KNOCKOUT

Chapter 1.-Sucker punch.

Thank you to Jennifer, who was brave enough to help me beta this document. I hope I didn't scar her to badly with my terrible gramar, spelling and punctuation errors. I hope you agree to continue helping me *pretty please*

I look at my reflection in the mirror and somehow I can't identify with it, although I know it is me.

The perfect bride.

The long, ivory dress with the mermaid cut might look wonderful, despite the fact that I've decided to say goodbye to any attempt at a long stride for the whole evening. But one can sacrifice a little comfort to make sure you shine for the special occasion. Especially the way the heart shape top accentuates my front assets while the small silvery-blue belt with the brooch accentuates the small waist I've worked so hard to get. The past six months at the gym have paid off.

The brooch is perfect and my something blue!

I turn my face a little to the left, assessing the perfect position the veil has been placed at the back of my head. It's not too tall too appear as if I had a helicopter blade ready to lift me off; nor is it too low that it appears that I am wearing a cape. I bring my hand up, checking that the brooch is hidden between the folds of the hairdo, so it appears as an extension of my brown locks. I glance at the veil, and for a moment feel the same giddiness I felt as when I found it in the store. The perfect Spanish mantilla takes the whole bride thing to a different level, so elegant and sophisticated. It makes the rest of the veils look as commoners, since this is the big shot star amongst them all.

Perfect and new!

My gaze falls now to the decoration on my neck, my mother-in-law's string of pearls she lent me for the occasion. I remember how she became quite teary as she was helping me put them on. For a moment it allowed us to put aside all of our differences and confrontations that we went through during the wedding preparations and, well... married life. At the moment it didn't matter if the seating arrangements were set properly or that I wanted to wait for a couple of years before starting a small family, or that she wanted Jason and I to have enough children to start a soccer team by the time we came back from our honeymoon. It was such a beautiful bonding moment captured by the photographer and no one will be able to steal it from us.

And my something borrowed.

I focus on my face and the makeup my cousin applied to perfection. I was so thankful that she offered to help me with such an important detail. Her expert hand worked wonders on my face, accentuating my features, like the way the she framed my brown eyes, making them look bigger with longer eyelashes. I thought my nose was nice enough before, but the way she applied the makeup makes it look thinner and more refine. And wow! My cheeks look more alive with the few strokes of a blush set. The whole assemble looks simple, elegant and timeless, the way I requested it. I was going for a traditional look, so that in the future when I look at my wedding pictures it will be hard to tell the decade our vow exchange occurred.

My attention moves to the ring, it's such an eye catching piece. The famed family heirloom has been in the prominent Steel family for a century. So many stories have followed the ring; its traveling to Europe and then settling in America, surviving robbery, being pawn when things got critical and finally being recovering. The legend says that it brings good luck and a blessing for the new family.

According to Jason, no marriages sealed with the ring have ever ended in divorce, which is a good omen.

Looking at the ring, I remember the day he proposed. For a moment I am lost in its beauty and the utter surprise I felt when out of the blue during our year and half anniversary he popped the question.