Hayden closed his eyes and sighed as he wondered for the countless time if this was the right thing to do. He didn’t know but he was about to find out very soon.


    "Please be in your position, the bride will arrive soon as scheduled…" a staff member instructed.


    Hayden turned and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. By that time all the guests, which consisted mostly of gang managers and senior members, had already taken their seat in an orderly fashion. The boss was seated right in front, and he had the biggest smile on his face as he roared withughter at one of the member’s jokes.


    Hayden turned towards the podium where an elderly priest stood stiffly. It was clear that the old man was scared out of his dear mind and couldn’t wait to get this ordeal over and done with. Hayden chuckled as he thought that he felt the same way. The decoration in the church turned out much better than he had expected.


    The real thing matched the simtion photos almost exactly and he was sure that Malissa would like it.


    "The bride should be arriving in a few minutes…" the team member whispered from the side.


    The host began entertaining the guests through the microphone before announcing that the bride will now make her entrance. Everyone in the church stood up from their seat and turned in anticipation towards the church’s doors where the bride was supposed to walk in. Hayden’s eyes also rested there as he waited anxiously for his bride to walk in through the door.


    Slowly, the door opened, and silence took over the church as everyone held their breath in anticipation of the bride’s arrival. The band started ying the ssical wedding march and people started pping and cheering in excitement. Unlike the other people in the church, Hayden started to have a strange feeling about what was going on.


    Loud cheers of joy quickly transformed into shocked murmurs and whispers when the door opened to reveal a man dressed in ck instead of the bride dressed in her white wedding dress.


    Hayden’s eyes narrowed dangerously when he finally understood the unexinable knot he felt in the pit of his stomach.


    "Find her! All men, find Malissa now!" Hayden yelled loudly.


    He didn’t need the man to tell him what was going on. He should have seen thising…


    …


    **Sometime before**


    "We don’t have that much time, so we better get started right away. Can you confirm the reference photos here for your make up and hair please?" the had stylist asked politely.


    After sitting down in my designated chair, my eyes went to the make up and hair references that Lucy had chosen. Not knowing much about this stuff, I had left it in Lucy’s capable hands to rmend the look that would fit with the wedding dress that Hayden got tailored for me.


    Lucy went ahead to show me the photos that she had selected. I had to say that she had very sophisticated tastes. The make-up tone she chose was centered around pink and gold while the hair was a clean up do that looked very modern yet ssy at the same time.


    "It looks great. Let’s go with this," I readily agreed.


    "Alright. We’ll start working on your make-up and hair at the same time," the artist said.


    I closed my eyes and let them do what they had to do with me. Lucy stayed in the room to oversee the entire process and I had a feeling that Hayden was going through something very simr in his dressing room. I had a hard time holding in my giggles when I thought of Hayden having to go through all this.


    "This will take a few hours so please rx," the makeup artist said.


    The hairstylist began tying my hair to put it up while the makeup artist started on building upyers of foundation onto my face. Surprisingly, I found the process rxing and it helped me feel more at ease despite my initial nervousness. Everything seemed ready to go and I had Lucy and her team to thank for that.


    "You look absolute gorgeous!" Lucy eximed when my hair and makeup waspleted.


    I turned to look at myself in the mirror and I was shocked at how beautified I was. The most amazing thing was that I still looked like me but in a more glowing princess vibe. The hair and makeup choices were definitely spot on.


    "I think I’ll add a bit of blush here to your cheeks so that it shows more when you get your photos taken. With all the sh and stuff, the color could appear a little faded in the photos," the artist suggested professionally.


    I just nodded in agreement because I didn’t know any better, so I had to trust the professionals. After they were done, the artists left, and Lucy and her other two team members were in the room.


    "Next is putting on the dress. Don’t worry, we’ll help you put everything on. Please rx for now, this is yourst chance to really rx before you have to carry the weight of your wedding dress on you," Lucy said with a bright smile.


    That made sense…


    I tried to take in deep breaths to calm myself. It’s finally happening. I still couldn’t quite believe it, but it was really happening…


    "Are you nervous?" Lucy asked knowingly.


    "A little…I guess…" I admitted shyly.


    "It’spletely normal. Here, have some water first. You don’t want to your voice to sound hoarse when you say ’I do’, right?" Lucy teased while she offered me a ss of water.


    "Thank you very much," I said politely as I took the ss from her.


    Maybe it was the excitement and nervousness that I was feeling but I felt extremely thirsty. The moment that the water reached my lips, I couldn’t stop drinking and ended up drinking the entire ss while Lucy helped me rx by sharing some small talk of random topics to ease my mind. I listened to her while I drank the water.


    She really was a pro at her job, and I knew that everything that she was doing was for my benefit.


    --To be continued…