The Cinderella Bride (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter Two

 Upon my arrival, I was greeted by a butler who had brought me to what he labelled 'the living area', but to me, this so called living area was the size of the entire apartment I was living in. Granted, I wasn’t living in a very fancy nor big apartment, but I’m not exaggerating when I say it was big.

 I was told the wedding was to be held in a fortnight, and when I asked Carter why it would happen so soon, I was answered with, “I didn’t want to wait, I want to get this wedding over and done with.”  

 I also asked where we would be staying after our wedding, and was told the following “Here, of course. My father is going to stay in the bachelor pad I have been staying in, and we will move into the famous Richmond house, where I grew up, and where you are now.”

 According to him, my wedding was going to be what the entire county of Manhattan was going to be talking about- I didn't like the attention, I never liked being in the spotlight. It felt unnatural for a plain girl like me to be watched by so many people.

 But this was a day in the life of a Richmond, I suppose, and since they handled the attention quite well I had to learn to do the same. I had read in the newspaper the other day that Sean had told the nosey paparazzi that were berating him that the connection that Carter and I shared was undeniable and we didn’t want to wait any longer to be apart.

 When I read this I had found it extremely hilarious that anyone would buy that crap, but I guess they did, and I can't blame Sean for not wanting the world to know that he had given his son an ultimatum to get married, and that the girl he chose was his childhood playmate that happened to owe him more than her all of her possessions combined. I suppose it's better this way, if people had known of the real situation they would have called me a gold digger who was only agreeing to the absurd deal in order to get her hands on the Richmond fortune.

 And that may be true to a certain extent, I am only marrying Carter so I could pay off my debt with Sean, but this deal didn't clear my debt with the other creditors; meaning I'll have to go back to the drawing board to figure out a way to pay back the rest of what I owed.

 I sigh and continue to look at the mirror, observing the girl that stared back at me. The make-up that was put on me makes me look completely different from the person I am used to seeing when staring into a mirror. This girl staring back at me was a representation of who I am, her lips are coloured a deep red, her eyelids an almost nude colour finished off with dark eye-liner. Her black hair is in picturesque ringlets while her bangs are swept to the side neatly.

 The dress that she now wore, which was to be her wedding dress, was a beautiful one with a classic sweetheart neckline. It was fitted at the bust, but still modest enough for a bride, with a diamond studded bow that wrapped around mid-section, tightening the grip around her waist hugging the area around her hips. It was simple and elegant.

 But it didn’t feel like me. I stare at my reflection for a good five minutes to let the fact that today is the day I will be married sink in, and to comprehend that the beautiful woman in the mirror is truly me.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to actually re-think this decision because the people that were supposed to take me to the church had arrived, and my bridesmaids, (which consisted of Carter’s female cousins as Jennifer didn’t know about the wedding, which I viewed to be the best decision for now) had dragged me to the car to send me off to the church.

 Approximately an hour later I was getting ready to walk down the aisle with Sean Richmond by my side, as my father was, well, dead.

 The music began to play and the long veil that had been flipped back over my hair a second ago had now been flipped to the front to cover my face. Sean linked his arms with mine and guided down the aisle, which is where Carter stood.