His Sweet Bonnie

BONNIE’S POV “In the sight of God, your family, and these witnesses… I pronounce you husband and—” “Stop!” A loud voice from the crowd cuts off the priest’s speech. Everything goes silent. My head snaps in the direction, but everyone is seated except the videographers. The second a random blonde sprouts up at the extreme, my heart drops. “I have a pre-wedding gift for the couple.” With a stinky attitude, she walks out with an envelope in hand. The once-quiet crowd starts murmuring, half of them start recording. The suspense makes me anxious. “Hey,” Arlo, my few-minutes-to-be husband, reaches for my trembling hands. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” He whispers. How is he so relaxed? That’s Arlo, probably the most organized guy I’ve ever met. He’s my childhood sweetheart, and we dated throughout high school. I want to look into his ocean blue eyes and ease out the tension, but I can't look away from the mysterious lady. “Here,” she hands the envelope to Arlo. “I bet your bride is pretty in all positions.” He frowns. “Who are you?” “How about you find out?” She tilts her head, waiting for him to open his gift. Arlo pulls out several photos from the brown paper, flips the first, and I notice it: the jittering of his fingers, his pulse quickening against his skin. Without thinking, I grab the bulk of my wedding dress, spin over to his side, and I freeze at the photo staring right back at me. I'm half-naked, and in bed with the stranger from last night. I got drunk, only to wake up in his bed, but I was sure nobody saw me. “Babe, this is not what it looks like…” I stammer, beads of sweat break from my forehead. “I was drunk…” My trembling hands want to clutch his. “Nothing happened—” The lady laughs. “Everyone, you’re not missing out. Here’s an honorable photo of our darling bride—” “Please, stop.” I run to her side but it's too late. The uncanny photo is now bold on the big screen. The crowd roars. Camera shots click, everyone is having their moment. Nana and Gregory, my stepbrother, come to my side. The priest silently watches everything unravel. “It was a mistake, Nana.” I collapse in her bosom and she hugs me tightly. Gregory hugs me from behind, and unlike his sister and mother, he isn't mean to me. Following Dad’s sudden death, he happily agreed to walk me down the aisle. “I’m sorry—” “Yes.” Arlo’s firm tone pulls attention. It's the first time he’s speaking since the revelation. “When I said my vows, I meant it. Proceed with the wedding.” He instructs the priest. Shocked, I pull away from Nana’s grip. I'm still in awe when his stone-cold father and visibly angry mother show up on his side. “No, you won't.” She scolds her son. “Mum—” “Marry this commercial slut, and lose everything.” His dad dares him. Ashamed and broken, I let Nana and Gregory lead me to the car. No one says anything, but I feel judged, stupid too. “Can I…” My voice is cracked. “Can I just give him a last kiss?” I beg Nana, scared that once the car leaves, it’ll be the last I’ll see of him. Her painful smile spreads to her eyes as she nods her approval. I get out of the car and bow to block out the triggering camera shots and derogatory questions from the reporters. I can't imagine what the headlines will be about. ‘BONNIE SINCLAIR w***e HERSELF ON HER WEDDING EVE! MEET BONNIE, THE KIND OF WOMAN WHO LETS THEIR MEN RAISE BASTARDS’ I let the tears drop. It's no longer about my reputation, but Arlo’s feelings. On getting inside the old building, he isn't there. I didn't see his car drive out, so I’m guessing he’s probably somewhere crying. I walk around searching for him. About to give up, I stop on hearing his voice from a small room. I hurry for it and stop at the second familiar voice. Scarlett?! “… You weren't man enough to call off the wedding. I’m pregnant for god’s sake!” “It was a mistake—” She burst into laughter. “Since when did deep f*****g and loud moaning become a mistake?” What?! I feel numb. In confusion, I push the door open, startling them. “Babe?” Arlo gasps. But Scarlett, she doesn't even blink a sorry glance. “It was a mistake.” He bolts to my side and grabs my stiff hands. “I was going to tell you.” “When?” I stare into his cool blue eyes and it doesn't feel safe anymore. Tears slide down my cheeks. “You were shagging my sister. “Stepsister!” Scarlett yells. It's the only thing that bothers her. “And quit being dramatic, he deserved better anyway—” “Shut up!” Arlo fires at her before facing me. “Look, we’ve both made mistakes, all we have to do is forgive ourselves and get married.” He bluffs. Now, it's clear why he forgave me so easily. Foolish me with big butterflies in my belly thought he loved me so deeply. “No,” I shake my head vigorously. “I’m the one being labeled a w***e, even though I’m not with a baby.” I wipe off my tears. “Your mistake is costing me everything. If only you had trusted me enough to come clean—” “Babe—” I put a hand up to stop him. Done, I take off the ring, holding back the mixed emotions I’m feeling. “Since you’re a pouch for my leftovers, you can keep him.” I dump the ring in Scarlett’s face. Pained, I grab the bulk of my dress and run out, shiny crystals fall off it, littering the floor. I keep running even after Nana calls out to me. I take a cab home, needing to be locked up in my room and away from everything. On getting home, I don't bother to undress before binging on the alcohol. Last night, I had only taken one shot and I blanked out. A shot Scarlett gave me as a reconciliation plea, and a shot I foolishly accepted! “Damn me!” I take the third and the fourth. My door bursts open, and Nana is standing in front of it. She’s holding a tray with a big mug of her favorite tea, and a foil of chocolate cookies. “My baby.” She rushes in, drops the tray down, and hugs me. We cry together. My tears wash off everything except my freckles. I really want to tell her that Scarlett drugged me, but I just want to heal first. After a while, she pulls back. “I know it’s a lot. Fly to LA. Take a few days off…” She stops me from protesting. “I need you to be in good shape.” It’s my birthday in a week, and this one is special because I’m not just clocking twenty, but I’m filling up my late dad’s position as the CEO. “It’ll be bad for the company. A cheap CEO—” She puts a hand to my lips. “You’re not cheap. Baby, what’s bad for the company is leaving the position vacant for long.” Her hand slides down to my chin. “Don’t worry about the media, they’ll always find hot topics to feed on.” I nod and lean back in her arms. “You’d need it for the hangover.” She persuades me to sip from the tea mug. I feel dizziness, the ache at the back of my head returns. I sip more tea to reduce the alcohol’s effect, but no matter how I try to fight it, my heavy eyelids snap close. *** *** Nothing feels familiar, not the smell of chalky air, or the unfamiliar cold causing thick bumps to lick up my skin. “Nana?” My voice cracks off. With the banging ache returning, I just want to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but the eerie sensations come off strong. My foggy vision slowly clears. It's like I’m in an entirely different world, but it sure doesn't look like LA. Beneath me is an endless black still water, and I’m just floating above it. The shocking reality shatters the last tinge of sleep. I look upward to the terror before me. I'm hanging off a cliff. Tied, and hanging off a freaking cliff! “NANA!” My broken scream echoes in the wild. Raw fear cripples me, and despite my throat being sore, I don't stop screaming. “Oh, god…” My lips quiver. I’m sweating profusely despite the cold. “Breathe. Breathe, Bonnie.” It's hard to stay chill, but I have to. The good thing is that while my legs are bound up to my chest, my hands are free. There’s a rope suspended above me. It’s the only link to the other side. Guessing it's anchored to a rock or anything firm enough, I grab it and push my weight upward. “Ahh!” I gasp when the frail rope thins out. “No, no…” I swiftly grab a pocket rock to sustain my weight. “Okay…” I sniffle, gripping tightly to the rock. “Just a little push.” I stop at the sound of footsteps, a flicker of hope rises in my chest. “Over here!” The rush of adrenaline propels me upward. “Sleeping beauty finally got kissed.” A familiar voice echoes loudly. Stepmom? The footsteps near, casting shadows over me. I look upward to the three figures towering above me; Audrey, and Jackson, my driver since childhood. They’re dressed in black, no smiles spared. “Mum?” The tinge of hope vanishes. “For goodness sake, I’m not your dead mother!” Audrey thunders, stamping her heel on the rock, and raining dust on my face. ‘Of course, my mother won't throw a girl over a cliff while dressed in a $2 suit.’ “Lesson learned, stepmom. Just let me up. Please.” I look from her to Jackson, hoping to reach his soul, the part he hasn't sold to the devil. “Uncle Jack—” “Uncle?” Her laughter rumbles. “Darling, we’re here for your funeral, not to teach you your family tree.” Funeral?! I'm forced to look down at the black water, and the intense fear returns. “What were you thinking? That I’d let you take over my company?” She squats next to me. “I’ve run that s**t for years while you played princess!” I scoff. “You don't even know anything about spreadsheets—” Triggered, she forcefully smacks my fingers against the rock. My veins pop, and pain shoots through my spine. The pocket rock cracks off, causing my weight to crash. “Fine! I don't care about it! Just let me go.” What neither of them knows is that in a few hours I’ll sign a multi-million dollar deal with the anti-cybercrime app I secretly built for two years. It’s enough money to come after them. “Aren’t you so adorable?” She smirks. “Here’s the deal, sign off your 80% inheritance to us, on the grounds of insanity, or… Die” She looks at Jackson and he pulls out a pair of big scissors. My breathing skips. “Deal!” “Here.” She hands me the pen. I pause, apprehensive. “How about you let me up?” I force a laugh to stay chill. “It's two against one, you can't be worried about a tiny girl.” “Fine,” she shrugs as if agreeing to my request, only for Jackson to clip the scissors to the rope. “No!” I screech. “Deal. We have a deal.” She laughs. “Good girl.” Done, she retrieves the document, and following her silent order, Jackson reaches for the rope. Instead of him pulling me up, he starts chopping it. “Please don't—” The rope snaps! “NO!” I come crashing down. “NANA!” It's my last cry because the instant I hit the cold water with a heavy splash, I sink like a ship. ‘I can’t die this way.’ I hold my breath for two chaotic minutes before gasping for air and swallowing the dirty salty water. My lungs expand. ‘I’m sorry, Nana.’ The feeling of terror eases out, replaced by emptiness, and the world goes completely silent. Nana will think I abandoned her.