The Misplaced Bride

Aurelia's POV Is this a wedding or a freaking fashion show? Everywhere I look, every corner and every face, people are dressed up like they are about to step on the runway. Diamonds flash under chandeliers. Silky and velvet carpets against the marble floors. Damn. I feel like I've walked into the pages of a luxury magazine instead of the wedding venue I was supposed to enter. I kept moving forward even though I am thoroughly underdressed. So painfully underdressed. I am not here to be a part of this. I am here to confront the man who abandoned me and get my answers. My mother on the death bed told me just one word before the heart monitor went flat. Ashcroft. And it took me a week to realise that she was talking about Ashcrofts who are the billionaire dynasty of the country. They are celebrities in their own way. Worshipped and feared. The interesting part is the heir's wedding today. There is a swarm of young women outside the gates chanting his name like he is a God. A few of them even have tears because he is getting married. Aren't they being a little too dramatic? I don't know one familiar face here. I've only seen them in magazines and on the news here and there but I don't even know what they sound like. I only know the main faces of The Ashcrofts but for some reason I cannot find them. How do I find them and explain why I am here? I don't even know how my mother got herself the wedding invitation to this wedding. The invitation itself had a gold coin strapped to it as a token of whatever that is. I mean, I could get a hundred of these invitations and become rich without doing a damn thing. I sat at one of the table in a corner and scanned to see at least one familiar Ashcroft face that I had seen. It is strange that I don't find an Ashcroft in the Ashcroft wedding. My phone rung just when I was about to give up. Maybe coming here was a bad idea. I was fine doing my thing and running my own small business and looking after my mother. She is not here now but I should have kept things to myself and stayed where I was. This billionaire wedding is going to be a s**t show anyways. I mean, who in their right minds wouldn't even know who the bride is? I'm hearing whispers of at least ten names and yet none can say for sure. I stepped out of the hall for a second to answer the call. "Any luck?" My best friend Ameya asked me. "No. But I did step into a fashion show and you would have cringed at everything you saw here," I told her making her groan. "Be careful, Rey. It's the Ashcrofts you are dealing with. They are not us," she warned me. I know they are not us. I know they have the city at their doorstep. The city practically kneels when they blink. But all I want are answers and I'll be out of this place before they can notice. "Excuse me miss?" A lady in her early thirties walked up to me. She is sweating. She is about to have a panic attack if she doesn't sit down and take a deep breath. "Yes?" I asked her and she was already shaking like a leaf. "Is this Aurelia?" She asked me again. "Umm.. yes?" I asked her back. Who would even know my name here if all places? But the moment the words slipped out of my mouth, everything changed. The lady visibly relaxed but she held my hand before I could say another word. "Excuse me?" I asked her but she was walking to the direction I wasn't supposed to head to. "Excuse me miss. Or missus. Or whatever. I am here for the wedding," I told her trying to wiggle my way out of her grip. "Yes, ma'am. That's where we are going and judging your appearance I realised this is not the attire for the wedding," she said. Ah. Makes sense. I am underdressed and I damaged the dress code of the glam show. "But I don't think this is necessary," I tried to reason. We walked through the door into a room. And the entire room is in panic mode. What's happening? "Found her!!" The lady screamed and there were tears of joy everywhere. Okay. What? I was escorted to a chair in front of the dressing table. I looked at myself in the mirror and even though I am underdressed, I still look pretty. I still look good. So what's the deal.? Before I can say no, four of the ladies here started working on my face, hair, hands and legs. Wow is this how things work with the billionaires.? Honestly, how does mom know the Ashcrofts and why the heck are they treating me this way? The door opened again and this time, the familiar Ashcroft face is here. It's Nicole Ashcroft. Wife of Edmund Ashcroft and she walks in like she owns every inch of this place. People included. "Things are finally falling into place," she whispered as she looked at me. I didn't say a thing. I was too busy admiring her. I knew she was beautiful but from this close? She is drop dead gorgeous! "I don't think I should be here, Mrs. Ashcroft?" I told her and she looked at me with her confused blue eyes. "What do you mean you shouldn't be here? Your mother promised you to us," she said. And that's when my heart dropped into my stomach. My mother promised me to them? Was that why she said Ashcroft when she was about to die? Was that freaking how she got the wedding invitation where the bride's name was just mentioned as A? The A in the bride's name stands for Aurelia? I came here with one question and now, I have a million of other questions in my head. "Lucien Ashcroft is already waiting at the altar. Finish this up soon. We don't have time," she said with no expression and walked away. I am going to marry Lucien Ashcroft?