IMMURE

Chapter 8: Crimson Wedding

LOVE

A word which diminishes in meaning every passing day, and yet, finds itself all over again, in different ways, among different people.

But the one constant about love and loving someone, is Fear.
The fear of losing the one you love.

And that is exactly what Lorenzo felt, every second he thought of hundreds of ways in which his lover, his angel, his wife to be, would try to flee. He couldn't imagine his life without her in it, even if it meant keeping her against her will. Whenever he tried, he failed miserably. His fear would be replaced by anger, anger of the audacity that Melanie may have, if she tried to escape, again.

Lorenzo certainly had abandonment issues, first his father, then mother, he wasn't gonna let Melanie join the list.
He made sure to tie up every loose end, to ensure her escape would never come to pass, after all, nothing's more embarrassing than waiting at the alter for a no show.
The sun shone bright as it should on such a momentous day. The day Lorenzo united with Melanie, once and for all, in front of the eyes of god and everyone he held close, she would be his, and the world would know it.

Melanie didn't sleep a wink.
After a lot of difficulty she managed to get some shut eye at 5:30 in the morning.
Only to be woken up by her alarm at 7:00.
Her eyes burned with the lack of sleep,but she forced them open anyways, rubbing them.
Her mind played all the little discussions and plans she had made with Fiona over the last week, leading up to today,
The D Day.
Do or Die Day, in her books.

"Let's run over the plan one more time. I'll make sure Lorenzo is outta the house, called for some emergency. You'll be in your dressing room, waiting for Jewels to come style you. The moment she finds you, you both change into waiter uniforms and sneak out the back door. My guy will be waiting there with the delivery van and he'll drive you back to the boutique where I'll be waiting for you. We'll grab your stuff, clothes, fake passports and IDs, and head straight to the airport. Take the plane to Seoul. A friend of mine will receive you there and stay hidden with her till things clear."

"Alright...God, this is crazy. I honestly can't believe we're doing this"
"You better Melanie. Lorenzo's reign of terror , is over."
"Thank you again Fiona. I know how risky this is and you have no idea how grateful I am to you, for putting your literal life on the line like this, for me."
"Of course. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just stood and watched another woman be abused like my mother. I couldn't do anything then, but I sure as hell can now."

"Angel."
Lorenzo's voice snapped Melanie out of her trance. Lorenzo scanned her features inscrutably , as though he could see right through her. But Melanie refused to give anything away. This was her one shot. She couldn't let her nerves make her fuck up.
"How's my bride to be?" He asked, pulling her into his arms, nuzzling her neck.
Melanie stayed quiet, gently trying to break away.
"I can't wait to see you in the wedding dress." He kissed her shoulder, tenderly.
"I have longed for this day since the first moment I saw you Mel. I knew right then, you were the one for me. And nothing in this world could keep you away from me, for if it did, I'd destroy it." He confesses, looking Melanie deep in the eye.

What seemed like a romantic declaration, sent a chill down Melanie's spine. He had claimed her, way back then. Before she even noticed him, knew him, the real him. And there was nothing she could have done to change her current situation. Nothing she could have gone back in time to fix, which would help avoid being with this man. He was her destiny, but today, she fights. Today she writes we own story. One that didn't involve a man, who owned her. One where she owned herself, where she was free, and stood on her own two feet, fearlessly.

"We should get out of bed, it's gonna be a long day." Melanie said softly, as she pulled off the sheets covering her body. Just as she turned to get up, an arm pulled her back tenaciously.
"Don't fuck today up Melanie. I'd hate to have such a happy day be associated with any kind of unpleasantness." He hissed, threateningly.
"I won't." Melanie retorted, as though making an oath to herself. She wasn't going to lose, not today.

2:30 PM

Two more hours to go before the wedding.
Melanie paced up and down her dressing room frantically. Occasionally peeping out of the window.
The wedding planners had out done them selves, but who wouldn't for such an influential and dangerous man's wedding. Rather go all out than have your head on a spike for cutting corners.
White frills, lace, chairs, the alter decorated in white and baby pink, the aisle with rose petals stretched far as the eye could see. It was the dream wedding, and if it had been under different circumstances, Melanie would have felt like the luckiest girl in the world. But not here, not now.

Melanie gasped at the abrupt knock at her door.
With a quick stride she reached the door. Seeing Jewels on the other side made it all too real. She was doing this.
She was finally gonna be free.
"Melanie, are you ready?" Jewels rushed into the room with the dress wrack and a suitcase.
"We need to get going, we don't have much time. This is our window. Lorenzo is distracted dealing with the security details." Jewels explained.

"Okay, but what about Fiona?" Melanie asked, breathless.
"She's waiting at the boutique. Her girlfriend is here though, as back up. She'll chat up Lorenzo, distract him longer."
"I see. Alright. L-let's do this."
Jewels nodded, pulling out the servers uniforms from her suitcase, along with a wig and prosthetics. Being as skilled in makeup as she was in designing, she quickly did up Melanie's face, making her look almost like a different person. With the addition of the blond wig, and blue contacts, no one would know there was a bride on the run.

"Ok, all done."
Melanie glanced at herself in the mirror.
'You've got this.' She convinced her self. Taking a deep breath, she looked at jewels.
"Let's go."
They slipped out of the dressing room, making their way to the back door of the kitchen. The mansion was swarming with people, too busy to pay heed to the person right next to them. Melanie and Jewels certainly used this chaos to their advantage.

As they stepped out the door to the back of the mansion, they noticed a small loading truck. Jewels rushed over to the drivers door, banging at it.
A man lowered down his window and looked over at Melanie and then Jewels.
"Fiona sent me. Which one of you is Jewels?" The man asked.
Breathtaking a sigh of relief on having found the right guy, Jewels spoke.
"Yeah that's me. Look we need to hurry. People are gonna notice the bride is missing soon."
"Get in." The driver said and the girls did.
They made their way out to the back gate.

"Stop."
A pair of guards stopped the truck.
"Open up the back."
The guards took a quick look inside, only to find mostly empty cartons, and cardboard boxes , marked with 'fragile' , 'handle with care' and other symbols.
They slammed the doors shut and one of them yelled "Let him pass."
The truck moved drove out the gate.
Melanie, who had been hiding in one of the boxes, surrounded by packaging peanuts and bubble wrap, breathed a sigh of relief.

She was out.
Freedom was hers.
But her joy was short lived.
After a ride that seemed like hours, the truck finally stopped.
Melanie and jewels stepped out, but to their surprise, it was t the boutique where they were dropped, instead they stood in front of an isolated warehouse.
"What is the meaning of this!" Jewels roared.
"Hey, don't come after the delivery guy. I work for whoever pays more." He shrugged casually.

Melanie panicked.
Her eyes scanned the unfamiliar surroundings, trying to find an escape.
"Her, blonde, eyes to yourself. Don't try anything funny." The driver pulled out a gun from his back pocket, pointing it to Melanie.
"Let's go inside. Someone really wants to see you."
Reluctantly, Melanie and Jewels complied, walking into the Warehouse with cautious steps.

Melanie's world came to a freeze, on seeing what was inside.
"Fiona!" Melanie exclaimed in horror, seeing Fiona pinned on a wooden cross, in the middle of the warehouse.
Her eyes burned with tears.
She caused this.
Fiona was dead because of her.

"I told you not to fuck up today, didn't I Angel?"