𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 ℂ𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕋𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 •𝕁𝔽𝕂•

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 16 - ᴡᴇᴅᴅɪɴɢ ʙᴇʟʟꜱ (ᴘᴀʀᴛ 1)

Who knew how swiftly a month would pass by? So much had happened in this past month, I was overwhelmed. As the wedding date creeped closer, Jack's involvement in the wedding planning reduced. It was more so because I now had my own staff to take care of it. The month passed by in a whirlwind of planning a wedding with the help of my personal secretary, Rita Wilson, ensuring that my wedding dress was ready in time, which did not take long , probably owing to the fact that I had opted for an elegant but simple silk wedding gown.

Although Joe couldn't be a part of our wedding, he sent his warm regards through Jack's siblings who reached the accomodation that had been readied for the guests, a day before.

I was to be married to the President of the United States in less than 24 hours from now. The pre-wedding jitters had finally started to kick in and I found myself slowly turning into a bridezilla, running about the White House, ensuring that everything, every single arrangement was prim and proper or not.

---

The next morning, I woke up early and enjoyed a nice bath before the hustle bustle began. Jack's sisters had reached the White House and my assistant ran about in my bedroom, working on last minute alterations in my wedding dress. I stepped out of the bath , my feet grazing against the soft , carpeted floor. My heart was pounding inside my chest and I knew I was freaking out, I couldn't place this queezy feeling that I had in my chest. What if something went wrong ? Anything could go wrong. If it rained, our wedding reception, that was to take place in a beautiful lawn, it would be ruined. Oh I hoped to God it didn't rain. The rings! Oh the wedding rings!

"Rita! What about the wedding rings?! Who has them?" I said, almost hyperventilating. Ethel ran up to me and placed both her hands on either side of my shoulders, "Breathe, Joanna! You're bummed out! Everything is going smoothly. Bobby has the ring and Patricia has Jack's." I visibly relaxed and ran my hands through my wet , black hair.

By 12 o'clock, I was already dressed in my wedding gown, my hair pulled up in an elegant bun and a veil that covered my face. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Fletcher, my security detail, stood on the door.

"Ma'am, the limo is ready. Mr. President has already left. Please let me know if you wish to move too." He said.

I nodded and gave him a faint smile as I slid into my kitten heels.

"We'll move too, Fletcher." Rita chimed in from outside the room.

"Alright," he nodded.

---

I kept gnawing on the insides of my cheeks on my way to the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Paranoia was beginning to make me feel numb and all the excitement that I had felt a month back, had now drained and turned into fear. This was going to be the wedding of the year, after all, it was not common for a sitting President to get married.

The minute our limo turned through the metallic gate of the church, we were greeted by a tremendous crowd, crowd that had gathered in huge numbers , just to get a sneak peak into our wedding. The minute our limo crossed the gate, the crowd got amped up, cheering wildly when a few of the women caught a glimpse of me in the back. I smiled politely and waved towards them with my gloved hand as we went into the church premises.

The limo stopped at the back entrance of the church and someone pulled open the door to my side. I carefully stepped out and smoothened a single crease that had appeared on my wedding gown and thanked him. Fletcher took his position on my side and Rita straightened my veil as we made our way into one of the rooms inside that I would be using until I was required to move to the procession.

I sat down by the edge of the chair and placed my hands nervously on my knees, tapping them as Rita walked out of the room, just to check on the last minute preparations. That's when I realized that I was alone in the room.