The Mafia's Rose Married the CEO

🌹 3: The Wedding Dress 🌹

Feng Xuan plopped down on the soft hotel bed. Upon feeling the comforting cold of the thick blanket, it made her want to curl up like a fetus and close her eyes as if none of this was really happening. But she knew there was no waking up in this.

What is this?

She still hasn't figured out if this is a fairytale or a nightmare.

She pulled out her phone from the pocket of her loose pants and posed for a selfie to be uploaded on her social media apps. After she had posted the picture, several of her friends from overseas already replied wondering how she was doing back in her hometown.

Feng Xuan decided to ignore all the messages and dialed her cousin's number. It was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Wang Yimin!" she exclaimed. Feng Xuan found the will to sit up on the bed. "I'm in Chengshi."

"Feng Xuan!" Wang Yimin screamed. "I can't believe you're really back! Uncle Lizhao already messaged me about your return. I am actually on the way to The Kingly now."

Feng Xuan looked at her clothes. "How close are you?"

"Uh, around ten more minutes?"

"See you then, couz!" Then they both shrilled like two teen girls.

Feng Xuan got up and rummaged through her baggages to find something more comfortable to wear. She pulled out a flowing blush pink dress and a pair of white sandals. Knowing Wang Yimin, she would probably drag her to shopping and they would be walking around for hours.

The cousins embraced in a hug the moment they see each other; much like in the movies wherein the best of friends saw each other again after a long time. All that running to each other, the bear hugs, the jumping up and down, and squealing.

Without further ado, Wang Yimin had pulled Feng Xuan to the nearest store. The Kingly Hotel had a shopping mall built below its hotel.

"I can't believe you're staying here," Wang Yimin said to her cousin while pulling hanger after hanger from a rack.

"Me too," Feng Xuan replied with a pout. She was also saddened by the fact that her father had chosen for her to stay in the hotel instead of going home. "Apparently, our house is under 'renovation'. Pft, as if I don't know that that woman's just too busy throwing all her step-daughter's belongings to the trash."

Wang Yimin rolled her eyes. "Ugh, tell me all about it." The cousins share their hatred towards Feng Lizhao's new wife. It was within reason because based on the stories Feng Xuan heard, she was a terrible woman who was left by her ex-husband because she was just insufferable.

"I can't believe my father married that woman," Feng Xuan added. The wedding happened in Chengshi and even though if she was invited (she was not), she wouldn't have been able to come.

Her father had banned her from visiting Chengshi.

And not that Feng Xuan really wanted to see her father marry another woman.

Wang Yimin handed Feng Xuan a number of clothes. "Well, your father is still human. He probably gets lonely too."

"But there are a lot of women to choose from. Why that one?"

Wang Yimin laughed at her cousin's childish rant. It was not like they could do anything about it anymore. "Cousin, you need not to worry. I am sure, your father will leave every dime in your name." Wang Yimin pushed Feng Xuan to an empty fitting room and pulled the curtains. She started to inspect the other clothes left by the other customers.

"I just... ugh!" said Feng Xuan as she pulled her dress off and left it a puddle on her feet. She pushed her arms through a striped pink long-sleeved blouse. "They visited me overseas once. We were having dinner at a restaurant and... ugh," she groaned yet again. "They just... they are not in their right place. They didn't know what to do, they don't have table manners, they talk loudly, and they don't know how to use some of the utensils on the table."

Feng Xuan pulled the denim skirt from the hanger and up to her hips. She pushed the curtains aside.

"You look nice," Wang Yimin told her.

Feng Xuan's eyes moved towards the white box with a white bow that she didn't know was there before.

"What's that?"

Wang Yimin smirked, "Your wedding dress."

Feng Xuan couldn't fight the urge to roll her eyes. "That's why you're here. You have to help me get into a wedding dress."

"Sorry. Your father's orders," Wang Yimin said and put the box on her hands. "Open it."

Feng Xuan undid the bow and tossed the lid to a corner and pulled the dress out of its box. It was red with a high collar and a fitted bodice to her waist, from there it balloons to an elegant lace shortest on the front down to her thighs then circles to get longer on the back until it reached half her leg. A golden thread was sewed in the bodice that made it looked like she was being coiled by a slim dragon.

She looked at Wang Yimin, "How did your wedding dress look like?"

"Oh," Wang Yimin said with a chuckle. "Shan wanted a Western-like wedding. I wore white."

Feng Xuan saw the longing in Wang Yimin's eyes as she touched the delicate lace of the dress, as if she had wanted to wear a dress of the same made when she got married. "Are you alright?"

Wang Yimin snapped herself back to reality. "I am perfect," she smiled. "Don't get so worked up about getting married to a stranger, Xuan."

Feng Xuan was pushed back inside the fitting room.

"It will all work out in the end," said Wang Yimin. "At first, I was really scared but Zhou Shan had been really great. He never forced me into anything. He tried to get to know me and took me out on dates. Soon enough, I found myself genuinely caring about him. After about a year, I had fallen in love with him and he with me. It is going to take some time, Xuan. But you will get there."

Feng Xuan pressed the wedding dress on her chest and looked at herself in the mirror.

Wang Yimin continued from behind the curtain. "Marriage, as they say, is a choice. It is choosing to be with that person for the rest of your days. Just... repeat until true."

There were so many questions on her mind like, what if she did not like the guy? What if she hated him? What if he was not in the same mindset about falling in love one day? What if she liked him and he didn't like her back? (Oh man, that would suck). What if she would be stuck in an unhealthy marriage?

What if...

Feng Xuan shook her head and begun slipping off the clothes she was wearing and decided to just trust her father's judgement that he had found a suitable groom for her. But recalling her father's taste in women (i.e. her current rumored evil stepmother), she did not really know what to think.

Feng Xuan decided to distract herself. "So who are the most eligible bachelors as of the moment? My future husband might be one of them."

She heard her cousin laughing from the other side. "There are a few good ones. I have met some of them at parties. Would you like me to list some off?"

Feng Xuan pulled the curtains and huffed at Wang Yimin. "Please."

Wang Yimin inspected her from head to toe and smiled. "Well," she said, getting out of the way so Feng Xuan could see herself on the other mirror with much more light. "Wouldn't you make a beautiful blushing bride?"