Free Web NovelChapter 183: A Perfect Fit I
"Oh." my mouth fell open in surprise. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Of course. A wedding, no matter how forced, included wedding gowns. How could I have been taken unawares by her words?
"Right, wedding gowns!" I clapped my hands, trying to seem more enthusiastic.
No wonder Damon looked like he was walking towards the gallows. I’ve seen him bleeding from wounds with more enthusiasm than he had shown this entire wedding preparation.
"Is it only me, or can Blaise come along as well?" I asked casually.
The more people I could pull in to share in the awfulness of such a task, the better. Misery loves company after all.
"Why not?" Dahlia shrugged. "I’m already getting Damon’s opinion and yours." She shot Damon a lovestruck look, trailing her fingers up his arm.
Damon did not flinch or pull away, but he stared into the distance with a blank look in his eyes, as though his soul was in another realm altogether.
I could relate. I too wished that I was anywhere else but here.
"Alright, let’s go then," I said, and I called for Blaise to join us.
Blaise was stuck with managing the guest list and food catering while Alpha Thorton oversaw his decisions with a beady eye, so he was a lot more enthusiastic about watching Dahlia parade a variety of dresses than Damon and I were.
Dahlia led us to another room that had rack after rack of wedding gowns, arranged by color and fit. White dresses took up a majority of the racks, but I could spot at least a few rows of pink, blue, and gold. I couldn’t stifle the gasp that emerged from my throat as my eyes cataloged the sheer amount of variety.
"How did you even get so many dresses here?" I had to ask, reluctantly impressed. "Did you rob every single bridal store in this country?"
Dahlia laughed uproariously, as though I’d told her a funny joke. "It does seem that way, doesn’t it? But no, I’ve been planning my dream wedding ever since I caught sight of Damon, so I had a lot of time to collect all these dresses," Dahlia said with a wistful sigh.
"I see. You certainly are prepared, Miss Dahlia," Blaise said, but only those closest to him would realize that his tone basically implied that he thought she was nuts. I heard about girls who planned their dream weddings with obsessive detail, but Dahlia had taken it up a notch― her family’s wealth enabled her to make all her dreams, no matter how ridiculous, come true.
One of her servants led us to a plush sofa. Damon wanted nothing more than to sit at the side, as though he could make a run for it, but Dahlia made him sit right in the middle since he was the man of the hour.
As such, Blaise and I were forced to sit flanking Damon while Dahlia was ushered behind the huge changing room. Thankfully, she had her own people to help her wear these dresses. If I had to help her take on and off all these gowns, I might lose my mind.
While the curtains were closed, I took the chance to finally take a good look at Damon. He certainly seemed worse for wear. He didn’t even look this bad when he thought Blaise was on the verge of death. I wanted nothing more than to reach out to touch our pinkies, hoping to transfer some strength to him.
However, Dahlia had given us a plush sofa that could seat seven people and still have room; there was no way I could shift closer to Damon without setting off her alarm bells.
’How are you?’ I mouthed the words instead. Since Dahlia was in the same room as us, I couldn’t risk her hearing our conversation. If she suspected that Damon held any affection for me, she would employ her father’s hitmen to get rid of me for good.
I could tell Damon wanted to demand me to use my voice, but I gave him a warning glance, my eyes darting to the closed curtain. He sighed and slumped against the backseat, mouthing the words ’get me out of here’ at Blaise and me pleadingly. ’I fucking hate her. Save me!’
Unfortunately, there was no bloody way we could smuggle him out of the room. The curtains opened right at that moment, causing all of us to startle in surprise.
It was Dahlia, and she was wearing a beautiful princess ball gown wedding dress. The skirt was voluminous, billowing out layers of sumptuous fabric that would have fed a poorer pack for a month at least. The skirts created a dramatic silhouette, making the bride impossible to ignore.
Not to mention there was a lavish train trailing behind her that had to be held up by her other servants, and I could spot the intricate lace beading on it, pairing well with the crystals and pearls adorning the tight bodice of her gown.
Her chest was almost spilling out of it. My mouth fell open. Blaise was similarly shocked. Only Damon continued to sit there sullenly, with no change of expression on his face.
Dahlia’s face fell when she caught sight of Damon’s reaction. Or more accurately, his lack of reaction.
"Next one then!" She declared fervently, "This is not the right one― oh, I should have known better than to trust you, Celise! Pick another!"
I guessed Celise was the poor servant. The curtains were pulled shut, but it couldn’t stifle their voices from the other side.
"But Lady Dahlia, you were the one that―" There was the sound of a loud smack, and the other voice fell silent.
All of us exchanged wary glances. Blaise muttered, "Your future wife has a temper."
I elbowed Damon’s side. ’React. The faster you react the faster we can go!’ I desperately mouthed. freewebnovёl.ƈom
I had a feeling Dahlia was going to try on dress after dress until she found the one that made Damon’s heart race. Unfortunately for her, the dresses weren’t the issue.
The thought of leaving earlier returned some light to Damon’s eyes, and he sat up, just in time for Dahlia to reveal her next dress.
This one had a more sensual design, it was a long mermaid gown that followed every curve, while also highlighting the strong contours of her arm muscles. It looked every bit as expensive as the previous one, since it was bedecked with an impressive amount of crystals and pearls and boasted an equally long train, but this time, Damon gave her an encouraging nod instead.
I guessed it was too much to ask for him to give her a small smile, but the possessive part of me couldn’t help but rejoice in his lackluster reaction. Dahlia was a vision in her gown, but Damon was a blind man.
Yet, Dahlia’s face lit up, buoyed by the small reaction Damon gave. If Damon wasn’t my fated mate, I would feel so sad for her.
"I see! So you like me to dress more sexily for you. Damon, you should have said so earlier!"
"Yeah Damon, you should have said so earlier," I couldn’t help but add. "You shouldn’t waste Dahlia’s time like this."
Damon shot me a filthy look from the corner of his eyes.
Dahlia stepped off from the podium, with her servants holding the long trail of fabric behind her. As she stepped closer to me, I fought the urge to lean back. I wondered if she would slap me for speaking to Damon like that, but to my surprise, she asked.
"Harper, do you want to try out a gown too?"
