Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 838 : The End of the Aisle

*Cat*

It was my wedding day.

That was the only thought that went through my head, over and over like a mantra as I rose from bed way too early, but I was too excited to go back to sleep. My first action had been to check my phone for any updates, only for Anna to snatch it away from me just in case I tried to call Elio.

After that, we hopped up, already awake and packed by the time the alarm went off. We were already hours ahead of our previous schedule, and Anna took control by sending texts to everybody.

“You’re the bride. Your job is to look pretty and be happy that you’re getting married. Everything else will be handled by us,” Anna convinced me, or more like bribed me as she handed me my very own breakfast cupcake.

I could tell immediately that it was made by the same bakery that did our wedding cake, and I was thrilled to enjoy my delectable sugary confection as Anna handled everything behind the scenes. I was surprised at how relaxed I felt despite it being one of the biggest days of my life.

But I was still missing Emilia, who was with my mom for the night so I could get a good night’s sleep, and Elio, my beloved groom who was kept apart from me. But I didn’t worry. I’d knock his socks off once he saw me come down the aisle.

By the time the car arrived to pick us up, both Anna and I were waiting outside excited and nervous.

My new dutiful pair of guards–a chatty upbeat woman with a youthful glow named Grace and a middle-aged woman with a thick accent and permanent scowl named Yulia–had arrived exactly on time, taking the luggage from Anna and me easily as they threw it into the trunk.

“Let’s go,” Yulia said bluntly, which I was beginning to learn was just her personality in general.

Elio had insisted on having only women for the wedding day since most of my morning would be spent in a changing room.

There was no way he was going to let any man see me in my wedding dress before him. However, I neglected to tell him that Simona’s assistant, Rory, had helped work on the dress and had seen me in it multiple times.

But he didn’t need to know about that.

At four in the morning, Grace drove with a cheerful attitude, putting on some music from what Anna said was my ‘Celebration Mix’ she’d been building. It included all my favorite songs and more, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We had a long drive to the cathedral, after all.

The sky was still pitch dark, the streets practically empty even for LA, and it gave a lonely liminal feeling, like the world belonged to us alone in this single moment and everything else had disappeared.

It was surreal and beautiful in its own odd way.

Then I was quickly distracted as Anna stopped at my favorite bakery and came back with four dozen bagels and a whole tub filled with their famous cream cheese. I was pacified through food once again as I sunk my teeth into the freshly baked and still hot bagels.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll fit into my dress if I eat that many bagels,” I told her, giving her a confused look at the four boxes sitting on her lap.

“Don’t even think about it.” She sent me a playful but stern look. “It’s for the whole wedding planning team. They’re gonna be working all morning to make sure everything is set up properly, so I thought we’d treat them a little bit.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet,” I gushed, feeling emotional already as I leaned over to pull her into a hug. I knew that most of the preparations had been done yesterday so there wasn’t much to do for the team, but it was thoughtful of Anna anyway.

We arrived at the cathedral in less than an hour, with the wedding planner, Wendy, greeting us at the door. She took me and Anna on a tour of the venue, where the florist was finishing up the flowers freshly delivered this morning. I even got to double-check my bouquet, and the florist helped me as I dipped it in clear-coat glycerin to make it last all day without wilting.

After the dip, the petals had a waxy feel to them, but I didn’t mind too much, not when they looked and smelt so beautiful. Anna was more than happy to pass out bagels, which the team was incredibly grateful for.

The hours passed by before I knew it. Soon, Simona arrived to style the dress, which apparently couldn’t just be thrown on, according to her. She wore a very bold and colorful look that had her standing out immediately.

“Caterina!” Simona arrived in a flurry with Rory by her side, holding out her arms to me as she pulled me into a sudden but welcome hug.

“Hi! Thank you so much for coming,” I gushed, happy that they could make it. Rory stood beside her holding a large bag of whatever Simona would be needing. He smiled kindly at me, waiting patiently until Simona pulled back.

“Only hours left. Where is the groom?” Simona asked curiously.

“I don’t really know. Everybody’s keeping our whereabouts a secret from one another. If I had to guess, on the other side of the cathedral, maybe?” I shrugged, not really worried about it. We weren’t supposed to see each other until the ceremony later anyway.

But still, I did feel a little down. My fingers kept itching to text and call Elio and tell him everything. But without my phone, I was out of luck.

“Ha! Stupid traditions. Today is all about you, darling. If you want somebody to grab that man for a little broom closet rendezvous, then nobody is gonna stop you. Whatever the bride says goes and nobody says differently,” Simona huffed.

“Simona!” I blushed bright red at her meaning and she laughed happily.

“Come, come, one last fitting, and then we’ll be top-tip!” Simona and Anna each grabbed one of my arms, immediately pulling me to the changing rooms that had been set up for us.

“Don’t you mean tip-top?” Rory called out, following behind.

“Don’t correct me, Rory!”

“Sorry, ma’am!”

I laughed, letting myself be dragged along. The changing rooms were quite simple but elegant with mirrors along the walls, beige floors and walls, and a pedestal in the middle of the room that looked exactly like what you could find in Simona’s design studio, though lacking the mannequin.

I tried on the dress that was waiting for me, finding only one little seam that needed to be touched up. Simona got to work on it immediately as I stripped out of it. Mom arrived with Emilia and Olivia, towing the stylist and makeup artist after them. They took one look at my hair and face and looked like they were about to set off on some faraway mission with guaranteed death.

I tried not to be offended.

I took Emilia in my arms, happily spending a little time with her as the hair and makeup began. It was the longest few hours of my life. I was lucky to have Anna and Mom there to talk me through the process or I would’ve gone mad.

“Beauty is pain,” Anna said pointedly, though she also cringed in sympathy when the makeup artist took out the wax strips. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Still, I couldn’t complain about the end result.

My long brown hair was now primed and curled, and the two waterfall braids above each of my ears spiraled down in a cascade to join the rest of the loose but curled hair down my back. It truly gave the illusion of a waterfall. A simple hair comb gifted to me by Olivia was placed as a centerpiece, and what felt like a hundred bobby pins kept it all together.

I felt like a fairy princess.

My makeup took a similar approach, gentle with no harsh black lines but soft tones of brown and white used to create a shiny appearance, like I was a kind of ethereal creature coming down to grace the room.

When paired with my dress and short heels, I felt more beautiful than I ever had in my life.

“You’re stunning,” Anna gushed.

I beamed, happy to share this moment with her.

“Thank you so much for being here for me.” I grabbed her hands, trying not to cry as I might ruin the makeup my artist had just finished. I glanced around at Mom and Olivia as well, smiling brightly. “All of you.”

“Don’t make me cry before the ceremony, Cat.” Mom waved her hand over her face, turning her back like she might explode into tears here.

I gave a wet laugh, but no tears fell. Emilia was in her pretty flower girl dress, one that fit her perfectly and holding the little basket we’d picked out for her.

She had taken her job a little too seriously though as all the flower petals were now on the floor. I pulled her into my arms, holding her as I beamed at her cute little face.

“Ready for Mama and Daddy to get married, Emilia?” I asked gently, not expecting an answer.

But Emilia was her father’s daughter, truly one always filled with surprises. She beamed, her little hands on my cheeks as she cried out, “Mama!”

I cried.

I tipped my stylist and makeup artist with some of the bagels, much to their surprised happiness for doing the last-minute touch-ups I needed.

With only a few minutes left until the ceremony, I held out in the hall, all of my bridesmaids standing before me. Olivia would be carrying Emilia down the aisle while Mia and Natalia had graciously accepted to be my bridesmaids, or matrons really since they were both married. Anna, my maid of honor, would be going right before me and Mom.

I stood nervously just beyond the doors out to the courtyard, holding my bouquet with Mom and Anna right by my side.

I heard the music start up, my heartbeat going faster and I knew just beyond the doors, Elio was waiting for me down at the end of the aisle. Natalia gave me a reassuring smile before she was gestured to enter. Tallon would be waiting up beside Elio and his other groomsmen.

I couldn’t see anything past the doors, only the bright sunlight, but maybe that was for the best. I bit my bottom lip, which Anna quickly put a stop to with a sharp look and instead, I fiddled with the bouquet I held.

Mia went next, whispering a few encouraging words I didn’t quite absorb before she left. She looked lovely, and I knew Alessandro would be standing up front, his eyes brimming with love as he looked at his wife, the same kind of look Elio gave me.

Anna took a deep breath, the next one up and she took my hands, squeezing before she pulled me into a hug.

“I won’t be all mushy ’cause that’s not my style but you and Elio... you’re both meant for this. I’ve been here every step of the way, and I’ll continue to be here. Don’t forget that your future is waiting at the end of the aisle, Cat. So keep going forward.”

I took a shuddering breath, nodding because I wasn’t sure I could speak without bursting into tears. I held her a moment longer before she gave me a confident look and left through the doors.

The doors shut and Olivia turned to me, still carrying Emilia with her flower basket.

“We’re next,” Olivia smiled tearfully. “Elio loves you, more than life itself. Remember that, dear, alright?”

I nodded solemnly, knowing she only spoke the truth.

Olivia carried out Emilia, who immediately dumped her entire basket of flower petals straight onto the floor before even reaching the aisle. I burst into giggles, my eyes blurring with tears that I refused to shed. Olivia gracefully scooped a few up so they could coat the rest of the aisle with them.

It was just Mom and me now.

“You know,” Mom said quietly, wrapping her arm around me as my escort down the aisle. She gave me a watery smile. “Sometimes I think it was your father who led Elio to you. We lost him so suddenly, I just can’t help but think he had some part in the two of you meeting, leading fate to you as he watched over us.”

“I think so, too.” I smiled, unable to stop the one tear that slipped out and gently trailed down my face.

Mom reached out, gently lifting her finger to wipe it away before it could ruin any of my makeup and I smiled, leaning into her touch.

“He would be so proud of you, Cat, and I know if he had been here, he would be overjoyed to be walking you down the aisle.” Her voice broke with emotion and tears slipped down her face, but I only pulled her close to me in a side hug.

“He’d be so jealous of you for walking me down instead.”

Mom laughed, nodding in agreement. She took a deep breath, that firm steel in her spine coming back to her eyes, and the Mom I knew, who’d raised me secretly and loved my father so fiercely, was standing before me.

She raised her hands to pull my veil down, scattering the soft fabric before taking my arm in hers and smiling.

“Ready?”

“Yes,” I sucked in a breath.

The doors opened and we stepped out onto the aisle.