I Choose You

Forty-Nine

Mare

The next three days go by as fast as I can snap. Shade and I caught up with each other, chose our House colors, and did other things.

Eve said the seamstress finished making my dress, we did the final alterations an hour ago.

I haven't seen Maven all day, since it's "bad luck" to see the bride before the wedding. I never knew him to believe in those superstitions.

Eve is with me now, deciding and doing my make-up and hair. She did the make-up already, making my face shine. Currently, she is doing my hair. She isn't explaining what she is doing, to make it a surprise for me.

In two hours, I will be walking down the aisle, and married. I'm not nervous, I'm terrified. I'm nauseous, it's hard to tell if that's because of the baby, or my nerves, or if it's both.

"You look nervous," Eve commented, I couldn't tell if it was more of a mock than anything.

I scoff. "Yeah, I'm just getting married in a couple of hours, totally calm."

Good thing Evangeline Samos speaks fluent sarcasm.

"Why are you nervous?" She asks me as she does something with my hair.

"Loads of things!" I exclaim. "Like, what if I trip going down the aisle on my skirt, or my shoe falls off, or I mess up on my vows? Loads of things can happen."

Eve chuckles before she reaches and grabs the thing on the vanity next to me. "You have nothing to freak out about, all of those nerves will go away when you see Maven."

I blush a bit before I shake my head away from those thoughts.

"Yeah, but-,"

"No buts, don't let this anxiety take over you, you are getting married, you're probably just excited." She continues. "Tell yourself that you're excited, that's what I do."

I breathe deeply, my chest inflating as I inhale, and flattening as I exhale. I'm excited. This is one of the biggest days of my life. I need to be happy.

I look down at my lap. My wedding dress is beautiful, the rose-designed fabric on the skirt adds loads of volume, while the sweetheart neckline shows some cleavage, but it's still modest.

Eve continues to play with my hair while I fiddle with my fingers, my glossed nails shining from the light in the room.

"I'm all done," Eve states. "You can look now."

I stand up from my seat, having to pull my endless layers of skirts with me. I walk up to my full-length mirror in my dressing room.

The dress goes all the way to my feet, my high-heeled shoes don't even help with that, all they do is increase my height.

My hair is curled and waved with parts and sections. The side of my hair is French braided to frame my face, both braids meet in the middle of my head.

"You look beautiful," Eve says, looking at me through the mirror.

"Thank you," I reply as I brush out my dress.

"Ready to do this?" Eve asks me with determination in her eyes. I turn away from the mirror to face her, the train of my dress dragging behind me.

***

I stand at the back of the line, with Evangeline and Cal leading the line, then Shade and Gisa, then Bree and his girlfriend in front of me. The flower girl- one of Maven's younger cousins on the Merandus side- and the ring bearer- Tramy- are already by Maven at the end of the runway with the priest. The chapel seats are filled with Silvers and my family and friends, Maven's family and friends, and the majority of the Silvers are on the left side, with mine on the right.