“Ms. Freeman your carriage is here,” one of the people said to her. She stepped outside and felt tears fill her eyes, as she saw the horse drawn carriage. It was something right out of Cinderella and it was absolutely perfect. There were four white horses pulling it and a doorman wearing an old fashioned tuxedo, holding open the door. Derek really had thought of everything to make the wedding a true fairytale and she was speechless.
She glided to the carriage on the soft carpet laid out to the door. One of the attendants was holding the train of her dress up, so that it wouldn’t drag on the ground. The doorman helped her inside and then a couple of people straightened out her dress.
Soon the carriage started forward and she looked out the open windows, wondering what could possibly come next. She hadn’t seen Jacob all day and couldn’t wait to see what he looked like in his little tuxedo. He’d been so excited about the whole event.
They turned a corner and then she saw where they were going and her breath hitched in her chest. Why would he do this? She knew he was angry with her for keeping his son from him but why would he go to so much trouble to give her the fairytale wedding she’d always wanted and then chose the one spot that spelled complete heartbreak for her.
As they pulled up in front of the little church she’d been left standing alone at she noticed he’d been busy. The little building, which had once been condemned, was now completely remodeled. It was the same church and looked like it must have when it was originally built but it was now completely fixed up and had flowers decorating the stairs, leading up inside of it.
She refused to leave the carriage. The doorman stood there, looking slightly panicked, as the bride refused to exit. She felt a tear slip down her face and didn’t care if her make-up was most likely ruined. She didn’t care about any of it. All she cared about was that even on her wedding day Derek felt he must punish her for some unknown reason.
She told the carriage driver to take her away and he looked at her like she’d lost her mind. She knew he’d been hired by Derek and there was no way he was leaving with the bride still in the carriage but she had to try. She saw the doors open and then Daniel was descending the stairs. She’d always loved Derek’s father and though she would’ve normally been happy to see the man, today wasn’t one of those days.
He came up to the doors and saw her silently crying. He said nothing for a few moments as he stood there and then silently handed her a handkerchief for her to wipe her face on.
“What’s the matter, Jasmine?” he asked, with what sounded like true concern.
“Why does he want to hurt me so much? I don’t understand why he’d pick this place for our wedding. This is the place he left me standing on my own. Is he even in there, or has this all been one big joke to him?” she blurted out, not even caring it was his father she was speaking to.
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise, as she spoke to him but he only said he’d be back. He spoke softly to the driver and then patted her hand and walked back into the church. The carriage was suddenly moving once again and Jasmine was surprised but very happy as he pulled around a corner. He didn’t move far but at least she wasn’t in view of the one place holding so much heartbreak.
She was trying to decide whether or not she should walk away in her huge dress or just sit there until the driver decided they could leave. Then, the door opened again and Derek slid in beside her. He looked at her face in confusion as her tears silently fell.
“My father said I needed to talk to you, so here I am. We have a deal Jasmine and I hope you’re smart enough to remember that. I’ve done everything possible to make this the wedding you wanted,” he told her, in an almost cynical voice.
“Why would you choose this spot?” she questioned him, as some fresh tears escaped. He stared at her another moment before he spoke.
“I thought this place was very fitting, after all it’s the spot you sent your father to buy me out of your life. I thought it was ironic to marry in the place where you let me know I wasn’t good enough for you,” he almost spat.
It was now Jasmine’s turn to stare open mouthed at him. She didn’t know what he was talking about. He was the one who had left her, not the other way around. Her tears dried up in her confusion and she barely noticed when he grabbed the napkin and cleaned her face up.
“You left me, not the other way around,” she barely whispered to him. “Why would you say my father paid you off? Why are you saying any of this? I don’t understand,” she cried. Being in this spot was making it all new and fresh. The pain from that day still haunted her, especially when she looked into her son’s face.
They both looked into one another’s eyes as they tried to figure out what the other was talking about.
“Why don’t you tell me about that day?” he finally asked her. He was starting to have a really bad feeling in his gut.
“Why would you want me to humiliate myself still?” she questioned him. She couldn’t believe he was so horrible that he’d get enjoyment out of her pain.
“Please just tell me everything that happened after we said goodbye that night?” he asked her and the change in his tone alerted her that something was wrong. He didn’t sound condemning or accusatory. He sounded as if he really wanted to know what she’d done, so she began to relive the worst day of her life.
She told him how she had gone home and told her dad everything and that he’d been supportive. She told him how she’d gone to the church and waited until the sun sunk from the sky. She explained she’d never been more devastated in her life and when she found out a while later she carried his child the pain had been two-fold. It was horrible. She was crying once more by the end of her talking.
Derek said nothing, as she told him the truth of that morning. He had no doubts what she said was true. He now understood it had been her father all along and the man had succeeded at breaking them up. Her father was truly a horrible man, because he must’ve known the child she carried was his and yet he still hadn’t tried to fix things. The man deserved everything that had happened to him in the last couple of months and so much more.
Derek finally took her chin in his hands and lifted her sad eyes up to meet his. She looked so heartbroken and it killed him to know he was responsible for her pain. She hadn’t left him, he realized and his heart was bursting with joy. He loved her even more than he did when they were still young and naive.