I woke up and my eyes were puffy and heavy. I barely got two hours of sleep. But today there isn't anything I can do about it. This is will be my life for the next week and a half. Having to see hi, every day. He and Amber kissing and loving each other. Today the royal family had to go wedding dress shopping with whoever was getting married. And the boys are going tuxedo shopping, well men I guess. All of these events are mandatory, I can't get out of them. I slowly got up and my head started pounding. I grabbed some Advil and swallowed it and went and took a hot shower. I let my hair air dry and then put it into two french braids with rubber bands at the ends. I put on a pair of light wash skinny jeans and a navy blue mock turtle neck and thick white cardigan. I put on some mascara and lip gloss, the got some and I found a pair of an all-white vans. I thought last night lasted forever, today definitely will. I went through this maze of a house and finally found the kitchen. I grabbed a granola bar and some apple juice to fill me up for now. After wedding dress shopping Amber wants us all to go to brunch afterward.
I heard a horn honk outside and grabbed my bag and my phone and walked outside. Taylor was outside waiting in her car for me. "Hurry! Bridal shop is downtown and its a 35-minute drive!" I ran to the car and hopped in the front seat. Augusta wasn't in the car. "What are you doing here?" I asked her as she started driving. "Augusta has work today, so I am here in your place. And yeah we aren't married yet but I still technically count." I looked at her and gave her a smile. "Well, I'm glad your here! It's gonna make today a whole lot easier." I sighed and leaned my head back. "You left early last night, but I went to your house and you weren't there." I didn't want to give her too much detail I don't need to be lectured right now. "Yeah, I just wanted to have some time to myself and recover. I should have called and told you I was okay."
"No, it's okay. You can make your own decisions. Bell." All of a sudden my phone rang and I saw that it was Akoni and I smiled. "Hello?" I said to him. "My beautiful Bell, I miss you." He sighed in the phone, I could hear that he was tired. "I miss you. Shouldn't you be asleep?" I asked him for giving a light laugh. "How can I sleep when you're not here? It's Thursday. Thursdays are our days." A goofy smile appeared on my face and I shook my head. I looked and I saw Taylor giving me a weird look but she just kept driving. "I know, it's normally my favorite day of the week," I told him. "Usually? What changed?" I could sense A little hurt in his voice. "Because I am not with you. Just think the next Thursday we will be together again. But hey, I don't want to keep you up. Get some rest, my love." I heard him yawn and I know he didn't want to hang up but he needed his rest, he had a pack to run. "Of course, have a good day beautiful." His voice was low and raspy and sweet. "Goodnight." I hung up the phone and I could see Taylor with this big goofy look on her face.
"Who is that? Who is Akoni?" She asked me nudging me. "He is a close friend." I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh yeah? How close? Doing the deed close?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "Doing the deed? What are we 16? Yes, we have sex. It's casual, nothing serious." I shrugged. "It definitely sounds serious. Whether he admits it or not, he is in love with you!" We both started laughing. "Look, even if that was the case. If he meets his mate, I don't want my heart broken again. I like spending time with, and we do get along great. He definitely made living in Hawaii easier. Plus he is an alpha, and you know what that means." I winked at her. "Big dick." If I had water in my mouth I am sure I would have to spit it out. She did not. "TAYLOR! YOU HAVE A MATE!" I yelled at her laughing. "What? Look Amber does her THANG! But I remember what it was like to be straight. I think I still am, but just gay for Amber. It's complicated. But am I wrong?" She smirked at me and I just laughed it off.
We made it to the shop and there were limos parked out front. The whole place was rented for the day and each dress was made by designers all over the territory, hoping that Amber would pick their dress. Especially since she is going to be the wife of a beta. Who I was born to be. We got out of the car and walked into the building. it was all decorated so nicely and all of the salespeople were there. "Right this way." We followed a lady to the private floor and there were wedding dresses lined up everywhere. They were all so beautiful. "Look, I know that you said you and Akoni aren't serious, but they don't know that," Taylor whispered in my ear. She's right, I can play this off. I saw Rhen, Kailani, and a lot of Amber's friends and family. Then I saw her walk out of a hallway with her mom and my mom. I guess the worst part about all of this is that I couldn't even talk to my mom about any of whats going on. She looked over to me and I saw regret in her eyes and sadness. But I knew it was all just guilt and it wasn't real.
I followed Taylor to the couches and joined Rhen and Kehlani. Kailani and I never really talked much, we hung out in the same group but it just didn't click between us, at least not yet. "Hey, guys!" Rhen yelled and wrapped her arm around me. "Hey, Rhen." I loved Rhen's energy, it was always so contagious and it was something I needed. "We barely got to talk last night, and I feel bad but you will have my undivided attention today." She gave me a sweet smile. But before I could respond Amber walked out and stood on the lifted section. She had a glass of champagne and clinked on the glass to get our attention. "Ladies! I'm getting married. You know after Vincent and I pushed back our wedding date twice, I was scared that this day would never come. And here it is! We have 4 hours for me to find my perfect wedding dress. So, let's get started!" The girls I didn't know cheered and the way my mom looked at her was with such adoration and pride. A look I've never gotten.
Amber started walking toward me and I gave her a weird look. "Bellamy, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked me. I just nodded and followed her. She was probably going to rub in my face how she got 'my man' and all that crap. "Look, we have history, but let's put that behind us. Whether we like it or not after Saturday you and I are going to be family. My sister in law. Okay?" I couldn't tell if she was being sincere or condescending. But whichever one it was I didn't like it. I just need to play along until all this is over. "Yep, family," I said and gave her a tight smile. "Okay! Great!" She walked away and started looking through dresses with her family. I walked back to the couch and sat down. I saw Taylor, Rhen, and Kehlani were looking at wedding dresses. I wanted to join them but it would just be me hoping for something that's never going to happen. "Alright, ladies! Have a seat she has on her first dress!" One of the salespeople said. Everyone came back and sat down and Amber walked out in this beautiful dress.
"Oh wow! You're so beautiful!" People started yelling at her. And truthfully she was. "Bellamy what do you think? VIncent is your brother do you think he'd like it?" Are you kidding me? I hate this hoe. "Well, truthfully I don't know, seeing as I haven't talked to him in years." I shrugged at her. "Okay well, if you were dating someone. Which, we all know you're not. Would you wear this?" She was trying to get me to jump off the very high cliff that I was on. But it wasn't going to work. "Actually, if my boyfriend and I did decide to get married then I would defiantly not pick this dress." I gave her a smug smile and crossed my arms. There was a look of surprise on everyone's faces, I guess no one suspected that I would get a boyfriend. "His name is Akoni, he's the alpha of the pack back home in Hawaii." Her face formed an oh form and she nodded. "How long have you guys been together? Two months?" She scoffed at me. "No actually two and a half years." Their reactions were priceless and it made me fill with joy. "Why didn't you invite him as your date?" One of the random friends asked. "I didn't think I was allowed. It's not my wedding to invite people to." She just sat back on the couch and nodded their heads. I could feel the anger seething off of Amber, he perfect little plan was ruined. And I was happy about it.
"Does Vincent know about your boyfriend?" She asked with a smug look on her face. "Well, seeing as I haven't been allowed to see him. No." I shrugged my shoulders at her and crossed my arms. She just stayed silent and I could basically see the steam coming from her ears. "I mean hey! Feel free to tell him. I am sure that he would be very happy to know that I moved on. Right? I mean he is so wrapped up in your wedding and what did you guys say? Oh right, marrying his 'mate'. Why would he be worried about little old me?" I stood up and walked to the rack of wedding dresses and ran my hand over them. "But you know what? Maybe I should tell him? And you know, I should call Akoni and invite him as my date. I think that would go over so well. What do you think mom? I think dad would love the idea of me bringing a male, especially an Alpha male." I paused and turned around and looked at my mom in the eyes. They were wide open and filled with an emotion I couldn't grasp yet.
"Nah, I'm okay. I don't need to prove anything to you. I will just sit back and enjoy it. Anyways. I was thinking of trying on a few dresses myself. You just let me know when its time for brunch." I walked out of the room and went through looking at the wedding dresses. I laid my eyes on this beautiful tan sheer wedding dress. It was mermaid style and it was all lace with a deep V-neck and long sleeves. The lace was white and had bits of sparkle on some of the lace flowers. It was a gorgeous dress. One of the salespeople walked over to me and pulled it out. "I can get you a room and you can try it on." She told me and I nodded in agreement. I followed her to the dressing room and she opened the door for me. "I know you don't know me or anything. But I follow you on Instagram and I went to the same school. When the news spread, my heart broke for you." She closed the door and started to help me undress and get into the wedding dress. "People would say things and of course out of ignorance. But I always thought that love would conquer all. That the mate bond is unbreakable." She sighed as I slipped into the dress.
"I guess you can call me a fan. I keep up with the royal family a lot. But can I be candid?" She asked me. "Go ahead, you already have been already." I laughed at her. "Oh right. Well, I just think that the moon goddess doesn't make mistakes. She puts people together for a reason. It's truly not my place but I think that you and Beta Vincent are magic. Your story needs to be shared. It's almost fairytale-like." She zipped up the dress and it was beautiful. I was in a loss for words. I have never felt so beautiful before. "Not all fairytales have a happy ending." I wish I was sharing this moment with my family. "I have seen Beta Vincent and Ms. Amber together and it's fake. We all see and we all can feel it. They just say mate because it's easier. Look, whether you realize it or not then your story is relatable to so many mated couples out there. Not everyone gets to meet their mate and it is smooth sailing. My close friend has an older brother. He is 35 and never met his mate. He is a doctor, pediatrician actually. He met with his normal client like always, one of the sons just turned 16, and then they realized they were mates."
She paused and sat down on the couch. "Of course, he was disgusted with himself. He knew he was gay, but he didn't think his mate was going to be a kid. If people like you and Beta Vincent can make it work then he can. It's only been a couple of weeks and he has been avoiding the boy like the plague. I think if he saw someone like you in a similar situation he wouldn't be so scared. I mean, we can't choose our mates." She was right, we can't choose our mates. "We might not be able to choose our mates, but our mates can choose whether to stay. How much is the dress?" I asked her. "Its around $500,000. The sparkle you see is actually diamonds and some pearls. Specifically made for the mate of the beta. For you." She stood back up fixing the train behind me. "I'll take it."