Chapter 1 My wedding day

(Ariel's POV)

Ariel stood before the mirror in her big and very spacious hotel room, she readjusted her bridal veil for what felt like the hundredth time, she was very nervous. She had worn a very simple but extremely beautiful and elegant dress for this day. Today was going to be the happiest day in her life; she was very sure of it. It was her wedding day, and she was going to get married to the only man she had ever loved.

Ariel had met Dave at her high school. He was tall and really handsome. He was also good at sports and was the most popular guy at their school. She had never thought they would be together because he was loved by all the girls and he had dated all the most popular and sexy girls in school. She had hidden her feelings for him until one day she mustered up the courage to ask him out and he said yes.The rest of their journey had been history. She was totally in love with him. She remembered the day Dave had asked her to marry him. She wasn't expecting it, She was taken aback by his proposal but immediately said yes.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the floral scent from the bouquet resting on the dresser. The flowers in the bouquet were peonies and white roses interwoven together. It was the bouquet she had dreamt of since she was a little girl, and now it was hers; she had made her dream come to pass.

She looked at her reflection, and she couldn't help but love the way the uncomplicated and sophisticatedly beautiful gown hugged her curves perfectly. She was not dramatically beautiful, but she knew she was very good-looking and pretty. The flowery satin skirt fell to the floor. She immediately felt a big surge of excitement mixed with some nervous energy.

A smile crept onto her lips at the thoughts of her life with Dave, the man she believed would be her companion for life.

She replayed in her mind all those moments they shared-the intimate moments that had brought them to this. She had been the one to plan their first date, dinner in a very quiet, small Italian restaurant that had a certain charm. The laughter and stolen glances, he kept looking at her like she was the only girl in the world. That made her fall for him even a thousand times more.

The last time, she saw herself in the mirror and held her tears back. Her parents weren't around to witness her big day. Death had snatched them. Yet, almost ten years now, the wound is still so very fresh. She remembers like yesterday the day when everything just came crashing down in her life.

It was shortly after her twelfth birthday, her parents had gone out for their anniversay dinner. She had waited by the table for them while the sitter they had hired to look after her was fast asleep on the couch. She remembered waiting up till like eleven pm waiting to hear the sound of her parents car in their huge driveway. She remembered having a bad feeling in her guts, her stomach felt heavy and she felt like she was going to pass out.

She immediately went to wake the sitter and just as she was about to explain how she was feeling to her, the sitters phone rang. She remembered holding her breath as the sitters expression changed from that of confusion to that of comprehension making the phone drop to the ground. The sitter immediately took her hands, grabbed the keys to her small car and drove as fast as she could to the hospital.

Ariel could not ask any question because she was so scared of what she was going to hear. She was pretty smart and knew immediately after the call that something was terribly wrong. She had been saying prayers just the way her grandmother had taught her but it didn't work. When they got to the hospital, her parents were already dead. It was later explained that her parents had been hit by a drunk driver and had sustained terrible injuries and unfortunately they both couldn't make it. She had cried her eyes out for days and weeks. Being the only child she was sent to live with her dad's younger brother who had inherited all her parent's properties.

The first few months she had lived there had been good she was treated right but the following months and years to come after that were hell for her, She was turned to a maid and when she was eighteen she left and moved to California. The only friend she had was Mia who was back home. She had moved to California at eighteen with Dave who had come for school. She followed him and got a job to save up money to take herself through college. She did not have the money to go to a four year college so she had gone to a two year college and studied business management unlike Dave who had gone to a four year college.

She snapped herself back to reality. She arranged her dress then rubbed the heart-shaped pendant of the priceless necklace she was wearing. It had been the necklace her mum was wearing when she died, and it had been given to her in the hospital before they took the bodies of her parents away.

"I miss you mum and dad, i wished you were here, your little Arielis doing big things" She said aloud still rubbing the necklace.

She picked up her purse and saw a message notification from her phone. It was from Mia.

"Congratulations on your big day babess!!"

She smiled as she replied Mia's text. She envisioned that her day would be a day filled with love, laughter, and happy tears. But beneath her excitement, a nagging doubt crept in, whispering questions she had avoided. Had she truly considered every aspect of she and Dave's relationship? Her heart racing as she shook her head, trying to brush the thoughts aside.