"Remember everything I told you. Follow my instructions. When lights go off at the Church, hide somewhere or runaway, okay?" Samara reminds me, while arranging heavy veil on my head.
I barely nod. I'm almost ready in her wedding dress, ready to be at her place.
She covers my face once she is done fixing the veil, "We both are trusting each other. I chose you to handle everything here so don't let anything bad happen. I'm trusting you, Sanaya. I hope you won't get caught."
I'm still unable to form words from my mouth. My body, my muscles are jammed and my mind is no more working. It's blank like black screen.
Samara is forcing me to be a part of her fraud. I'm still not willing, still not sure that I would come out of this situation safe and sound.
She moves away from me, takes her purse from the bed and wishes me luck one last time and afterwards leaves the room, leaves me all alone. Hesitantly, I turn towards the mirror to see my reflection.<
He bends down and picks up the file folder from the bed. He opens it and flips through some pages.Creases form between his brows as he looks up, "I told you I need to submit them to the court today. It will take only few seconds of yours to sign them."I understood who he is. He is Samara's father. I can now observe the resemblance of his features with hers. Samara inherited most of the features except the hair color from her father. His hair color is more like dark chocolates."You told me you'll sign them once you'll be free. That's why I've sent Sara away. But these papers are still blank."He brings the file in front of my face and takes out the pen from his suit's front pocket, "Just do it. Lawyer is waiting outside."I fist my palms, clutching my dress with them. "I'll d-o later." I slur."Are you kidding me?" His brows lift up, "I told you lawyer is outside. I need to hand over this to him. Come on, Samara. We're getting late."
As soon as I come out of the car, lights of cameras begin flashing on my face, hurting my eyes. My bare arms tremble every time someone clicks my picture. A group of reporters encircle me and Samara's father. Some young girls come forward and help me straightening my dress. They spread my long dress behind me on the ground."Congratulations, Sam. You finally made it." One of the girls whispers in my ear, making my blood run cold.The other one giggles, "Your dress is beautiful."My heart leaps into my throat as I observe my surrounding. Sun is almost setting. The sky is showing orangish-red hues, slowly increasing the brightness of the lanterns and other fancy lights. Many posh cars are parked around the area – the kind of cars I had only seen on G****e images. Reporters around me are congratulating me and wishing me a good married life. There are other people as well who are not reporters, but might be Samara's acquaintances. They are smiling and waving their hands at me.
The officiant starts reciting the verses of the Bible loudly, silencing the whole crowd. Ashar also moves back. I sigh in relief. The officiant's voice echoes. All the guests settle down on their seats and are now silently watching the ceremony. Wandering my gaze around, I try to locate Samara with a hope that she would've been back by now. But she is not there. My heart starts pounding rapidly against my chest wall. I don't know how I should delay the wedding. My mind is giving me warnings that Samara would be late tonight. She promised me she would be back in an hour. But an hour has passed already and she is still not here. What more she wanted that now I should take vows on her name? I will get married to Ashar in next few minutes, for God's sake. Officiant proclaims aloud, "Since it is your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands and declare your consent before God and his Church." Ashar and I both face each other. H
I'm playing with that twinkling diamond ring, still with me. A very strong evidence that explains my deception, a reminder that I was in real at Church. Although, I ran out of there safely before anyone could see me, but this doesn't solve the whole problem. I locked myself in my dorm room for three whole days, drown into my stresses and dreads. I hardly eaten anything. The wedding dress is there on my bed. The shoes and jewelry are there too. I'm thankful that Carol went to her parents for some days. I got my time to recover without disclosing the nightmarish event that happened. My phone rang many times but I didn't check. It would be probably Andrew or Carol calling me. I didn't go to mansion for cooking either. I'm too scared to step a foot outside this room. The biggest question that is haunting me now; Did I get married to that man? That blue-eyed, strange man pronounced Samara as his wife during all the vows but I didn't take those vows
"Couldn't you act confidently? Ashar was annoying me with his questions that why I was so nervous and shaking during wedding."I'm with Samara at the nearby cafe after preparing breakfast for the family."How can you expect me to be relaxed in such a situation?" I snap, "Why you came so late?""I didn't come late. I was just unable to come to you.""What do you mean?""I was waiting for the right moment, stupid. There were so many people and the security cameras. I was thinking of a safe way to implement my plan. I was there watching the whole ceremony." She elaborates.Her hairs are tied up in to a loose ponytail and her face has no makeup, still she is looking beautiful with her original facial features. Even if they are not in love, I'm sure still Ashar would've attracted towards her. No guy can ignore such a beauty."How did you manage to arrange a dress on such a short notice?""I had a similar dress which was not complete
Today's breakfast is chocolate muffins, French toasts and buttermilk pancakes and waffles. Today's menu is my favourite and I'm good at making them. Chocolate muffins are my specialty, that's what kids at my foster home said. When I was living there, I used to bake different flavored muffins for the volunteers and kids and their compliments were always motivational. Just thinking about them give me teary eyes. I miss my old life. I didn't have to worry about money, rent or career when I was living in my foster home. Maybe I should've never grown up. It would be better if I'd remained a kid all life. Those kinds of thoughts are keep coming to my mind since that wedding disaster. "So, everything is going to be sweet today in the breakfast." I turn around. My eyes open in full circles when I see Ashar standing in kitchen. My heart hammers against my chest. The fresh scent of after-shave spread in the entire kitchen. His hairs are wet explaining he took a shower
There is one question, one confusion thats keeps pestering me, not leaving my brains alone, no matter how much I try to ignore it, to act chill like Samara.Am I married or not?My anxiety made me do some research about it online. I typed some keywords related to my situation and read some articles about Christian weddings and beliefs. Online source was the safe source. I didn't have to disclose to anyone what had happened to me.I found online confirmation too that Ashar and Samara's marriage is null and void. They are not married. For my own doubtful marital status, I couldn't find the exact answer, but they did support my argument. They said woman and man must be present physically while proclaiming their marriage vows. And they should say their correct, full names during all their declarations. It is the religious and legal requirement both.It brings me back to my point. From Ashar's behalf he said correct names. I didn't use any names, but officiant
Frightfully, I begin trotting inside the house and ascend the stairs. Few guests are there too. I put my hand on the stairs railing and try to search Noah or Carol from above here. It is easier to find them among the crowd from here. At the same time, I try calling on Carol's phone with a hope that she would take it. Ashar follows me too. He takes my phone from my hands. I glance at him. He moves his fingers against my screen, tapping on some number keys. "I'm saving my number in your phone. You check this floor. I'm going upstairs." He returns the device to me, "Give me a call if you find her. By the way, what's her name?" "Carol." I answer. Giving me a quick nod, he hurries to his own way. I start my search also. The house is comprised of two floors including the rooftop. And this floor has around seven rooms. With every passing moment, the panic inside me is increasing. I open the first three rooms of the floor. All are empty. The corridor