about the deal of the marriage and I was more than thankful for it. In the past few days, I had been very fond of his presence and grew close to him. I found myself being lucky to have such a trustworthy friend like him.

"Oh My God." Hannah's eyes widened and she kept her palm over her equally widely opened mouth. She squealed and came running towards me while holding her asymmetric beige long dress and grabbed me by my shoulders. "You look gorgeous." Her eyes scanned me from top to bottom and the grin on her face faded into a smile.

"I am so happy for you. I always wondered if I would ever be able to see this day, considering how hopeless you are in relationships. But today, I am literally on top of the world." I squinted my eyes at her comment on my relationships but decided to let it go. "Aren't you excited? The love of your life is officially going to be yours." Her grin was back as she asked and held back a scoff. I just nodded with a fake large smile and she engulfed me in a hug.

She began talking about how she felt on the day of her wedding and thankfully, before a nerve or two of my brain would explode, someone knocked on the door. On receiving an answer, the door opened and Ethan stepped in, dressed in a gray suit.

"Hello, Ladies." He smiled at us. Hannah walked to him and kissed his cheek while he admired her look.

"What's going on outside?" Hannah asked.

"All the guests have arrived and are seated. They might call you out anytime now." Ethan looked at me. "You look beautiful." I smiled at his compliment but suddenly started to feel suffocated. I took deep breaths to calm myself down and seeing my nervousness, Hannah rubbed my arm.

"It's normal to feel nervous. It's a big day and you also have to face so many people. But don't worry, you will do great." I smiled at her attempt to comfort me. I looked at Ethan from over her shoulder and moved closer to him.

"Thanks, E. For walking me down the aisle. It really means a lot." It wouldn't just be awkward but also upsetting to me if I had to walk the aisle alone. Although this marriage does not mean anything, I respect it. I couldn't be more thankful when Ethan said he would do it.

"Crystal, believe me, it's an honor to do this. You are my wife's only best friend. I wouldn't let you walk the aisle by myself. Besides, It was Hannah's suggestion, so if you really want to thank someone, it should be her." He said with a smile and I hugged them both.

A minute later, one of the workers came and told us that it was my que to come out. Hannah handed me a bouquet before Ethan held forward his elbow for me to hold.

"Shall we?" He asked and I nodded. We walked to the large door that opened to the hall and my heart beat sped up. Hannah stood in the front with a basket of flowers and the door opened to the long stairs that lead to the altar. We started walking and all eyes turned to me. I wanted to see in the front, but I barely could as the long dress that swept the floor and the killer heels did not help in walking down the stairs. I was afraid that I might fall and my eyes were fixed on my steps. Finally, when we were past the stairs, I managed to look up and boy, was I starstruck.

My breath hitched as I watched a pair of blue eyes, shining like sapphires looking straight at me. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, perfectly styled hair, making it difficult for me to not drool over him.

It should be illegal to look so handsome.

We stood facing each other and Ethan gave my hand in Adrien's. My uneasiness seemed to be clear on my face, which made Adrien whisper to me. "You look anxious." I averted my gaze to the floor and slightly nodded. "I am not used to so much attention." I said honestly. He squeezed my hand a little and brushed his thumb over my knuckles. "Relax. Just look at me." My heart skipped a beat on his attempt to calm me down. As if his looks were not swoon-worthy enough. I did as I was told and those blue eyes had me blinded to any other thing for a while. Our faces held no emotion, yet we kept staring in each other's eyes until the officiant spoke.

"Welcome friends and family. We are gathered here to witness the official matrimony of these to lovers, Adrien Russell and Crystal Hayes. Before we begin, if anyone has an objection to this union, please speak now or forever hold peace." My mind was yelling at me to say something and stop this from happening, but I knew better than to do so. I tilted my head a bit and saw Hannah, Ethan and Evan sitting in the second row. Hannah and Ethan were looking at us with bright smiles while Evan held absolutely no emotion on his face.

When the silence in the hall was maintained, the officiant continued. "Then, we shall continue with the ceremony." He continued after a pause.

"Adrien Russell, do you take this beautiful woman, Crystal Hayes, as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Still looking into my eyes, he sternly answered. "I do."

The officiant turned his attention to me. "Crystal Hayes, do you take Adrien Russell as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

I hesitated a bit to answer and Adrien gave me a look that said 'what are you waiting for?' making me snap out of my trance before sighing deeply and saying, "I do."

"I believe the bride and the groom have chosen to write their own vows." Our eyes widened while we looked at each other as the officiant said that. I didn't know we had to prepare the vows. And judging by Adrien's reaction, I am pretty sure neither did he.

Adrien looked at his father, who was sitting close to the altar among the guests and I followed. He nodded at him and mouthed 'just swing in'. Adrien rolled his eyes which was barely noticeable. He sighed and looked at me before he began to say his vows.

"Crystal, from the first moment I saw you, I knew that you had to be mine. Leading up until we met, I thought someone so perfect seemed unattainable. And here you are, like an angel, ready to take on whatever the world throws at us. I promise to always love you unconditionally and tell you that I love you everyday. I am so proud that I get to call you my wife. I love you more than words can describe and I will forever."

My heartbeat stilled at his words. Avery tiny smile made a way on my lips and I had to look at my feet to hide it. He said such great words so smoothly that I almost forgot that they weren't real. It took a bit of time for me to realize that it was all for the show.

I looked back at him and took a deep breath. I was clueless of what to say. But when he could do it so effortlessly, why can't I? I mean, how hard can it be?

So I started.

"Adrien, I-" It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. With more than a hundred pairs of eyes on me, I was freaking out. Somehow, I gathered myself and began again. "I had always dreamt of how my love story would be when I was a little girl. But eventually, I stopped because I thought I would never have someone I could truly love. Someone.. Who would love me and cherish me like my parents did to each other. But when I met you, I felt a sense of protection, an instinct that you were someone I could count on. All the long lost emotions came running back to me. You are one of the best things that have happened to me. And therefore, I vow to live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home."

He seemed quite surprised but did not let it show, instead he gave me a warm smile which was for the people to see. The officiant went on with the ceremony and we were handed the wedding bands. We exchanged our rings and sealed our fate.

"With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Colour drained out of my face and I froze in my position as I heard that. We did not talk about this part. I fisted my hand tightly as I saw Adrien slowly lean towards me, his eyes looked into mine with calmness while mine were wide.

He isn't going to kiss me, right? I swear, I will kill him if he does.

He gently held my neck with both hands and I started leaning back to make a good distance. But I failed as his hold on me became stern and he pressed his lips on the corner of my mouth. I clenched my eyes shut at the tingles I felt by his lips on my skin. His lips lingered there for a while and huge applauds were heard. I held his hand casually to not make the kiss look awkward to the audience and finally, he pulled away with a smirk making me glare at him.

To my relief, the recessional was short and nice for which only close family and friends stayed. Adrien introduced me to two of his closest friends. A blonde girl named Sophie, who strangely had bandages wrapped around her wrist. I tried to be good to her but she seemed oddly cold. She kept on clinging to Adrien because of which he seemed slightly uncomfortable. Apart from Adrien's parents, Sophie and Evan were the only ones who knew about the truth of our marriage. Another was a man named Tyler, who was also Adrien's best man. They seemed pretty close considering his speech that told a lot of amusing facts about Adrien. He was accompanied by his fiance Anna who was a very beautiful and soft-spoken woman.

I too introduced my friends to Adrien. While Hannah and Ethan had a good interaction with him, somehow, there was some sort of tension between Evan and Adrien. Thankfully, the event was wrapped up soon and we were driven to Adrien's house.

Hereby, I start my new life. Wish me luck.

🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️🔹️

(She isn't as happy as she looks)

(Neither is he)

(The Wedding Bands)