Author’s Note: The descriptions of the bridal dresses, are completely created by myself and does not reflect the thoughts of the designer of the clothing, Ekinege herself. The descriptions are only meant to be fun and to represent what may be seen in an actual bridal magazine. Special thanks to Ekinege for these wonderful gown designs, found at TSR on her page.
“Just leave it be Jin! It doesn’t matter and all you are doing is ruining a perfectly lovely memory I have of that time.”
“It’s an invasion of privacy! I don’t understand why they feel they must bother us! It’s not like we are politicians or actors!”
“Uh Jin? Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror lately?”
“The whole thing is just infuriating. Starting with the look a like model they used, to the article being based on all the dresses you tried on! I mean half this magazine is directly or indirectly about you and our wedding!”
“Jin, it does not matter,” I said stroking his face in an effort to calm him down. He stopped for a moment looking into my eyes, then grabbed my hand to kiss my palm. He sighed, then started into it all over again.
I wasn’t happy, and yes I felt my privacy had been violated somewhat. I had only given permission for one picture to be taken, not the slew of un-posed shots now featured in this issue. Jin was still going on about the whole thing while pacing the floor. He had now moved on to the fact they showed Jade’s face without his permission. His permission. That kind of niggled me a bit, but I let that one go for fear of inciting his wrath even more.
It wasn’t like they had printed lies about us. We got married, these were the dresses I tried on and they posted a pic of the dress I chose.
“Every bride has a photo of the dress they chose placed in the album on our table over there. Since Ekinege only creates one dress each per design, it’s her portfolio,” the ladies had told me.
I was uncomfortable with it for sure, but I wasn’t hiding anymore either. I thought the more talk about the wedding there was, the more it helped us, or me to get away from Shen. I never thought they would release the pic without my permission.
The article basically said this: the elusive, but gorgeous millionaire Jin Bell, son of Ian Bell famous author/artist and Maya Bell, artist was formerly off the market. They stated the date of our marriage, talked about my two moms and how the location of our marital home was still a mystery. They only thing they got wrong, was they listed Jade as our daughter, not Jin’s sister and my oh my I had heard all about that from Jin too.
“Yes, but Jin that helps doesn’t it? I mean it’s not that we just got married, but we also have a child too. Shen is sure to leave us alone now! Don’t you think?”
I was peeling apples in the sink in hopes of making a pie for supper when suddenly Jin yelled,
“HEY!”
It was so loud and sharp it made me jump. I looked up to see his reflection in the clear glass of the window, then turned to see quite a stern look on his face. My heart began to skip beats from being startled so.
“When you say things like that it only leads me to believe you married me for the convenience!” he barked at me. My heart dropped into my stomach and I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.
“What? Nothing to say?” Then he crossed the room to stand in front of me, still glaring at me. But I could see something, just a little something in the depths of his eyes.
I sighed. “Oh no, not convenience Jin. I have an even better reason for marrying you that is purely selfish.”
Jin grabbed my hips,yanked me to him and said in a low growl of a voice, “Oh I see, you married me for what I can do to you in the bedroom.” He leaned in to kiss me but I jerked my head back.
“Jin, be quiet or Jade will hear!”
“I’m right though, aren’t I?” He had the biggest proud grin on his face that I just couldn’t resist denting his confidence just a little.
“Perhaps.” I replied. “I mean it’s okay-” Jin yanked on my hips again and I laughed. “I love you Jin Bell.”
“Oh you better,” then he kissed me soundly.
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A Month Earlier
“Oh how exciting Ms. Kim. Who is the lucky groom?”
I didn’t really know if I should be answering that but before I could say anything, Mama Manon spoke over me. “Lucky indeed. Jin Bell is the groom. He is the son of Ian and-“
“-Maya Bell,” she shop keeper answered with Mama. “Oh yes, she is well-known in France! You can see many of her paintings hanging in the Gallery and some very wealthy homes. So talented she was, it’s such a shame. Jin has not much been in the spotlight though. Does he paint like his mother?”
That is pretty much how the rest of the morning went. I felt incredibly uncomfortable trying to decide what to answer or not answer, as I knew the Bell family’s desire to keep their affairs private. The shop keeper knew I was unhappy with all the questions, so she was clever in the way she asked them, and I was left with being rescued by interruptions from my mothers’ in an attempt to get her to leave me alone. If only I had known then, that everything I said, would end up in a Bridal Chic article for all to read and all to see.
As a teen dreaming of my wedding, I always imagined preparations for my wedding to be a magical time, where decisions made would lead to a beautiful day of love and friendship . Never did I believe I would be putting together such a memorable day in just eight hours, where decisions came from convenience and sacrifices had to be made. I was sure Jin was feeling it to, for I knew he had planned to have the Alula family attend, with Caerul standing up as his best man. Here, there was no one for him and the guilt I was feeling ached in my heart. As such, I made no complaints, asking my mothers’ to do the same. Did the wedding really matter in the end? Not really, all that mattered was I would be Jin’s wife and that was the only thing I really needed or wanted.
It didn’t stop sisters from being sisters though and we weren’t long in the shop before the minor bickering began.
“You are not wearing that!” Mama Mano told Margot. “When are you going to realize, you are not a teenager anymore. Your hair is grey and your transition date is fast looming! Take a hint!”
“But I’m not an elder yet and with a body like this, why shouldn’t I show it off!”
“Eh hem, excuse me ladies, but your sister is right. This is far too promish for such an event. I happen to have a lovely Ekinege gown that would suit your figure perfectly. Come with me.”
Which was fine, but then they bickered over the colour. Margot wanted to wear green but Manon said, it looked too much like an Easter colour.
I was about to lose my cool with them both. Amazing the things you forget when you move away! “Mamas, Hello! Bride over here…can we maybe focus on me for a while!”
Jade wasn’t much better. She was determined she was to have what she wanted and nothing else! A spoiled little girl trait, that definitely needed changing.
“Oh Jade, that is just lovely! What do you think Sun?”
“It really sweet. You’re making faces. What’s wrong?”
“It’s not purple! Why can’t I have a purple one?”
“Jade, not everything in your life has to be purple.”
“Grand-mere. Puis-je avoir la robe pourpre! S’il vous plait!”
I sighed from across the room. “Fine Jade. You may have the purple dress.” Her whole face just lit up with a big smile. “But not because you thought asking your Grand-mere in French would gain you brownie points.”
“Thank you!” she replied and I shook my finger at her with a smile.
I tried on dresses for three hours and was more than frustrated with the amount of fussing it took to put each dress on and off. There were so many nice dresses but none of them seemed just right…and then……
“That’s the one. Oh you look lovely my daughter. You are going to be a beautiful bride!”
“Don’t we look hip!” said Margot. “We are going to look awesome for the pics.”
“Not until you change that dress for the other one we aren’t.”
I literally wanted to smack my forehead! However, Margot did give in, choosing the blue instead.
Jin and I had made the decision to marry at the little camp site where we had spent our first date. While we were trying on dresses, he worked hard to set up the wedding arch and the dance floor. He even added some flowers. Then he picked up Jade to take her for a hair cut.
I arrived at the camp with my mothers just a few minutes before Jin and Jade. The look on Jin’s face when he first saw me, is a memory I want to always remember.
“Wow!” he said. “You look, just beautiful.”
I smiled. “And you look very handsome yourself.” I was about to kiss him, when Jade called from across the dance floor.
“Mama, I don’t really know what I am supposed to do.”
“You will stand with your Grand-Meres’.”
“Sun, you look so beautiful! I’ve never been a wife,” said Margot. “Never really wanted to be one either. I’ve been searching for the right advice to give you, but my lack of knowledge in this area has me drawing a blank.”
“Sun. It’s time,” Jin said offering me his arm.
Jin walked me to the wedding arch while Manon took Jade’s hand to lead her as well. We stopped under the wedding arch and I turned to face Jin.
“Now, I think if we are going to do this, then we should do it right from the start.”
Then he knelt down, holding out his hand to me.
“Miss Sun Young Kim. Would you do me the greatest honor in becoming my wife?”
The Wedding Album
After we had finished taking all the pics, some we took in the backyard of the base camp, it was time to say goodbye.
“Mama, I’m suddenly feeling like this is goodbye forever.”
“You my darling will be just fine with your new husband. Remember, no matter where you are, we love you always.”
“This is feeling a little like dejavu. Where I tell you both once again how much I love your daughter and I will take good care of her.”
“Awwww Jin, we know and we love you too. How about you just take good care of each other instead.”
Hugs went all around and my mamas sent us on our way, not wanting us to be in the street too long. It was a difficult journey home with Jade crying for half the plane ride, which pulled at my heart. I was incredibly sad as well, and I found that to be the most troubling at all. I hadn’t been with my mothers’ for quite some time and one would think I had made the transition from from needing my parents to being mature long ago. One had to wonder then; did one ever truly stop needing their mother, even after she was gone?
I was also truly excited to start my new life with Jin. Seemed silly though, considering I had been living with Jin for some years now. Yet before, I was not his wife and somehow that seemed entirely different indeed.
We traveled in the dark of the night and arrived on the island just as the moon was disappearing below the horizon line, while the sun was peeking up.
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Jin was busy following me around the house as I tidied, and made beds. He was reading the article in the Bridal Chic magazine that featured him, out loud to me as I made my way around the house.
“Son of a ……. they took pictures of you trying on dresses! Look!”
I glanced at the page as I walked by and into Jade’s bedroom to make her bed.
“Mmm-hmmm.”
“Another picture of Jade’s face! I swear I am going to sue that shop……HEY!”
I grabbed the magazine out of his hands and threw it to the floor. Then I placed my hand in his to spin him into a dip.
“Jin Bell, enough. Now tell me you love me.”
“I do love you.”
“Then no more. It doesn’t matter…..Uh-No! It doesn’t matter. Now say it.”
“It,” Jin replied and I gave him a stern look.
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied.
“Now, doesn’t that feel better?”
“Not as good as kissing you will,” and so he did.
Dear Reader: The next chapter after this one is
Chapter 4 A Picture Chapter
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CC & Programs Used In This Chapter
Bridal/Gowns by Ekinege at TSR Check out the Wedding page HERE Under the CC tab
Blue engagement dress by Metens
Stories By Bee 