Aisle... Be Free (COMPLETED)

Chapter 1: The Wedding That Wasn't

It was just another ordinary day in my life as Eloisa Delgado. I had finished my shift at the café, and the clock read ten o'clock as I stood at the bus stop, tapping my foot impatiently. I pulled out my phone, a trusty companion through many a dull wait, and began my favorite pastime: online shopping. Who needed a real-life adventure when you could score some killer deals on glittery shoes?

As I scrolled, mentally pairing every pair of heels with imaginary outfits, I reached the checkout page. My finger hovered over the "Purchase" button when suddenly, a loud ringing of bells echoed through the air. It was so loud that I instinctively closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, I was no longer standing on the cracked sidewalk of my mundane world. Instead, I found myself on the altar of a grand church, surrounded by flower arrangements that could rival a botanical garden. Confusion twisted my gut. Where was I? And why on earth was I holding a bouquet instead of my phone?

I looked down. A white gown hugged my body in a way that felt... constricting. I gasped, glancing around at the opulent decorations, the elegantly dressed guests, and the very pronounced lack of a groom. Was I in some kind of weird dream?

Before I could gather my wits, someone in the crowd shouted, "The groom ran away!"

A collective gasp rose from the guests, their faces a mix of horror and glee. I blinked at them, still clutching the bouquet as if it were a lifeline. My brain raced. What kind of twisted reality show was this?

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman wearing an elaborate hat rushed towards me, her expression frantic. "Lady Elowen!" she exclaimed, grabbing my arms with surprisingly strong grip. "We must get you out of here!"

"Wait, who is Elowen?" I stammered, my voice rising in pitch. I felt like a bewildered tourist who had accidentally wandered into a costume party. "And why am I in a wedding dress?"

Before I could process her response, the world started to tilt. My mind swirled like the wedding cake in the corner. The guests' whispers turned into a dull roar, and the room seemed to spin. I hadn't had breakfast yet, and this was definitely not what I signed up for.

"Lady Elowen, breathe!" the woman urged, her voice now fading into a distant echo.

With a dramatic flourish more suited to a stage play than real life, I fainted right there on the altar, bouquet and all.

The last thing I heard before the world went dark was the sound of chairs scraping and the panicked murmurs of the crowd, followed by a very definite "Well, this wedding's canceled!"

And just like that, my ordinary day had spiraled into the most absurd, humiliating predicament of my life.

~~~

I woke up slowly, my mind swimming in fragments of a story that wasn't mine. Elowen Virelle: the only daughter of Count Virelle, known as a kind and demure noble lady with a pristine reputation. 

Well, until recently. 

Her fiancé, Rowan Arkwright Valerion, the charming young master of the Valerion Duchy, was her childhood friend. Their engagement had been planned since they were little, but it was shattered by the most scandalous betrayal imaginable—her best friend, Seraphine Thorne, had run away with him.

As I pieced together Elowen's history, I cursed her traitorous fiancé and best friend. How could they do this to her? I took a deep breath and pushed myself up, blinking at the unfamiliar room that turned out to be the original Elowen's lavish chamber.

Stumbling to the veranda, I flung open the doors and stepped outside, my jaw dropping at the sprawling estate before me. "What a huge house!" I exclaimed, my new reality hitting me like a rogue wave. This was no ordinary day, and I had no idea how deep this rabbit hole went.

"Ugh! For some reason, I'm craving two shots of espresso".