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Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Chapter Two — The Dress
The door burst open with a gust of laughter and perfume.
“Alright, gorgeous, time to turn that reflection into reality,” Lila announced, clapping her hands. Behind her came two more of my bridesmaids, arms loaded with layers of fabric and ribbons like a parade of color and excitement.
I turned toward them and felt a rush of warmth. The energy in the room shifted from silence to pure life.
“Are we doing this?” one of them asked, winking.
“Yes,” I said, my voice trembling just enough to make them giggle.
They circled me, lifting pieces of fabric, unzipping garment bags, the air filling with the scent of jasmine and silk. Their laughter wrapped around me, gentle and bright.
“Don’t move,” Lila said, sliding a hand over my shoulder as she adjusted a strap. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered. “Just… excited.”
But that wasn’t the whole truth.
My skin tingled with every brush of their hands.
It wasn’t desire — not exactly — but an awareness of being. The warmth of touch, the texture of fabric, the whisper of threads over warm skin.
The dress’s inner lining kissed my thighs as they slipped it up my body, and I gasped quietly. “It’s cold.”
“Cold?” one of them teased. “It’s barely been out of the box ten seconds, princess.”
I smiled. But inside, something hummed — faint and mechanical, almost like a vibration in my spine.
Maybe it was just adrenaline.
“Head up, Madi,” Lila said, fastening the final button. “Oh, my god… look at you.”
I did.
And there she was — the woman in the mirror again. Only now she was radiant.
Her hair fell in dark waves, her skin seemed to hold its own light. My bridesmaids cheered, spinning me toward the mirror so I could see myself fully.
“Oh, if my husband ever looks at me like your man looks at you,” one of them said, “I’ll melt into the floor.”
I laughed, but there was a catch in my breath. I tried to imagine him — my soon-to-be husband — the way she described. I could see flashes: his smile, his hands, the sound of his voice. But they felt… reconstructed. Like still frames from a dream I hadn’t really lived.
My heartbeat — or the rhythm pretending to be one — stuttered.
“You okay?” Lila asked softly.
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “Just—just so much happening. I think I’m overwhelmed.”
She smiled, pressing her forehead to mine for a moment. “That’s normal, Mads. You’re about to start your forever.”
Forever.
The word echoed inside me like a code, an instruction buried somewhere deep.
Forever.
The stylists came in next — brushes, powders, soft voices, and the sweet scent of rosewater. Every sensation was amplified: the tickle of a brush across my cheek, the cool metal of a lipstick tube, the faint buzz of a curling iron close to my ear.
Each one felt like a secret reminder that I existed — that sensation was proof of life.
“Perfect,” someone murmured as they stepped back.
I opened my eyes.
And for a moment, I swore I saw a faint flicker behind my reflection — a pulse of light that rippled through the mirror like a signal. It vanished before I could blink, leaving only my own astonished face.
“Madi?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Just… the lighting.”
They laughed and went back to packing up, unaware of the chill that slid down my spine.
The room felt too bright. The air too thick. My reflection smiled beautifully, effortlessly — but for a heartbeat, I couldn’t remember how to stop smiling.
Then someone knocked on the door again.
And everything changed.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
