Chapter Eighteen

We got the shoes and jewelry picked without too much deliberation, it only took about an hour to decide.

What? An hour is actually a very small time to decide on these things and we pulled it off.

I tried on the first dress. A beaded ball gown with a with a high waistline and deep neckline,it showed too much cleavage. It was just too heavy for me to walk in.

I came out and Stella gasped, she walked around me.

"You look..." She was short of words. She stared up at me and surely saw the uncertainty in my eyes because she regained her composure immediately.

"I'm not feeling this one." I said hesitantly.

"I understand." She nodded. Tracy just stared without saying anything at all. What was the point of having her around if she would not contribute. I missed Fiona's presence even more now.

I went back in and pulled on the second dress, it was better than the first. A silky mono strap top with a long train and lacy bottom, it was more of an A shaped gown and I loved it. The veil turned out to be very lengthy, I could actually see myself walking down the aisle in it.

I smiled at the attendant before stepping out.

Stella's reaction was not what I had expected.

"Uhmm, honey it looks too plain. It's suitable for a simple outdoor wedding, not one of this magnitude. I'm sorry." She said, I appreciated her honesty although it hurt that I could not take the dress I really liked.

I tried on the other three left and it was the same result. I was about giving up. I was never going to get a wedding dress if it went on like this.

"Uhmm, I may have something for you but I'm sure it would be no less than hundred thousand dollars." Leah informed.

I gasped.

"No, that's too much."

"Sweetie we don't exexactly have a budget here." Stella said to be and turned back to Leah.

"Please show us." She said.

Hundred thousand dollars for a wedding dress I was going to wear for just a few hours?! These rich people had to be kidding me!

I held my tongue from screaming my thoughts out. This whole affair was just a waste of resources, I could not overemphasize it.

"Here it is." Leah came in with a dazzling masterpiece trailing behind her. I stared closely at it, tongue tied.

"Yes! This is definitely the one!" Stella exclaimed. She looked at me with puppy eyes probably to ask for my permission.

I smiled at her before turning to Leah.

"I couldn't agree more."

I tried the dress on, it just needed a few adjustments, so we paid with Damien's black card and left it there. I was scheduled for a series of fittings within the next two weeks. We had to pay extra because of the time issue but Stella didn't mind. The package included my wedding dress, shoes, jewelry and along with a reception dress I had tried earlierwhich summed about a whooping sum of a half a million dollars. I held my jaw in place. How was Damien and his family able to throw such money around?

Finally, with our mission successful, we made our way out of the stall. We split up because I had to settle some details with Marissa while Stella had some other errands to run.

I hugged and bade farewell to her with a hug while I waved at Tracy who blatantly ignored me and got into the vehicle.

"I'm sorry about her attitude." Stella apologized bashful at her daughter's behavior.

"It's alright." I said.

I watched them drive off while I stood on the pavement, looking for a way to get to Marissa when I hardly knew my way around.

I was about crossing the road to the other side of the street when an all too familiar Cadillac Escalade pulled up in front of me.

"How on earth do you guys know where I am?" I said, stomping my feet like a child. The guard in suit simply shrugged and pulled the door open for me to get in.

I got in and sat down, pulled out my phone from my purse and placed a call to Marissa.

She told me her whereabouts, I relayed the information to the driver who got the car on the road immediately.

The ride had me feeling carsick, I was always on the road and I needed to catch a breather but there was so much to be done in so little time. I could not wait for all of it to be over.

I met up with Marissa at a Salon.

"Sorry I couldn't make it for your dress picking." She smiled apologetically.

"It's okay. So what are we doing here?"

I stared up at the fancy place, eying it up and down.

"Oh nothing, we're here for your hair and make up rehearsal." She gave me another apologetic smile. She knew I did not like it when I was not told about stuff before hand.

I exhaled. This was going to take a long time, I was absolutely sure of it. I did not like it when too much people had their hands on my hair. I never said anything about it but before now but I did not like visiting salons, I preferred styling my hair by myself even if it was just basic hairstyles I could pull off.

I also was not a fan of too much makeup but within the span of a few weeks, I had had makeup on more than I ever did in my whole twenty three years of life. The whole glitz and glamour was truly beginning to overwhelm me but sadly it was just the beginning of my troubles.

With a defeated sigh, I got into the plush place and sat down as they did their magic on me. I gave them a description of the dress and they worked according.

After much trial and error, we settled for a classic princess look, just without the crown but a nice headpiece to go with the look.

The makeup artist gave me a look I did not like one bit at first. Who tries bright red lipstick with a wedding look these days? Definitely not Ariana Delaney. The human hair lash extensions were way too long for me, I had to make them change it for something shorter.

"I want something mild and more natural looking." I said to her. The artist nodded and got to work.

Maybe I wasn't so confident in my looks at the time but I really did not want the makeup to have me asking myself if it was truly me reflecting in the mirror. I wanted to look as me as possible.

I liked the results I saw when they had finished but more than anything I just wanted to rest, the day had stressed me out.

"No pictures please." I said tiredly as they placed their ring lights and other equipments around me, in a bid to capture the moment, obviously for promotion of their business.

"I just want to rest." I sighed. Marissa understood and dismissed them.

When they left, Marissa turned to me.

"I'm so sorry for stressing you out Ariana,we just have such a short time. After this, I'm not going to be bothering you often, all you have to do is tell me what you want and I would have it sorted outt." Marissa promised heartily.

I smiled in gratitude.

"Gracias." I sighed and got into the vehicle, waving at her before rolling up the tinted glass."

With nothing to do while the ride went on, I ended up replying the pile of messages on my social media accounts.

The massive increase in followers on all platforms had me really flustered. Just what were these people hoping to see? I barely even posted anything. Not on my Instagram, Twitter or even Facebook. Even my WhatsApp status which was supposed to be a somewhat private media, was a desert.

I just assumed that everything would die down after the wedding. Damien's fans were most probably fascinated by the fact that he was getting married soon and wanted to know who his fiance was and what she was up to.

I shook my head, dismissing the thoughts that had invaded my mind as I got down from the vehicle.

It was past 6pm when I got to the hotel. I slowly got into the penthouse suite, shutting the door behind me and moved straight into the bedroom. I took a shower, pulled on some comfy shorts with a big shirt and slid under the covers. I was truly worn out, but unfortunately I still could not bring myself to sleep. This happened whenever my stress levels peaked and it was not funny at all.

I got out of bed grudgingly and force fed myself with some leftovers I found in the fridge. I made a few sandwiches to munch on while I watched a movie.

It was at this point I realized how lonely I had been ever since I arrived in Los Angeles. There was no one to talk to, except when I had wedding planning to do.

The thought was saddening. I had so many people around but at the end of the day, I felt so lonely. I knew I liked being by myself but this was different, I was yearning for company. I missed Nolan so bad, he was my best friend and I would give anything to see him again and talk like we used to, have fun just like we always did.

I picked up my phone and dialed him but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey it's Nolan, I'm at work now, please leave a message."

I almost facepalmed myself. Of course he was at work. I had gotten so used to not working anymore, I did not think of anyone else's schedule. I tsked and sighed before dropping a message.

"Hey Nolan, I just called to check on you. I hope you're okay and... I sent you an invite, I'm sure it'll get to your mail box soon. I'd really love it if you could attend but I'll understand if you can't make it. Take care of yourself. I love you." I said glumly before dropping my phone.

Few minutes later, my phone rang and I picked it up eagerly, without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" I said quickly.

"Hello miel." It was my dad. (Honey.)

I could not hide my disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I love my father but at that point the only person I wanted to talk to was Nolan.

"Hola Papá" I said sullenly. (Hello Dad).

"Someone's not happy to hear from me..." He sulked.

"No dad, it's not like that at all! Of course I'm happy to hear from you, I was just expecting a call from someone else and I thought it was that person so when I picked without checking the ID and it was your voice that came through, it kinda..." I rambled.

"Slow down bebe, I understand." He chuckled and I sighed, sitting up on my bed. (Baby.)

"How are you?" He asked.

"Dad, I'm stressed out. I'm so tired of everything going on." I said truthfully.

"Oh." He said.

"It's all so much to take in. Just a few weeks back, I was so single,I did not even have a single date but now I'm getting married in two weeks.No puedo comprenderlo." I actually couldn't. (I can't comprehend it.)

"Estiendo miel" He said somberly and I feared that he was going to start blaming himself again.(I understand honey.)

"But I'm fine dad, really." I asserted quickly. I actually wasn't but I had to get his hopes up. I did not want to wear him out with my worries, it was no good for his health.

"Are you sure? Suades, puedes cambiar de opinión? Siempre apoyaré tu decisión." He said seriously. (You know you can change your mind right? I'll always support your decision.)

"Te prometo que estoy bien." I assured him. (I promise I'm fine dad.)

"Alright then."

"I sent the invitations already dad, you're free to invite anyone you choose." I said.

"No problem, I'll let you know when I receive them. Do take care, I love you." He said sweetly.

"I love you too dad. Have a good night."

"You too."

He hung up shortly after.

I stayed awake for a while finishing up my sandwiches while watching a Tv show before I dozed off to sleep.