Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Before I knew it, I was sitting in my bedroom having my makeup put on for my own fake wedding.
Lily was in front of me, her brow creased in concentration while she made me look wedding ready.
For someone who never wore makeup anymore, Lily was incredible at doing it. I hardly recognized myself in the mirror. My skin glowed and my blue eyes popped against the taupe eye shadow she’d applied. The fake lashes she’d delicately put on were uncomfortable but beautiful.
“It looks amazing,” I said.
“It helps that your hair is also perfect. Good job on it.”
“Thanks. It only took me a few hours. But at least it distracted me.”
Lily paused as she put up her brushes. “How do you feel?”
“Nervous as fuck,” I said, blowing out a breath.
“You’re faring better than I did. You’re not throwing up.”
“Instead, I’ll stress eat later when our food is delivered.” Levi and I had agreed on something simple: barbeque. I thought he would go for something fancier, but he continued to surprise me.
“You’ll do fine. After this, you can buy yourself all of the stress food you want.”
“Right. The money. And the other benefits of being married.”
“How did your parents take it?”
I winced. “No idea. I texted them and they didn’t answer.”
Her brows pulled together. “Really?”
“I have no idea if they’ll be here. But they know about it.”
“If they’re like that , then it might be better if they’re not.”
I only shrugged and checked the time. “I have a few minutes before I’m supposed to walk down the aisle.” My nerves came back tenfold. “Distract me.”
Lily’s eyes were wide. “Uh, how ? You’re literally getting fake?—”
The door burst open, causing both of us to jump.
“There she is!” an accented voice said. A short woman with long black hair walked in. I hadn’t seen her before, which meant she must have been here for Levi. “I can’t believe my mess of a stepson is getting married and didn’t let me meet his bride beforehand!”
The door opened again and a woman with graying, dark hair peeked in. Her eyes were covered, but she looked vaguely familiar. “You’re dressed, right? I’m so sorry if you’re not!”
“We’re all women here,” the other woman said, crossing her arms. “And yes, she’s dressed. She looks like a princess!”
“Um, what’s happening?” I asked.
“I’m Isra,” the woman with black hair said, turning to me. “Levi’s stepmom.”
“And I’m Nancy.” The other woman uncovered her eyes and I saw the same blue-green shade that Levi had. “His mother.”
“We had to sneak around to find you. I can’t believe he didn’t let us meet you before the wedding! Where was he hiding you?”
I knew nothing about Levi’s family, which was not going to bode well for this conversation.
“Um, maybe we can chat after the ceremony—” Both women turned to Lily with a frown, and she straightened. “Or not?”
“It’s okay,” I replied. “I’m just a bit overwhelmed. I might not be the best at conversation.”
“It’s okay,” Nancy said with a smile. “I was a nervous wreck, though my marriage didn’t work out.”
“I was calm as a cucumber,” Isra replies, crossing her arms. “But I also never get nervous.”
“Wow, what’s that like?” I asked.
“So, you’re Amy,” Nancy said with a smile. “The woman who finally got Levi to settle down.”
“It’s about time,” Isra added.
“I am. Don’t ask me how, but I did.”
“He once said he was never getting married,” Isra said. “I told him he would change his mind.”
“No I told you so’s on his wedding day,” Nancy said. “That’s for the day after .”
“So, you’re his mom and stepmom,” Lily said. “And you two get along?”
Nancy waved her hand. “Oh, we’re best friends these days.”
“And she was the one who introduced me to his father,” Isra added. “Then he died and we decided to join forces on raising Levi.”
I straightened. I didn’t know his dad had died.
But it was something I should know, considering I was marrying him.
“I’m glad you did. I know it affected him so much.”
“Has he admitted it to you?” Nancy asked. “He never wants to show it to us.”
“O-of course. I mean, I’m his fiancé.”
“And yet he couldn’t invite you for dinner!” Isra scoffed.
“It was a whirlwind, and I’m known for moving fast.”
Isra hummed and Nancy looked so happy, I hated knowing I was lying. “Then you’ll have to come over after your honeymoon.”
“Oh yeah. We’ll definitely do that.”
“And the yard is so beautiful!” Nancy said, looking out the window. “It?—”
She didn’t finish her sentence as she continued staring outside.
Isra caught onto her change in demeanor and quickly joined her at her post.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “Did the arch fall again? I can?—”
“We’ll deal with this,” Isra announced. “You need to focus on looking beautiful.”
“Even though you already are!” Nancy said.
Isra threw open the door and left. Nancy laughed nervously and followed.
“That was weird,” I said.
“I thought they were nice.”
“No, whatever’s happening outside. Maybe I should look.”
“You’re already stressed,” she said, grabbing my shoulder. “And you’re about to walk down the aisle. You should take a second before you throw up like I did.”
I sighed. I might not have felt like I was going to throw up, but my nerves were making my hands shake. “Fine. You might be right about this one.”
“And one of your brows needs some help. Give me just a minute.” She returned to working on my makeup as I tried to take deep breaths to stay calm.
It didn’t work.
My backyard had been transformed into the perfect wedding oasis. Chairs lined a white aisle and flowers were everywhere. The slightly warm weather was exactly what any bride would want for the occasion. Whatever had gone awry was fixed now, and everything was right as Lily and I had left it.
Lily was in front of me, and seated on my side of the aisle was Sebastian. Next to him, I saw Riley with a dark-haired man and two little ones.
And then my parents.
Mom glanced at me, but quickly looked away. By the set of her brow, she was not happy. She leaned over and whispered something to Dad, and I had a feeling she was mentioning my brother, who was noticeably not here.
Behind them, Emma snapped pictures on her phone as if it was the best day of her life.
At least someone was excited.
I reminded myself that this was my fake wedding and that my attention should be on the groom. I focused my gaze solely on Levi.
He was stunning in his suit and tie. His hair was slightly trimmed and he seemed to be playing the perfect husband, with only eyes for me.
But something was off. His lips were pursed and his hands were in tight fists at his sides.
My breath caught in my throat. What if he was regretting this?
When he saw me, some of the tension melted away, and he put on a show of a lifetime. He seemed nothing but happy to see me, but I hadn’t forgotten the tension that had just been in his features.
What was running through his head?
As I walked down the aisle, I saw the way his eyes traced every inch of me. My entire body heated at his gaze. After my own parents’ lukewarm response, this was a breath of fresh air.
I tried not to think about everyone’s eyes on me, and I wondered if my family had been right the whole time. I didn’t do well with attention and this was proof.
“ This is the hundred-dollar dress?” Levi asked as I moved close to him.
I shrugged. I’d had it altered to fit me to a T, yet my skin itched, wondering if the people staring at me were finding something wrong with how I looked. “Does it look okay?”
“It doesn’t just look okay. It’s fucking stunning.”
“Thanks,” I said. His words meant more than I wanted to let on.
Our officiant cleared his throat, and I stepped into my position. Our vows were going to be short and to the point. We had agreed on something that represented joining lives, but I didn’t care much for the words themselves, so Levi had taken care of it.
All I could do was half listen as the officiant spoke about love and happiness. I knew I might start crying if I looked out at the crowd.
“Amy.” The officiant’s words were soft, yet I jolted anyway. “Do you take Levi to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
I put what I hoped was a relaxed smile on my face and nodded. “I do.”
“And do you take Amy to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
He didn’t hesitate. “I do.”
“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
I leaned in, heart still skipping a beat as he got close. Our guests clapped, but my eyes were stuck on him. His lips pressed against mine and my brain whited out again, choosing to focus on one stupid sentence.
This is forever.
I pulled away and shook off the thought.
No, brain. This wasn’t forever. This was a plan for revenge. I was tied to a man who only wanted me for my brother. There was nothing else.
But then he smiled so wide his eyes crinkled, and for one second, I could pretend that he wanted this.
That he wanted me .
And it was fake. No one wanted me. Not in the beginning, middle, or end of my story. I’d long since made peace with this fact of my life.
But I didn’t realize how easy it would be to pretend that things were different.