Four Years Of Hair For A Wedding And He Cut It For A Scene Chapter 04

Four Years Of Hair For A Wedding And He Cut It For A Scene Chapter 04

Garrett finally lost his patience.

“Elena, can you please just stop?”

“Do you not get how important Audrey is?”

“If she pulls the investment, this documentary is dead. Everything I’ve worked for would be gone.”

“Would it kill you to be the bigger person? Be nice to her, let it go. Is that really so hard?”

I looked at him, still shaking.

“I’m not throwing a tantrum.”

“And I’m not marrying you.”

Whatever softness was left in his face drained away.

“Good. Then don’t come crawling back in three days, begging me to change my mind.”

He turned to leave, then stopped at the door.

“You made Audrey cry, so I’m taking her up to the ski lodge at Snowy Peaks for a few days. Consider it an apology, since you clearly won’t give her one yourself.”

“Think about what you’ve done. Whenever you’re ready to apologize, that’s when I’ll marry you.”

“Your call. I’m not the one running out of time.”

He walked out without looking back.

One of the sisters came to help me get ready for the wedding.

She was quiet for a while before she spoke.

“Garrett took Audrey up to the Snowy Peaks.”

My hands stopped for just a second. Then I went back to folding the dress and sorting the jewelry.

Over the next few days, Garrett’s crew couldn’t resist taking their digs.

“Elena, seriously. You’re still not going to apologize?”

“Garrett’s off with Audrey right now, having a great time. If you don’t swallow your pride soon, he’s gone for real.”

Some of them shoved their phones in my face, recording.

“Hey, Garrett. If Elena still hasn’t apologized in three days, are you still marrying her?”

On the screen, Garrett was brushing the wind out of Audrey’s hair. He didn’t even look up.

“Nope.”

They ate it up.

“Wait, for real? You’re not worried she’ll cut her hair and lock herself in the convent for life?”

Garrett shrugged. “Then I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

They all laughed.

I kept my head down and finished sewing the last piece of turquoise.

The night before the wedding, Julian came back.

He brought two huge boxes with him.

Inside were cameras like the ones I’d only ever seen on TV. Beautiful dresses. Thick books.

I crouched beside the boxes, unable to look away.

I ran my fingers over everything, afraid to press too hard, afraid something would break.

Julian watched, smiling.

“Do you like them?”

I couldn’t stop nodding.

“Once we’re married, I’ll take you to the city. There’s so much more where this came from.”

I ducked my head, smiling, my cheeks burning.

…

At first light, I put on my wedding dress and climbed into the horse-drawn carriage, the kind they still used for weddings in North Crest, painted and draped with white ribbons.

Church bells rang across the valley. The procession stretched out behind me, floral garlands, white ribbons, the whole line winding toward the convent.

My phone buzzed. A message from Garrett.

[I asked around. The whole vow and cutting your hair thing is just an old custom. No one can force you into it if you don’t want it.]

[I already talked to Father Silas. He agreed. You won’t have to go through with it.]

[Think about what happened. Whenever you’re ready to say sorry, I’ll be there to marry you.]

I turned off my phone.

The carriage stopped at the convent entrance. I stepped down onto the path, with white flower petals scattered across the ground like a carpet, and walked toward the doors. The crowd outside was already thick.

A voice I recognized carried over the crowd.

“Quick, get this. Get this!”

“You don’t see weddings like this anymore.”

I looked up. Through the draped ribbons, I saw Garrett.

He’d brought Audrey and the whole crew. Every camera was pointed at me.

One of the crew members whistled, still filming.

“Who’s the bride? This is incredible.”

“Hold on. Does the groom look familiar to anyone else?”

“No way. Is that Julian?”

Garrett had been staring at his phone. At that, his head came up.

Father Silas stepped forward.

He pulled back the ribbons and draped the traditional white wedding veil over my head.

Across the crowd, my eyes found Garrett’s.

Every drop of color left his face. His phone slipped from his hand and hit the dirt.

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

“Wait. That’s Elena?!”