Although I knew that some guys didn’t like nning weddings or nning anything for that matter, he should have paid more attention to what I was saying. This wasn’t just my wedding it was our wedding.


    The pressure from the fact that the wedding was only around a week’s time away made me stressed out enough already without the need to add on more frustration from the fact that I had to deal with Hayden as well.


    The worst part was that he didn’t seem to care and that hurt me more than anything. I sat down on the sofa and closed my eyes as I concentrated on breathing in deeply and slowly. Although I tried to control my thoughts, I couldn’t stop it from wandering to the two conditions that Hayden had presented to the boss.


    He was clearly buying time, and I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps everything that he was doing, he was just doing it to buy some more time. Everything including our uing wedding. What if he’s just marrying me to buy some more time?


    That shouldn’t be the case, but I just couldn’t erase that unsightly thought from my mind. I wallowed in my dark thoughts for a while until a knocking sound at the door snapped me out of my thoughts.


    "Come in," I called out just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.


    Since the visitor had bothered to knock, I knew that it wasn’t Hayden. Slowly, the door opened, and Auntie poked her head in with a caring smile on face before my attention shifted to the very fat andrge dog in her arm.


    "Little Hayden!" I cried out in delight as I got up from the sofa and quickly made my way to where Auntie was standing.


    Little Hayden had gotten quite chubby, and he had grown much bigger. I started to worry if he would get too big and I hoped that he would reach his mature state soon so that he could stop growing anyrger. Little Hayden was visibly d to see me and that warmed my heart.


    I missed him so much too and with the things that had been going on, I had to admit regretfully that I had been neglecting him too much. His fat belly told me that he had stayed very well fed and his cheerful attitude told me that he was enjoying life.


    "Come here…" I said sweetly as I took the chubby dog from Auntie’s arms.


    He gained weight again and I could feel it when I carried him in my arms. It was amazing how Auntie could still carry him given how much he’d grown. I headed to the sofa after inviting Auntie inside. She followed me to the sofa before we both took a seat. Little Haydeny on the sofa on his belly with his head leaning against myp. I stroked his head and he rxed under my touch.


    He’s so adorable. Just feeling his soft fur against the tips of my fingers was enough to cheer me up somewhat.


    "Hayden…umm…told me that you were stressed out about wedding preparations. Oh, big congrattions! I can’t wait for you two to get married! I knew that this day woulde…although I hoped that it would have arrived sooner," Auntie said followed by a littleugh.


    So…Hayden sent Auntie after me?


    "A little. As you already know, we don’t have that much time before the wedding, and we haven’t done anything yet. Hayden is also…disinterested, I guess?" I said as I struggled to find the right word.


    "Well, some men are not big fans of preparing events. I’m sure that Hayden would be happy with whatever that you decide on. Also, you don’t have to worry about the expenses, he’ll dly cover it," Auntie said with an encouraging smile.


    I wasn’t worried about the money. I had more than enough cash from the boss already.


    "I guess…" I replied vaguely as my spirit took a deep dive back down.


    "I know that it could be very overwhelming so let me know if there’s anything that I can help out with. If you didn’t have the set up from the wedding before, here is the contact of the organizer. I’m sure that she can help you out given the time constraints," Auntie said as she took out a business card and handed it to me.


    "Thank you, I’ll contact her," I replied before smiling at her.


    "Right. You should do that. Have you thought about your wedding dress?" Auntie asked and I could tell that she was still trying her hardest to cheer me up.


    I appreciated her efforts and didn’t want her to feel bad for me, so I decided to go along with her.


    "Not at all. Honestly, I don’t have anything fancy in mind…" I replied honestly.


    The dress that I had on before had too muchce and it felt very itchy against my skin. The sense of difort from that day came back to me along with the dread of being forced to marry a man that I didn’t even know. Hopefully, things would turn out very differently this time around.


    "Why don’t you invite Hayden out to try on some wedding dresses? It’ll probably be easier to decide that way, right? Also, if you want something tailored, you probably have to start right away…and pay extra to expedite the process," Auntie suggested.


    "I don’t think Hayden would be interested in taking me," I replied honestly.


    He wasn’t even bothered to talk to me about the wedding preparation so never mind him going out of his way to take me to a wedding boutique.


    "Have you asked him to take you?" Auntie pressed.


    "No…" I replied truthfully.


    "You should ask him. After all, you have nothing to lose, right?" Auntie said before she reached for my hand and patted it with her own.


    "Right…" I whispered, although I haven’t made up my mind whether to follow her advice or not.


    Hearing him turn down my request would hurt so I did have something to lose.


    --To be continued…