Part two of the wedding :)


"I don't know what kind of a game you're playing," I started quietly, my voice not all too steady. "But I you'd better fucking stop it."

I'd wasted too many tears on him in the past few weeks, there was no way he'd make me cry today.

And with that I turned and flew out of the room.

Chapter 54

About ten minutes later Alice found me at the back of the building, dangerously close to a breakdown. She didn't say anything, just sat next to me and took my hand. Eventually she sighed and stood up, tugging on my hand.

"Come on now, we have to get you dressed."

Time for me to get into the ugliest dress ever made.

Yay.

With a sigh I got to my feet and let her drag me to one of the guest rooms. Katherine, apparently, was getting dressed, which gave me a narrow opening to get my dress on and run my fingers through my hair before I had to walk down the aisle.

In front the bride, that is.

As I walked inside, I was surprised to see Rosalie, Bella, and Nessie in the room as well. Rose looked up from where she was arranging makeup on the vanity table and smiled over at me.

"Well it's about time," she said and walked over to the closet. "Go wash your face before you get into the dress."

Not quite in the mood to argue with her, I did as she told me to, and came back into the room drying my face with a fluffy white towel.

"Okay, get out of your clothes and into your dress," she said and held up an outfit that was most definitely not the piece of crap that Katherine had picked out for me. Oh no, this dress was way on the opposite end of the spectrum. I just stared at it for a second and then looked up at Rosalie's grinning face.

"Problem?" she asked and I just blinked slowly.

"What the hell Rose..."

"Your other dress had an... accident," said Alice and held up the horrid green dress which now had three iron shaped burns on it. The burns were so bad and the fabric was so cheap that it actually started burning away, leaving holes in the garment. I raised my eyebrows and had Nessie giggling.

"Wow..." I said slowly, staring at it.

"Now, you have about ten minutes to get ready, so..." Rose trailed off and held out the dress. Chewing on my bottom lip I took it from her and held it up to my body, looking at my refection in the mirror.

Dear Lord.

._._._._._.

Five minutes later I was back in the same position as before, staring at myself in disbelief.

"What were you guys thinking," I whispered, turning to the side to see the back. I looked over at Alice who was looking kind of misty eyed.

"You are so beautiful," she whispered, holding her clasped hands to her chest. Looking over at Rose and Bella I realized that they had similar expressions on their faces.

"You look like a princess," gushed Nessie and I closed my eyes.

I didn't look like a princess.

I looked like a bride.

"I can't wear this," I said and started to wiggle out of the dress. I barely had the strapless bodice halfway past my breasts before Rose grabbed my wrists.

"Oh no you don't. Do you have any idea how much this dress cost?"

"That's just it Rose!" I snapped, whirling on her. "You spent way too much on a bridesmaid dress. I mean, look at me!" I shouted, turning on the rest of them. "Look at me. I look more like the bride than the bride herself!"

And it was true.

Where Katherine's dress was a fiery red, mine was a burning white. It had a strapless sweetheart neckline and a high-low hem. A band of sequins ran around the bust line. When I walked, the lowest part of the dress dragged over the floor, just like the train of a wedding dress.

"I can't do it," I said, turning to the mirror, horrified to realize that I had a huge lump in my throat. "I can't walk down the aisle, looking like this, seeing him at the altar and knowing that it isn't me he's marrying. I just can't do it Rose."

My voice broke at the end and I immediately found myself in Rosalie's embrace.

"Oh baby girl," she murmured, holding me tightly even as she was careful not to mess up my loosely curled hair. I took a deep breath and forced myself not to cry. That wouldn't help matters at all.

Rosalie took my shoulders and pulled me back gently.

"We're sorry Arabella, we didn't think about how you'd feel about all of this," she said, gently tucking back a curl. "If you want, we could try to find another dress for you to wear?"

She said it so sincerely that I felt bad for not appreciating everything she had done for me.

"No. Don't," I said with a muted sigh as I turned back to the vanity. After fixing the top and staring at myself for a moment I met Rose's eyes in the mirror. "Besides, I may as well give Alexander a good look at what he gave up."

Rosalie's grin was so wide that it was nearly blinding.

"That's my girl."

._._._._._.

So I wasn't surprised when I learned that we were running late because Katherine didn't like the way the hairstylist did her hair. So now the poor woman, the hairstylist that is, was redoing her hair.

Typical Katherine fashion to wait until the last possible second to realize that she didn't like something.

So instead of being in the middle of a ceremony, I was standing in the front foyer of the hall, greeting the late guests and assuring them that they hadn't missed a thing.

I was talking with Tanya Denali when a weird tingly feeling washed over me. Feeling someone's gaze on me, I turned and nearly passed out at what I saw.

Standing across the foyer were my bothers, Erica, and Nathan.

"Oh my God," I whispered. The next thing I knew, I was sprinting across the marble floor in five inch stilettos and into Erica's arms.

"Hey baby," she said, squeezing me hard.

"Oh my God," I simply repeated and was transferred to Nathan for a hug and then passed through my brothers. Eventually I returned to Erica and she took my shoulders, holding me away so she could get a good look at me.

"Holy shit," she said, "you look fucking incredible. Like, wow."

I grinned at her praise and returned the compliment.

"Now, where is that good for nothing leech Alexander? I have some things to say to him," she said and the look on her face said that she wasn't kidding.

"Erica, behave," I warned, giving her a look.

"If it's all the same to you, kid, I'd like to have a word with him myself." The look on Damen's face told me exactly what kind of 'words' he had in mind. And those particular words would probably land him in a hospital.

"You guys need to relax," I said to them all. "No one needs to say anything to him, okay? I'm over it." When they exchanged skeptical looks with one another, I bristled. "I am," I insisted, crossing my arms, "In fact, I even have a date to the wedding."

"You what?!" demanded Damen and I realized that that probably wasn't the best way to break it to them that I may or may not be dating a werewolf now.

"Uh, yeah..."

"Who is he?" asked Luca taking on an offensive stance. I sighed and looked heavenward. Could this get any worse?

But of course I should have known by then that, yes, things could always get worse.

That fact was confirmed when I spotted Atian walking through the front doors and straight towards me.

Erica seemed to notice that my attention had shifted and she turned to look in the direction that I was looking. She didn't seem to like what she saw, because she took my arm in a firm grip.

"Please don't tell me he's the date you were talking about," she said urgently and when I remained silent, she groaned.

"God dammit Arabella Romano, you sure do know how to pick them."

"Careful Erica, or I might think that you don't like me," said Atian with a smirk as he stepped beside me. When his arm when around my waist, I thought Erica would burst a blood vessel with the way she was glaring at him.

"Who the fuck are you?" snapped Damen, crossing his arms.

"A fucking werewolf," muttered Erica and I could practically feel the tension build in the air as my brother's digested that fact.

"You're dating a werewolf," roared Damen, his face turning an odd shade of red. I stepped forward, out of Atian's arms and towards him. My brain raced a mile a minute trying to figure out what to say to prevent the scene that was sure to happen. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything I was saved by Alice, Jasper, and Emmett.

"I'm so glad you all could make it," chimed Alice happily, smiling at my brothers, Erica and Nathan. Jasper was clearly using his powers because everyone seemed to visibly relax.

"Hello Alice, thank you for inviting us," said Antonio politely.

"I know you're all saying your hellos, but we need Arabella. The ceremony is about to start. Jasper and Emmett can show you to your seats."

"Sounds great. See you later you guys," I said quickly and grabbed Alice's hand, dragging her away. Once we were out of view, I sighed and slumped against the wall.

"What was I thinking, bringing Atian as my date..." I mumbled to myself and Alice didn't say anything for a while.

"I think you were trying to make a point," she said quietly, "that you were okay and that you had moved on..." I sighed, too weary to deny it.

I didn't love Atian.

I mean, maybe I liked him to a certain extent, but even that was only because of the attention he gave me after Alexander broke my heart.

I sighed again and rubbed my forehead. I sent him mixed signals and gave him the wrong message, and he didn't deserve that. He was so nice and supportive to me and I just used him to make myself feel better.

God, I was such a bitch...

"Arabella... we really have to go..." she said and I nodded slowly. Straightening up, I brushed a hand over my dress absently. It was then that I realized that Katherine probably didn't know about the little change in my outfit.

Great.

Katherine was going to go crazy.

._._._._._.

Five minutes later I was sitting in the brides room, listening to her curse and yell about my change in wardrobe.

"... since the beginning you've been trying to ruin..."

She kept on ranting, but I had long ago started to tune her out. She came storming out of the bathroom just then and I found myself struggling to keep an envious look off my face.

She looked stunning.

Her platinum hair was curled and fixed into a low side bun, and her make-up was impeccable. The dress looked even better on her now than it did when she tried it on at the store, if that was even possible.

The scarlet satin hugged her perfect figure and left nothing to the imagination. As she posed in the doorway, the long slit in the front of the dress parted to reveal a long, slim leg.

And in that moment I infinitely hated her more than I did before, which was saying something.

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. Slowly it opened and Esme popped her head in.

"We're ready for you guys," she said and it was only then that Katherine shut up. Her scowl turned into a sultry smirk as she stared at herself in the mirror one more time.

"Well, little Arabella," she said, meeting my eyes in the mirror, "it's time for me to get married." And with a smirk, she sashayed by me and out the door.

"So this is it," I said, standing up and giving Esme a smile that I didn't feel at all. She gave me a long, sympathetic look and I longed to just break down and cry in her arms. Seeming to have caught on, she came into the room and pulled me into her arms.

"Everything will be okay," she said with such certainty that I almost believed her. With a quiet sigh and another smile I picked up my bouquet and walked out the door.

._._._._._.

"So all you have to do is walk along the white carpet, down the stairs, and through the garden," Mike, the manager of La Belle was explaining. "Initially you're going to stop just behind where the bride would stand, which is the customary position for the maid of honour. But since you're also the best man, er, woman, you're going to have to move again once the bride is at the altar. Once Katherine reaches her spot, you are going to shift and stand in between Alexander and her; opposite to the minister."

I continued to nod as Mike went on and on about what I was supposed to do. Truthfully, I didn't hear much beyond 'walk along the white carpet'. Katherine, Mike and I were standing in the grand ball room, out of the view of all the guests set up outside in the garden. Though they couldn't see us, we could see them. I took a deep breath.

I was so dang nervous that I thought I would throw up right on the white carpet that Mike kept on talking about.

He poked his head out through the entrance and nodded at someone.

"Okay. The groom is in place, it's time for you to go," he said to me and my hands tightened on my bouquet of white roses. When I didn't move, Mike frowned at me.

"Hey are you okay-"

"She's fine. Go on now darling," said Katherine with a smirk and gave me a not so gentle shove through the curtains that separated the ball room from the outdoor garden.

So that's how I made my entrance at my ex-boyfriend's wedding; stumbling through the curtains. It was a damn good thing that nobody noticed me until after I'd composed myself. Clearing my throat, I walked down the stairs, keeping my eyes on my feet. Once I reached the bottom, however, I knew that I'd have to look up.

The moment I'd been dreading the most was happening.

But there was nothing I could do about it.

So with a deep breath I lifted my gaze and looked directly into the golden eyes of the man who broke my heart.

Alexander's POV

Oh my God.

Oh my fucking God.

I was going to kill Rosalie.

When I first found out that she and Alice had plans to swap the original maid of honour dress for a different one, I never in a million years thought they would pick that.

Fuck.

She looked gorgeous.

I mean, she always looked gorgeous, but in that dress, she looked drop dead beautiful. She looked amazing.

She looked like a bride.

And all of a sudden the ache in my chest grew to a point when I felt as though I needed to sit down or pass out.

I told myself to look away, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away from her. My eyes seemed to hungrily drink in every single inch of her. From her high heeled shoes, to her mile long legs, to her sexy curves and up to that killer face of hers.

Oh God...

I took long deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. In an attempt to distract myself, I started to zone in on the thoughts of the people around me.

Bad idea.

Everyone was thinking about her.

I heard envy, jealousy, confusion, admiration.

It was driving me wild, especially the thoughts of a certain werewolf who was picturing her naked and in his bed.

Damn, how I would love to wrap my arms around his neck and snap it.

Thoughts of Atian quickly turned into thoughts of Arabella and I couldn't help but focus on her again.

I'd never given much thought to marriage, plenty of good reasons for that. But as I watched Arabella walk down the aisle towards me in that pretty white dress I couldn't help but realize that she was the one I'd want to spend the rest of eternity with.

Arabella's POV

The way he was looking at me was making my knees shake and my heart flutter.

Damn him for still being able to do that to me with just one look.

With my heart thudding painfully in my chest, I slowly made my way down the white carpet and towards Alexander. The closer I got to the altar, the harder I had to fight the urge to just turn around and run back down the aisle.

Eventually I was standing across from Alexander, and for a second I felt as though I was the woman he was going to be marrying today. That thought was quickly thwarted when Edward started to play 'here comes the bride', signalling Katherine, the real bride, to come down the aisle.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure clad in bright red step out from behind the curtains, but I just couldn't seem to look away from Alexander long enough to fully turn to her.

What was even more surprising was the fact that he wasn't gazing hungrily at his bride-to-be like I thought he would be doing. Instead he was watching me with a look that I could only describe as longing.

But why?

Suddenly I remembered the way he had kissed me on the balcony a little while earlier. At the memory my heartbeat picked up and my cheeks flushed slightly. That hungry gaze I was talking about before flashed in his eyes now, except it wasn't directed at Katherine.

It was directed at me.

I watched as his eyes dropped to my lips and for a second I thought that he would grab me and kiss me right there, in front of everyone. I didn't have the chance to find out though, because Katherine reached the altar just then and sent me a frigid look before stepping directly in front of me, effectively blocking me from Alexander's view.

With a quiet sigh I turned to look out at the guests. The Cullen's, my brothers, Erica, Nathan and Atian were all seated on one side while everyone else was seated on the other. My brother's were the only humans in attendance, excluding myself, little Nessie and three werewolves.

Speaking of those werewolves, I noticed that Erica and Atian were having a conversation. Obviously, from where I was standing I couldn't hear what was being said, but Atian was smirking and Erica looked like she was going to punch his lights out.

Not good.

"Arabella," said Carlisle, drawing back my attention. Realizing that I wasn't in the right position, I quickly moved to stand in between the bride and groom, across from Carlisle. After sending me a soft smile he cleared his throat and began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved-"

"You son of a bitch!"

At the sound of Erica's voice I spun around just in time to see her fist connect with the side of Atian's face, sending him flying to the side and onto the white carpet. She didn't stop there, but advanced on him, yanking him to his feet by the collar of his light blue shirt.

"Erica?!" I shouted, horrified at her behaviour. When she didn't seem to hear me, I dropped my bouquet and ran to where they were. She lunged for him again, but I caught her arm, forcing her to either calm the fuck down or hit me. She chose the former, but continued to glare down at Atian, who went down after being punched again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at her and when she didn't answer, I let her go to kneel by Atian's side.

"Are you okay?" I asked, touching his rapidly swelling jaw gently.

"Get away from him," snapped Erica and I looked over to glare at her.

"I don't know what the hell-"

"He's playing you," she said simply and had the words backing up in my throat.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"He's playing you Arabella," she repeated so gently that it made my chest hurt. I looked over at Atian, who was sitting up now.

"I'm not. She's lying," he said, reaching out to me, but I shifted out of reach.

"W-what do you mean...?" I asked Erica, a sinking feeling beginning to weigh down on me.

"Arabella," she said gently then sighed.

"It's Atian's fault that Alexander broke up with you."


:O Oh snap.

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Peace, love, and Erica.

Xoxo thedarkangel22