Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 56
Jewel
The wedding day.
Had someone told me months ago I’d fall for my fake fiancé, I would’ve openly laughed and then shot them in the head. I never imagined this day for myself. In fact, before now, every time I even thought of it, it felt like a noose around my neck.
Although I don’t feel like I’m suffocating now, jittery nerves still take hold. The hair and makeup team arrived half an hour ago, around the same time as Rya. I told them all I needed to have a quick shower, and I haven’t moved from the bottom of the tub since.
Thoughts still plague me as to whether marriage is right for me. I know I love Eli and that there will be no other man who can handle me like he can. But marriage still scares me. Because, ultimately, I could be signing myself up for the most painful type of love. But also the most rewarding. It was just deciding to take the risk.
I love Eli, but it’s still a wild concept to be marrying a mafia heir.
“Jewel?” Rya’s voice comes through the bathroom door.
She apologized profusely when she discovered what her husband had been up to. And despite the strange situation, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised by Crue’s involvement. He’s a terrifying man in the same way Eli is, and I definitely think Eli got his scheming brilliance from both his father and mother. They just execute their goals differently.
“I’ll be right out!” I say, realizing I’ve been in here for too long. Yet again, running away. I turn the shower off and reach for a towel to dry myself. When I step out, Rya is waiting patiently. She’s a vision in a light blue dress. The makeup artists are nowhere to be seen, and I sigh in relief that she sent them away to give us some privacy.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course,” I reply tightly.
“It’s okay if you aren’t.” She takes a seat at the end of the bed and taps the spot beside her. I inhale and sit down.
I’ve never really had a woman-to-woman conversation. Or a mother-daughter heart-to-heart. Is that what this is? “I was so scared of marrying Crue, I pushed him so far away, he got engaged to my sister,” Rya says calmly.
I try to mask my surprise, and she laughs at my shit way of hiding it. “Don’t worry, neither of them liked each other. And it all worked out in the end.”
“That sounds a little hectic,” I whisper.
“Oh, it was.” She chuckles. “All I’m saying is, I know this is scary for you, but I raised a good son, who is now a good man. Well, he’s good to the people he cares about at least.” At least she’s aware that her son isn’t the definition of “normal” or “good.”
“He can be a little ruthless like his dad, and I actually liked that about Crue a lot,” she says with a smile. “I’ve come to terms with the type of people they both are, and I’m elated that Eli has found someone who accepts him just as he is. It makes me feel a little better to know you can also protect him as much as you can threaten to put him in his place.” She laughs, and I can’t help but find that amusing as well.
“What I mean to say is, this might be a scary day, but it’s also a beautiful day. I’ve never seen my son come to life the way he does when he’s around you. And so I thank you for being that beacon for him and joining our family,” she says, hugging me. I feel awkward at first until I lean into it. Much like I have with Eli. Perhaps having a mother isn’t so bad after all. Perhaps having a husband won’t kill me either. “Now, let’s get you ready.”
She requests that I keep on the towel and come out to start my hair and makeup. When I'm sitting on the seat, feeling overstimulated, she passes me a glass of champagne but warns me I only get one before walking down the aisle. I blush at that, remembering how drunk I’d gotten when trying on the wedding dresses.
Rya tells me stories about Eli growing up and how his favorite word was “asshole.” That makes me giggle because that was one of my first words to him. I tell her that, and she absolutely loses her shit, laughing. I like hearing her laugh. I wonder if my mother ever laughed the same way when someone talked about me.
I doubt it.
But despite feeling a loss at that, I’m filled with acceptance from this woman who owes me nothing but is giving me all of her love anyway.
“Eli said you had no one to walk down the aisle, and I did offer that I would do it for you, but he requested something special for you.”