Chapter 1 1. Warning

Serena Vale

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"I promise you, Rena. Everything is going to be fine," my best friend, Lila assured me. "We've checked, double-checked, triple-checked, and even quadri-checked. Everything is perfect."

"Are you sure?" I couldn't help but question. It was my big day. I'd been imagining it forever. If anything were to go wrong that day, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the day.

"I'm sure," she said, taking my hands in hers to stop them from fidgeting. "You'll be fine. Your wedding will be the best one anyone in attendance has ever been to."

"Thank you, Lila. I know you've been barely putting up with me in the past few weeks."

Lila chuckled, sitting down on the couch. "It'll all pay off soon. By the night after tomorrow, you'll be the wife of one of the most eligible bachelors in New York. Well, he wouldn't be a bachelor anymore."

I laughed, joining her on the couch. I'd heard a lot of people describe Douglas as charming, successful, and confident. But to me, he was the man who brought me coffee when I worked late. He was the man who fell asleep reading on the couch next to me. He was the man who assisted me in applying for a new job even though he could take care of all the bills. He was the man who made me believe that love wasn't so complicated.

I checked my phone. There was no text from him yet. He was likely having a meeting that ran late. But that was okay. This was his last day at work before I would have him all to myself for the next few days. Our rehearsal dinner was tomorrow. The wedding, the day after, and we'd be leaving for our honeymoon right after that. I couldn't wait.

"Still at work?" Lila asked when she saw me peering into my phone.

I nodded.

"That's love for you. You plan a wedding and he's still busy thinking about spreadsheets."

I laughed, pretending I wasn't just a little bit affected by it. "At least one of us has the brain cells to pay the bills."

"You're saying that like you don't have a job waiting for you when you come back from your honeymoon."

"I can't rely on him for everything."

"True."

Lila, standing tall at 5 '9, was a well-known model. There wasn't a runway she hadn't walked on. She was well sought after yet she had been sparing most of her time on me these past weeks, helping me prepare everything for the wedding even if Douglas had hired a wedding planner. She was an angel sent from above. She claimed she was helping me because she was free but I doubted anyone like Lila would be free for three weeks straight. She most likely had to cancel a lot of things to come through for me.

The only way to repay this favor was to be there for her too when she wanted to get married.

I doubted that would be anytime soon though. She had a new man every month and was unapologetic about it.

By the time Lila left, the sun had gone down and by the time the front door opened again, it was past midnight. Still in the living room, I stood up automatically, a smile on my face. I was just about to doze off. Thankfully, I met him before I slept.

Douglas stepped in, his suit hanging on one arm. His blonde hair was tousled as though he had run his hand through his hair too many times. His eyes were tired and he looked surprised to see me. "Still up, baby?"

"I keep thinking about our big day," I said honestly with a grin, taking his suit from him as he took off his shoes. "Couldn't sleep so I decided to wait for you."

He kissed me briefly, then set his suitcase on the counter. I watched him undo his tie and his cufflinks. As he rolled his sleeves up, I poured him a glass of water, handing it over to him.

"Are you excited?"

"About marrying you?" He grinned. "Of course, I am."

*Your mom called me earlier," I told him as we discussed the schedule for the next day. "She wanted to confirm the suite at the hotel."

"I told her to relax. She's treating it like a royal wedding."

I laughed. Douglas' mother adored him. He was the only son out of five kids. By extension, she adored me too. She was the second-happiest person about my wedding. I was the first. "Well, you're her only son. Let her have her moment."

He walked forward and wrapped his hand around me. "You're the moment." He squeezed my shoulders reassuringly, dropping a kiss on my forehead. "You're my moment."

"And you're my moment." I rested my head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat against my ear. After being together for two and a half years, his words still managed to make butterflies erupt in my stomach.

We stood together in silence for a while before Douglas finally spoke. "Let's get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us."

He was right. The next two days were going to be more stressful than the past weeks but it would be worth it. It would be worth it to walk down the aisle straight to the man I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

He kissed me goodnight, mumbling something about early meetings and seeing me at dinner tomorrow, before he eventually drifted to sleep. He must have had a long day with how easily he crashed, not bothering to even take a shower or completely take off his work clothes.

I turned off the lights and lay awake a little longer, my heart full with happiness. Everything was ready. The dress. The flowers. The vows. I couldn't wait for the next day to come.

If only I knew that was the beginning of something very new.

A warning would have been nice at least.