30 Days Marrying You

chapter 8

After Jessica gave her promise to marry Xavier that night, the grandma's breathing strangely became normal again.
Then, she was brought to her room to take a rest. But, she promised to be there at their wedding reception.
She also told them, all the preparations for the wedding were done. Even the wedding gown and the tuxedo were already prepared! All they had to do was to change into their respective wedding clothes and exchange their vow. As easy as that!

Later, they were brought to the wedding hall where Jessica and Xavier were left alone in a room. They already changed their clothes, Jessica in white wedding gown and Xavier in black tuxedo. The gown fit her perfectly. It seemed the whole situation was already flawlessly arranged, like it was carefully calculated. If not, how could everything was already completed? From the gown, the wedding hall and even the wedding ring? Jessica started to feel everything was a set up. She also doubted his grandma's sickness as a part of the plan too. The plan to force them to get married! For what reason, she could not comprehend it.

Jessica was standing in a corner, as far as possible from Xavier. She did not want to put herself in the path of too much temptation and end up lashing her anger onto him.
Her palms tingled, she wanted so badly to hit something. She was surprised at herself. She was usually a nonviolent person.

She might really hit Xavier if not for the sudden burst of the door. He was luckily saved by the thick of the hair with the arrival of Emily, Jessica's best friend. Emily was statuesque, several inches taller than her five feet three inches, and her light brown hair was waving to the middle of her back.

"Jessica, I heard you are getting married! Is that true? And with..." She glanced sideways and saw Xavier. She just realized that jessica was not alone in the room, "... Xavier," She finished her sentence, her voice smouldering.

"It's complicated." Jessica struggled with the best way to describe the situation.
In fact, she was not too sure with her theory. What if the grandma was truly ill? What if it was her misunderstanding?

"Oh my God! You are in wedding dress! Are you really going to get married?" Emily commented suddenly and Jessica could not blame her shocked look.

"You, what have you done to my best friend?" This time, emily faced Xavier.
She waited but his face was too numb with worries that he did not seem to be bothered with the question. In fact, he looked lifeless.

"Has he gone crazy?" Emily turned to Jessica again, curiosity was evident in her voice.
Jessica opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. The truth was she had been distracted by Xavier' expression. And he looked like he wanted to cry.

'Hey, I'm the one who wanted to cry here!' She felt like shouting those words to Xavier but her sympathy overtook her anger.

"Anyway, how do you know about this?" In an attempt to distract herself, she shifted the question to Emily.
True though, Jessica did not remember calling her. She did not even remember telling Emily about her pretending to be Xavier' girlfriend.

"I got a card invitation saying you are getting married." Jessica's face sagged, deep in thought at her answer. Even the invitation was out?

The door was swung opened for a second time and it was a tall man with beautiful face, more beautiful than most normal woman, entered.
His hair was light brown, neck-length and parted at the middle. Xavier was surprised. Jessica was bewildered. And emily was ice cool as always.

He spotted Jessica, in the wedding gown, as soon as he stepped inside the room. At another corner, he spotted Xavier and gleefully approached him.

"Hi, I'm Charlie Williams, Jessica's pretty, older brother. Are you my any-moment-to-be-brother-in-law?" He extended his hand in such a calm manner, like he just introduced himself in a normal occasion.

Hesitating, Xavier looked at the hand which was hanging mid-air with his eyes wide-opened. Slowly, he moved his hand for a handshake.

"So, what is this? I got to know my own sister's wedding just before the wedding takes place?" He went to the nearest sofa and help himself to some biscuits that Jessica herself did not notice were there before.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica narrowed her eyes at the sudden appearance of the new character.

"I come to laugh at you." After Jessica sent him a murderous glare, Charlie cleared his throat, "Of course to see you getting married."

"How do you even know about this?" Jessica frowned, forgetting her troubles for a moment with the arrival of her older brother.

"Someone sent me an invitation to the wedding," he answered calmly, taking another bite of the biscuits.

Now, Jessica was halfway of confirming her theory about this wedding scheme. 'Something should be done,' she thought.

"bro, can you help me to get out of this wedding?" At the moment, she saw Charlie as her last hope, though she hated to admit that he was sometimes unreliable.

"Why? I thought this is what you want." Charlie stopped eating the biscuits and for the first time since he entered the room, he focused on Jessica.

"It's complicated." The same answer that she gave Emily, though it was for different questions.

"Then, just get married. There is nothing weird about it." Charlie said nonchalantly.

"What's weird is your brain! How can I get married with him!? I... We..." Jessica hesitated, looking from her brother to Xavier.
Then, she made the mistake of meeting Xavier sad, depressed eyes and her words stuck in her throat. Was it pity?

"Ah, I see what you mean. It is because he is less pretty than me? Honestly, you should not set the standard for your future husband to match mine. It is troublesome. There is no one to be as pretty as me."

"Are you done?" Jessica said at once.

Charlie looked into Jessica's stoic face and asked, "Errr... Done with what?"

"Done saying prayer before going to the other side of the world?"

Charlie gulped. His sister was not one to be taken lightly.

"I think the ceremony is starting soon. I'll see you at the reception." He got up and hastily went to the door. "By the way, i don't pray."

With that last word, he dragged along Emily, who was still standing near the door, out of the room.

"Hey, why are you dragging me too? I still want to talk with Jessica!" Emily, who was in silence since he came, struggled to break free from his grip.

"Later. I think they want to talk among themselves." After making sure that they were far away from the room and he was convinced that emily won't turn back to the room, Charlie released her hand.

Emily reluctantly followed him, her arms crossed, "Don't you know, they are always fighting? Will they be okay being left together?"

"Don't worry. I will prepare two coffins."

"It's not something you should prepare!" Emily shouted.

Charlie only grinned. He did not know the whole story, but either way, he trusted that his sister was clever enough to make her own judgement.
It was not that he did not care for his sister. In fact, he loved her so much that he did not want her to get hurt.
After their parents were dead, it was his job to protect her. And his role as a brother was to support her in whatever decision she chose.

"By the way, who are you again?" Charlie asked, looking at the girl that he just forcefully grabbed out of the room. 'Pretty!' His heart whispered.

Demi Lovato as Emily Harding