𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 |✍ | 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑!

●'I'●'I'●'I'●'I'●'I'●'I'●

BEFORE THE VOWS

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VICTORIA LOOKED AT THE COLOUR PALLETE IN FRONT OF HER and she turned her head to her older sister. Mrs Rosalind, the nice lady in her fifties and the wedding planner, left them alone five minutes ago. The woman went to talk about some wedding details with her uncle, Lorenzo's parents and a few other people, giving Victoria some time to decide on the colour theme for the wedding. Why was she doing all of this when she was forced into a marriage with the person she hated the most? If it were entirely up to her, she would wear casual clothes, sign the document declaring her marriage to Lorenzo, and have it over with. But it wasn't up to her.

"I know it's hard," Gabriella grabbed her sister's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But you have a dress fitting in an hour and you need to choose the colours."

"I know," Victoria murmured, turning her attention back to the colours in front of her.

She sensed another breakdown coming and took a deep breath to try to calm herself down. The number of breakdowns she had in the past five days, amidst all the wedding preparations, was beyond count. There were a lot of reminders that she was being forced to marry Lorenzo. Besides, people needed to believe that this was a real wedding, a real deal. Both of them were members of Sacred Eight, everyone was expecting a big and beautiful wedding.

"Hi," Alessandro greeted his sisters, giving them a peck on their cheeks and glancing at the array of colours on the table. "So...which colour suit should I get?" Alessandro looked at Victoria and then Gabriella. Silence followed. "What?" He asked, noticing the girls' puzzled expressions. "I'm one of Lorenzo's groomsmen."

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to help us?" Gabriella asked, ignoring his question about suit colour.

"I can't. I'm meeting Lorenzo to get our suits and then helping him to move," Alessandro replied. "Oh, that reminds me, Tori. If you've packed anything you don't need, I can take it to the house today."

"What? What do you mean?" Victoria's eyebrows knitted in confusion before realization dawned on her. Her eyes widened. "Oh..." she uttered. It was common knowledge that married couples lived together unless there were issues between them. She couldn't stay in her family's house after getting married. It had to be believable. With all the wedding planning, she forgot about that. "I need to move in with him," she murmured and Gabriella gave her a small but gentle smile.

"Listen," Gabriella said, grabbing Victoria's hands again, "everything's going to be okay," she reassured her for the hundredth time in the past days. "You'll make it work. Both of you. Now, I know this wedding isn't what you wanted, but it's still your wedding. Plan it your way and have fun with it. You have the right to enjoy it," she squeezed Victoria's hands. Victoria took a deep breath and smiled.

"Okay," she nodded and cast a glance at Gabriella, then Alessandro. Gabriela was right. She had the right to enjoy it. "Mrs Rosalind!" She called out and the woman hurried over. "Could we have navy, emerald and white?" Victoria asked with a smile and Mrs Rosalind nodded enthusiastically, writing down the colours Victoria had chosen.

They spent the next half an hour discussing decorations and various details with Mrs Rosalind. After settling on the suits for the groom and his groomsmen, Alessandro parted ways with his sisters to meet Lorenzo, knowing how they would have to look on the wedding day. He was a man on a mission. Alessandro was uncertain if Lorenzo would approve of colours and other things, but it would be his own fault because Lorenzo left all the decision-making to Victoria, deciding to take care of their living arrangements instead and simply attend the wedding.

After the reassuring talk with Gabriella, Victoria was in a better mood for this wedding. She started making decisions on the decorations and other details, she chose the dress she liked the most and had the biggest smile on her face when she saw her reflection in the mirror with the dress on. It was her dress and she felt beautiful wearing it. Victoria let the women take her measurements and talked with them through the entire fitting session.

Gabriella cried a little when she saw her little sister in that stunning wedding dress. She blamed her pregnancy hormones for it, but deep down, she knew it was seeing her younger sister getting married that brought on the emotion. Their mother wasn't here to witness her second daughter's marriage and Victoria had always leaned heavily on Gabrielle, who often took on a maternal role in her sister's life, especially after their parents died.

When Victoria was done with her dress fitting, she chose her bridesmaids' dresses with her best friends and sister in mind, considering their preferences for the big day. They wrote her what kind of dresses they would or wouldn't wear. She sent them a brief message about the upcoming fitting for their dresses, marking the end of her tasks for the day. Gabriella couldn't help but smile, seeing Victoria's joy following their conversation at home.

Gabriella's phone buzzed, drawing her gaze away from her joyful sister to the screen. She opened Alessandro's message and let out a chuckle at the photo displayed. Lorenzo was sandwiched between Alessandro and Eddie, the trio wearing navy suits paired with emerald ties. Alessandro and Eddie beamed at the camera, their hands around Lorenzo's shoulders, while the groom was furrowing his eyebrows and looking unhappy.

Gabriella knew it wasn't what Victoria and Lorenzo wanted. Hell, even their families and friends knew that. Her sister had always hoped to marry for love, not to be bound at the altar to someone she despised so they could unite two of the Sacred Eight families. Yet, she also knew that both of them were smart and that they would work all of this out. People would believe that the two of them are in love and happy together, and Victoria and Lorenzo would learn how to work together. Everything's going to be okay. 

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