The Wrong Bride

22

"Oh Em! My baby is growing so fast" Sara says, staring at her stomach so lovingly and rubbing it with so much affection, that I'm actually starting to doubt myself whether or not I'm right about this baby being non-existent.

"Sebastian is crazy about him"

I scoff, "How do you know it's going to be a boy?"

She looks at me thoughtfully, "Let's just say I can feel it. You can call it motherly instinct"

Yeah, right!

"I'm happy for you, really" I say to her, reaching for her hand across the table, and it really hurts me that none of my words are even a little bit true. It's a shame I have to be Sara in order to conquer Sara.

"Thank you. I'm happy for me too"

"In just a few days you are going to become a mom. We have such little time left together, of our youth, or let me say your youth, before you take a step into another big part of your life." I pause, and she nods "I was thinking, why don't we have a sleepover at my place? I already have the perfect pajamas for the occasion, and strawberries coated in chocolates?"

She let's out a small laugh, "You have everything set up, can I even think of refusing you?"

"No, no. You actually can't" I smile "The only problem is there is no champagne this time around due to your condition"

"Whoever said Mango juice cannot do the trick?" She says and we share a laugh.

I miss old times when we were true.

☆☆

"Hey" I greet, entering Sebastian's apartment

He gets up from the couch he is seated in, and grabs me by the wrist, pulling me into his arms, before placing a long, sweet kiss on my lips.

"I don't know how I managed to live without you for three years. I was going crazy thinking about how much I missed you" he says, looking into my eyes, before pulling me into a hug

"I missed you too. I can't wait for all of this to be over, and I can finally be in your arms, without having to think about how long it is going to last or who is going to tear you away from me"

"Do you really think it will work?" He asks, referring to our plan to stop Sara

I pull away from him before answering, "Do you trust in us?"

"Without a doubt"

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life"

"Then surely, it will work."

I hope it does. If not I do not know what I would do with myself.

"Do you have the picture I asked you for?" I ask him, right when Chris walks in with someone trailing behind him

"Aria?" I ask, staring at the both of them. This is the girl I met at the bridal shop the day Sara was going to try on her dress, if I remember correctly, she is one of the bridesmaids.

"You two know each other?" Chris asks

"Yes. She is one of Sara's bridesmaids, that is how I met her"

"Oh yes, I totally forgot about that. Anyway, I thought it would be better for someone to come and check the photos here incase if someone sees you out there, and Aria is incredibly smart and intelligent, the best hacker I've ever seen, and I think she can do the job" Chris says, staring at her with an unprocessed emotion, and I can see the girl try profusely to hide her blush

Okay... I see what is going on.

"Well, thank you for deciding to help us Aria" Sebastian says to her with a smile that makes my heart flutter "Let me just get the pictures"

☆☆

After searching the photo which I don't know how she did, Aria, along with all of us, realised the photos were actually photoshopped.

"So that means she actually planned it all?" I ask, disbelief etched in my tone. Does she really hate me that much?

"So she hired someone to ruin your relationship and provided you with these photos later? Damn, she is crazier than I thought" Aria says

"This is not just crazy. She is cynical" Chris says, scooting closer to Aria and wrapping an arm around her, as if to protect her from this betrayal. An affection he displays subconsciously.

"The truth is always harsh my love" Sebastian says, kissing my forehead "But it's good to always know the truth" he says and I nod.

☆☆

"Hey, Dad" I greet when I enter the house, but then I see someone in the living room with my Dad, someone I never thought I would ever see again.

"Emerald, what a beautiful woman you have grown into" my mother says, looking at me from my head to toe.

It has been twenty-two years, but I still remember that blonde hair and sharp green eyes, all of which I didn't inherit.

My mother is no doubt a beautiful woman, but with that beauty came with the pain of rejecting me when I needed her the most.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. I heard you were in town" she says and I send a sharp gaze to my father "Oh don't look at him like that, I have my informants too. I brought you myself to this doorstep when you were two years old, I never cared but I've known what has been up with you ever since. Seattle is a big city, but no place has ever been big enough for me"

I scoff, "Don't I know that? Nothing actually, has ever been enough for you. That is why I was never enough for you. You think you can just waltz in here after twenty-two years and be like, "I heard you were in town"? Don't be delusional. I don't even know why you are here. I don't even know you. You are just some woman who by chance gave birth to me, but you were never and will never be my mother. I was attending high school just a few blocks away from your house for three years, and you didn't even think for one second to check on me and see how I was doing, and you think all of a sudden you can 'come and see' me?"

"I'm sorry you feel that way Emerald. I really am. But one thing I know for sure and I am never going to hide, is that I was never supposed to be your mother. I just couldn't. It wasn't meant for me. I had to find myself and do bigger and better things than be your mother" she says and I shake my head in a humourless laughter

I stare at the ring on her finger before saying, "At least you got someone to marry the likes of you. I heard you have children as well, who unfortunately and fortunately for them have you as their mother. Your words are supposed to hurt but they don't. Because even as you didn't see me to be worth anything or any effort from you, I had people who took me in with open arms and made me feel more loved in the first few minutes they knew me than you would have ever been able to for my whole life. So yes, your words are supposed to hurt but they don't. I just feel sorry for you, and I hope you have everything in life you always wanted. But pray tell, that someone doesn't throw you away just as you did me. Goodbye Samantha, you know the way to the door"

At least one less thing in life I have to worry about.