His Widow’s Wedding Trap Chapter 2

She looked back at me, her face scrunched in confusion.

"The gauntlet is over. Shouldn't he be the first one sprinting up here to get his bride?"

I let out a dry, hollow laugh.

"Gem... when the groom gets here, don't give him too hard of a time."

Gemma paused, then covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh, whatever! I know you're just protective of him."

"Fine," she said, pulling out her phone. "Considering the poor guy chased you for three years, I'll tell the other bridesmaids to go easy on him. Maybe just twenty push-ups at the door." She rapidly typed out a text to the girls in the hall. "Bride’s orders. Don't be too vicious. Leave the groom some dignity."

The corners of my mouth curved up slightly, but I stayed silent.

Under any other circumstances, this would have been such a sweet, perfect moment.

Gemma tucked her phone away and came over to loop her arm through mine. "Honestly, Isaac is going to look devastating in his tux today. You guys have been together for three years, and he’s always treated you like fragile glass. You're finally making it official. Are you nervous?"

"No," I said.

Gemma laughed. "Liar. Your lips are completely white."

Just as the words left her mouth, my phone buzzed on the vanity.

It was a FaceTime call from my mom.

She had just finished her final, desperate round of chemo. She was completely bald, her skin a sickly, jaundiced yellow, but her eyes were crinkled in absolute joy.

"My beautiful girl," she rasped, beaming. "I'm watching the broadcast. Isaac was working so hard during those silly games to get to you. You tell your friends not to torture him too much..."

I forced out a laugh and nodded.

"I just can't wait to see you two sign those papers," she whispered.

A nurse walked into the frame to adjust her IV and glanced at the screen. "Oh, is your daughter one of the TV brides today?"

"Yes she is! Fifty couples, live on national television!" My mom’s voice was as frail as a flickering candle in the wind, but it was filled with so much pride. "She found herself a wonderful man. Three years, and he’s never given me a single reason to worry. He cherishes her like she’s the most precious thing in the world."

I gripped my phone so hard my fingernails dug half-moons into my palms.

She didn't know. She didn't know that the man who had pursued me for three years, who had "loved" me for three years, had orchestrated this massive television spectacle for one singular purpose.

To use the chaos of the broadcast to marry his brother's widow.

To force his parents' hands into accepting an unholy alliance, live on television, where they couldn't scream and stop it.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, and smiled into the camera.

"Alright, Mom, the signal is getting a little choppy. I'll call you as soon as the ink is dry."

I hung up. Gemma stepped behind me and carefully draped the heavy, opaque vintage lace veil over my head, completely obscuring my face.

"You know, this whole vintage veil gimmick is actually kind of romantic," she mused, adjusting the lace. "And your mom being able to watch it live... I bet just seeing this will cure her halfway."

She wandered over to the window and peered down at the courtyard.

"Where is Isaac?" she muttered. "The other rooms are already clearing out. The host on the loudspeaker is already calling the twenty-eighth couple down."