Love In Twenty And Five

DAY FIVE

Everything was perfect.

Not a loose thread, not a speck of dust to taint the perfect glow of the white dress, not a stray strand of hair, not a dim light on the Christmas tree, nothing! The woman before her was the mirror of perfection, the makeup and the dress doing a perfect job of concealing the storm that raged within her. It failed to reveal her struggle to breathe, and it concealed her pounding heart against her ribcage.

"The wedding is off."

Philip's words from the night before echoed over and over again in her ears. Yet, her lips couldn't form those exact words. It didn't matter how hard she tried, or how often she tried, she couldn't tell her family and friends that there would be no wedding. Shame seared her lips together. Shock held her captive, keeping her bound while she was being helped into her wedding dress.

She stared at her image once more, wanting nothing but to disappear. She couldn't face them, neither could she face the truth.

"Eden!"

Startled, she sucked in a breath, and spun around.

"Eden?! Are you in there sweetie? Everybody's waiting and you know how your grandma gets when she has to wait too long for an event, in this case the event being your wedding?" Judie, her best friend squealed from her position behind the closed door. "So, hurry up already, will you? Because my instinct tells me I'm getting engaged today and you already said it was alright if I did steal a bit of your thunder!"

Eden watched the closed door, her heart rate accelerating further. The door was the only thing that kept her safe and delayed the inevitable from happening.

"Eden?"

I can't!

"Eden?!" The door shook and her eyelids widened.

Clutching her chest, she knew she couldn't stay hidden forever, sooner or later, Judie and the rest of her guests would find out.

"Ed--" The words died on Judie's lips as Eden pulled the door open.

Judie heaved a breath in relief, and raised a perfectly carved brow in question.

"For a moment, I feared you had maybe, I don't know," she shrugged, brown eyes filled with accusations, "died?! Who does this, Eden; who locks themselves in their dressing room on the day of their wedding?! You're not getting cold feet, are you? Well?"

"We should get going Judie, we don't want to be late."

Making her way past Judie whose lips now hung wide open, Eden took measured steps down the stairs and out of the door. She settled in the limo, not bothering to glance at Judie who settled beside her, or her grandmother who was now scolding her for being tardy. In truth, Eden barely heard anything past the rhythm-less pounding of her heart in her chest. Her fingers curled around her dress, common sense compelling her to tell her grandmother and her best friend, the truth. But the words wouldn't form on her lips.

She leaned against the window and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to cry. She would need to tell them eventually -she reasoned. She would need to walk down the aisle to an empty altar and make the announcement. Perhaps it was the best way to break the news, perhaps in the midst of the confusion after she had broken the news, she could sneak out of the church alone.

The car began to slow down, Eden's heart slowing down along with it. Her eyelids snapped open as the door was pulled open, and as the driver helped her down, she fought to keep her wobbly legs stable.

Would people blame her for the breakup? It was after all as a result of the video of her and Mike, that Philip had chosen to break up with her.

It was ironic -she smiled bitterly. She was a bride, yet she had been rejected by two men in less than two weeks. The one she cared about ended up walking away from her, and the one she hoped she would eventually love once they were married, walked away as well.