Page 2 of Actually Yours

Amelia.

The woman I saw first.

The woman I now must forget.

CHAPTER 1

Amelia

Present day

Here are the five places I’d rather be than standing up on this brightly-coloured, yellow-themed church altar:

At the dentist (root canal, no less)

Getting a Bikini wax (Brazilian!)

Doing my taxes (numbers—ugh!)

Doing a presentation in front ofpeople

On a long-haul plane trip (surrounded byonlycrying babies).

Am I being a tad dramatic? Maybe. But as I look around, absorbing all the love and romance and gooey feelings of the people surrounding me, I believe I’m justified in feeling this way.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

A swell of joyous applause erupts around me as I watch my bestie, Bella Mancini-now Richardson, kiss the love of her life, her new husband Daniel. My traitorous eyeballs fill with tears despite my previous rebellious thoughts, and my hands clap vigorously. I can’t help myself. They’re such a beautiful couple, both inside and out. If I didn’t love them so much, I’d hate them.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Daniel leans all the way down and kisses the life out of a beaming Bella while the rapturous applause continues. I watch, happiness and dread fighting for pole position in my stomach, because once this overly-long, somewhat inappropriate for a church setting kiss ends, the spotlight will move to the bridal party. AKA, me.

Bella laughingly pushes Daniel away, earning one last peck on the lips from her besotted husband, before they turn hand in hand and face the congregation, all the people who love them the most. And here we are, this is it. The time has come, the reason for my earlier dread, the wishing to be anywhere else but here. Sweat drips down my back as Bella takes her bouquet of yellow roses from her smiling maid of honour and with her arm looped through Daniel’s, the two of them start their married life with the short walk down the aisle towards the now open doors of the church. Following behind them comes the best man and maid of honour, Lucas and Amy Mancini. Another disgustingly in love couple, joining together and all but skipping in the footsteps of the bride and groom. And then? The other bridesmaid, Lilly, and her groomsman husband, Oliver.Another couple. Linking hands and making their way out of the church.

And then there’s…me. Just me. Only me. Apparently, Daniel has only two friends in the entire world and decided, quite rudely if you ask me, to pick Lucas and Oliver to be his groomsman, while Bella wanted all three of us to be her bridesmaids. And when you look at those numbers, well the math ain’t mathing. Leaving me the odd one out. The one who has to walk down the aisle, behind the happy couples. Alone. All alone.

Deep breath, Amelia. No one is even looking at you.

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