The Lustre [On Hold]

chapter twenty-one

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chapter twenty-one • messed up family
Z A R A  A U R O R A  M A L H O T R A

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"Mom, Jordan's family has completed all the necessary preparations and arrangements beforehand so it'll be easier for us."

"That's amazing. So, I suggest you focus on the wedding dress with Jia, dear. Don't overwork yourself. You girls do the fun part, alright?"

I giggle. "Okay, Mom. Let me know if you need any help."

"Sure, sweetheart."

I ended the call before resting my head on my palm, suddenly thinking about what happened two nights ago.

Turns out, Jia was right. He did think I was never gonna invite him to the wedding. Even though he said he was joking, I somehow knew that he wasn't at first. He mentioned all the things I've said to him so clearly that there was no way he was joking about it.

I had to trash my thoughts before texting Jia about the dress.

Me: Baby girl, I'm gonna book an appointment for the gown fitting next week. Will that be okay with you?

Jia: That sounds wonderful! We can go shopping and have a girl's day out tomorrow. We'll drag Anya along. What do you say?

Me: Bro, I'm so down.

I definitely need some refreshments. I mean, if I were properly married, I would pester my husband to bring me on a vacation or something. Semester holidays can get really boring if you don't do anything.

Jia: Perfect! I'll see your ass tomorrow then. I've got so much tea so share, jeez.

Me: Oh, yeah, me too. But I'll be more interested in yours.

I put the little smirk emoji next to my last text, indicating some brewing romance between her and Jordan. I mean, they're having a real marriage so there should be a bunch of romantic scenes happening before the wedding which I really wanna know because I never got to experience that shit.

Jia: Oh, shut up. Let it be a suspense till tomorrow.

Me: Okay, but keep it PG-13 since we have Anya tagging along. I know she reads smut novels but still.

Jia: Let's be honest, at this point, she can spill 18+ teas better than we do.

Me: Oh gosh, Jia, I have a reputation as a responsible older sister and I'd like to keep it that way.

Jia: Haha!

Jia's not wrong though, that girl has been reading so many smuts that she's slowly evolving into a delusional hopeless romantic. Which I'm not very proud of, to say the least.

I sighed and smiled thinking about how fast she could grow. I still remember me asking for a baby sister and that's exactly what God gave me. I remember impatiently waiting for her arrival at the hospital. I remember holding her hands and walking her to her class every day at school.