Already Married

001

The room was peaceful, the smell of excitement filled the atmosphere.

Outside, the sun was at its peak, its rays peeking through the opened curtains and settling on a graceful figure staring at her reflection in the mirror.

The sunlight did justice to her beautiful brown skin, average height, with soft pink lips painted in gloss and light makeup on her face.

Her hair was packed into a bun, and a necklace — a gift from Dylan, which he'd given her on their second date — hung at her neck. It wasn't expensive, but it carried their love.

Tehila traced her palms over the pattern of her wedding dress. It wasn't big and beautiful like her younger self had imagined it would be, but it was perfect.

Something Dylan had picked for her himself. Tehila let out a beautiful smile, checking herself out in the mirror.

"Today, I am marrying the man of my dreams," Tehila whispered to herself.

Her smile brightened with each second.

"Beautiful," Tehila complimented herself.

The wedding would start in the next four minutes. Unfortunately, her family wasn't here to witness the most precious day of her life — well, they'd asked for it.

What were they expecting when they opposed her marriage and demanded she break up with Dylan, all because they didn't want him?

A soft knock echoed from the door. Tehila's breath caught in her throat.

"Come in," Tehila answered, softly.

She was still checking herself out when the door opened and her hired maid of honor walked in.

Tehila started talking almost immediately, unaware of the conflicting emotion on the hired maid of honor's face.

"How do I look? Perfect, right?" Tehila asked, still staring at her beautiful self in the mirror.

"I look good in the dress, Dylan told me that the day he picked it. He said I looked elegant in it," Tehila said.

Tehila slowly turned to face the maid of honor.

"It's time..." Her words were cut off, seeing the look on the maid of honor's face.

"What's wrong?" Tehila questioned. Already feeling anxious, she used her right hand to caress her open shoulder.

"What happened?" Tehila asked again, staring keenly at the maid of honor, her expression falling from excitement to confusion.

Her breath was already coming out harshly, her mood already changing without knowing what was happening.

The maid of honor swallowed, her sweaty palms stretching as she swallowed an invisible lump that formed in her throat.

"Why are you acting dumb? I asked a f*****g question," Tehila snapped, before she could hold back.

Already pissed by the lack of answer from the hired maid of honor.

"Mhm. Madam, I was sent to inform you — I don't know how to say this without pissing you off," the maid of honor confessed.

Tehila rolled her eyes.

"I am already pissed, you're wasting time, we're already late, miss," Tehila reminded her.

"The wedding won't continue," the maid of honor stated.

Tehila raised an eyebrow at her, frowning in confusion.

The maid of honor looked away, avoiding Tehila's gaze.

"The groom has left. He said the wedding should be rescheduled for tomorrow, it was an emergency. The guests are already leaving the church," the maid of honor dropped the bomb.

"I am sorry," the maid of honor spoke in a whisper, watching how Tehila's face went from brown to pale in an instant.

Watching how all the color drained from Tehila's face. The way her mouth opened and her breath became loud and raspy — it scared the maid of honor so much she had to take a step back.

"Dylan!!!!" Tehila roared.

Her nails digging into her palms, breathing heavily — a stark contrast to the rage built up inside her.

"Why the f**k would he do this to me!!!" Tehila burst out.

"Where the f**k is my phone!" Tehila questioned, searching around the room.

She spotted her phone on the hotel bed and reached for it.

She dialed Dylan's number and it rang, but he didn't pick up. She ended the call and dialed again, and again, and again. The same thing.

On the sixth ring, the call went to voicemail.

Tehila shook her head frantically. "No! No! Dylan cannot do this to me!! This is our day!! My day! Why the f**k is he not picking up my calls." Tehila barked.

She tried the number a seventh time, and this time the call didn't even connect — like it was out of service.

Tehila stared at the phone screen for almost three heartbeats before bursting into laughter.

The maid stared at her in awe. Was she really laughing after being abandoned on her wedding day?

"That motherfucker, after everything I did, after all the work I put into us, he can't just walk out on our wedding day. What the hell does he take me for?" Tehila questioned, to nobody in particular.

The door opened and Dylan's mother walked in, along with his brother and his brother's wife.

"Mother!" Tehila called, and rushed to Dylan's mother.

"Tell me this is a prank, Dylan can't possibly walk out on the day of our wedding. I called him countless times and he isn't picking up," Tehila complained in one breath.

She was so drenched in panic that she didn't notice the look on Marriam's face.

"Can you not touch me?" Marriam, Dylan's mother, pushed Tehila's hand off her arm.

Tehila swallowed, hearing Marriam's tone.

"You are too dramatic," Kristina, Dylan's brother's wife, said with a sneer.

Tehila took a step back, the panic slowly disappearing from her face.

"I am dramatic! I am too dramatic! Are you for real?" Tehila yelled in Kristina's face.

Kristina frowned, wiping what looked like spit from her face.

"Girl, chill, your saliva is all over my face," Kristina said with a frown.

Tehila folded her palm into a fist beside her.

"Are you guys serious right now? Why are you so calm? Your son, brother, and brother-in-law just disappeared from his wedding — my wedding — and you have the guts to look chill about it!" Tehila exploded.

Marriam frowned.

"You are so inconsiderate, don't push the blame onto us for being calm. Are we supposed to be panicking like you? Huh?" Marriam questioned.

Tehila's eyes widened.

"The wedding was canceled for a reason. Rachel got into an accident and Dylan had to rush there, you know how she is. Dylan is the only one who can calm her down and take her to the hospital. The wedding will be rescheduled for tomorrow, just go home and come back tomorrow. There isn't much need for this ceremony anyway, you can just go straight to the marriage bureau," Reagan, Dylan's brother, encouraged.

Tehila stood like a statue, eyes wide open in shock. The veins in her neck were visible, eyes red with pure rage.

"The f**k did you just say to me!" Tehila roared, and the four people in the room had to take a step back in shock.

The hired maid of honor took the opportunity to escape the room. Clearly they weren't expecting such outrage.

"How dare you say that to my face. He canceled our wedding for Rachel! The adopted sister?" Tehila laughed.

"Watch your tongue, you..." Marriam looked her up and down. "w***e!" Kristina continued for her.

"No, you watch your mouth, you money-hungry bastards," Tehila shot back.

"I paid for this wedding, I paid for everything in this whole f****d-up wedding, and you have the guts to tell me to go home and do what — forget about the ceremony? Reagan, have you gone nuts?

Dylan canceled our wedding, what was supposed to be my day, our day, for his adopted sister," Tehila said.

"Look, Kristina — Rachel is our sister, even if she was adopted," Reagan cut in.

"Right, she's your sister. That's why you should have gone instead of Dylan, she's your sister too. Why is she always after my man! Why? And none of you see a problem with that. Instead you treat her like the victim, all the time," Tehila said in one breath.

"You are overreacting," Reagan frowned.

The air in the room seemed to burn Tehila's skin the second those words left Reagan's lips.

She was overreacting. How come she'd never seen it coming, or was she completely blinded by love?

No, she'd seen it coming. She'd believed them when they said it was just a habit, that Rachel would get over it. But all of it was a lie — it wasn't a habit, it was a f*****g PATTERN!!!!!

"I am overreacting, huh?" Tehila nodded slowly.

Marriam exhaled.

"I told you, you're getting so worked up about this. Dylan just needs to get her to the hospital and he'll be yours after, okay," Marriam said.

"Yeah. Stop acting like Rachel is here to take your man from you," Kristina added.

Reagan sighed.

"Go home, wipe your makeup, and forget this ever happened. It will all just be a day," Reagan said.

Almost immediately, a laugh escaped Tehila's lips, sending a chill down their spines.

She nodded, using her tongue to touch the inside of her mouth. "I will wipe off my makeup and forget about all of this, right after I wipe out today," Tehila spoke calmly.

A calmness that sent unease through their veins.

"You f****d with the wrong person. I gave everything for your useless son, and this is how he repays me. Take off your clothes," Tehila suddenly said, going for their clothes.

"The f**k is wrong with your head. Have you gone mad," Kristina barked, shifting back in fear.

"I paid for everything concerning this wedding, including your clothes, down to our rings. Refund all of my money back to me, or I'm suing for theft," Tehila said.

"You wanted to give me a panic attac

k? I will show you hell," Tehila said.

With that, she barged out of the room, bumping her shoulder into Marriam's.

"Mother, are you okay?" Kristina immediately rushed to Marriam.