Chapter 30

The wedding ceremony went just as planned. I felt cold as David slipped the ring onto my finger and made his vows, but I smiled with tears in my eyes.

David’s possesive words during the ceremony unsettled me, but I couldn’t dwell on it. He hadn’t been so forward in the original timeline.

He must have been more unsettled by the public drama between us than I realized. He obviously wanted my adoring gaze only on him so that no one would think there was still tension between us.

I obliged. It was better for me if it seemed I was still deeply in love with him.

Afterwards, David and I went around to every table to greet our guests and thank them for attending.

Everyone told us how beautiful the ceremony was. Many people complimented the table décor, and even more complimented my dress, which I proudly told them had belonged to my grandmother, who had passed away shortly after I was born.

David responded to the compliments by bragging, of course.

“The ring is really something, don’t you think?” he said as he grabbed my wrist and held my hand out to show off the diamond.

“It’s nice,” the luna of Briar Rose agreed. “Did you choose it yourself, David?”

“It’s a family heirloom,” he said proudly. “It belonged to my grandmother.”

“That’s such a sweet gesture,” the luna said kindly.

I stared down at the small diamond. It was a simple gold band with a small solitaire diamond. It couldn’t be more than a half carat. It was nice, but hardly worth bragging about the way that David was.

After we had gone to every table, it was announced that dinner was ready, and we returned to the head table to eat.

There were speeches and toasts, but I found it difficult to focus on them. There was so much going on around us, and everyone seemed to be having such a good time. It was a relief, but it also upset me because I knew that none of it was real.

I wasn’t a happily married woman celebrating with my friends and family; this was all just a show, and in a few more hours, it would be exposed.

As much as I knew that this plan had to move forward and I had to show everyone the truth about David, it still hurt to know that all of this happiness was ultimately for nothing.

My mother must have noticed that I seemed off. She switched seats with my father so that she could sit next to me, then leaned in and softly asked, "Why aren’t you eating?"

I looked down at my barely touched plate. "I am," I said, "and the food is delicious. I just…"

"It’s important that you eat and keep your strength up," she reminded me. "We still have a long night ahead of us."

I nodded. She had no idea how right she was.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said, looking up at her.

"Anything you want," she replied.

"Why didn’t you offer me Grandma's dress in the first place?"

She sighed and leaned back slightly in her chair. "I didn’t want you to feel obligated to wear it," she explained.

"Your style was always so bright and eye-catching, and this is such a classic look. I didn’t think that it would suit you, and I didn’t want you to be forced to wear something you wouldn’t like."

"But I love this dress," I said. "It is unique because it’s so old-fashioned. The lace is beautiful, and it fits me so well."

She smiled. "I agree," she said. "And if it weren’t for the fact that your fashion sense seems to have changed so much recently, I never would have thought to offer it to you."

Her explanation made sense, but it made me feel a little sad. The old me from the original timeline had insisted on a dress that was bold and edgy. It had gotten me attention in all the wrong ways.

To think that I had missed out on wearing this dress all because my mother had wanted to make sure that I got exactly what I wanted and didn’t want me to feel obligated. It was bittersweet.

"I’m glad things worked out the way they did," I said. "This dress is the perfect choice for me."

"I agree," my mother said happily.

I continued to chat with my mother as I ate my food, but soon dinner was over. People were beginning to drink, dance, and socialize.

David went off to talk to a couple of the other alphas, leaving me alone to mingle with the crowd. It seemed that everyone was having a good time, which made it a little easier.

"Congratulations," a pretty female voice said. I turned to find the Alpha King’s daughter, Elizabeth, standing beside me.

I wasn’t sure exactly how to greet her, and she must have seen the panic on my face.

She laughed and held her hand out to me. I shook her hand, feeling my face heat with embarrassment. "Thank you for coming," I said.

"Of course," she replied kindly. "I must admit, I was looking forward to meeting you."

"Really?" I said, surprised. "Honestly, I find it hard to believe you even know who I am."

"Only you’ve gotten quite a bit of attention lately," she said.

"Oh," I said softly, realizing she must have seen the videos and heard the rumors about what happened with David and Amanda in the restaurant.

"I saw your interview at the Alpha King banquet," she said. "I think it’s very brave how open you were about your dormant wolf. You handled that situation with a lot of grace and bravery. It really impressed me."

"Thank you," I said meekly. "I really appreciate that. I’m glad it came across that way. In the moment, it was such a shock; I was just trying to handle it all without crying."

"I’m sure it was very upsetting," she said, "which is why I was so impressed with the way you handled it. I asked my father about you, and he had only good things to say, so I decided that I had to meet you myself."

"I’m very flattered," I responded.

“I always like to meet other women who can stand up for themselves and speak their minds,” she said, “which is why I have to ask you a rather rude question.”

“You can ask me anything,” I replied.

I had no idea what she might want to know, but it wasn’t as though I could deny the Alpha’s daughter anything.

“I did some more reading about you after I saw your interview, and I became aware of some of the other things that have happened recently,” her eyes moved toward David, who was standing not too far from us.

I grimaced and nodded. “Yes, we’ve had some unfortunate incidents,” I said.

“So I just had to ask,” she continued, “why did you end up marrying him? He seems to have such a terrible reputation, and after what happened with his fated mate... it just seems to me that it would be so difficult to trust a man like that.”

“I can see why you would think that,” I replied, “but David and I have known each other since we were small children. He’s the only person I’ve ever seriously dated.”

“You are young,” she pointed out. “It’s not like there should be any rush for you to get married, so I don’t understand why you would settle for a man like him.”

I looked at David. Everything she said made sense, and I was sure that from her perspective, I must seem like an absolute fool for moving forward with the wedding. I couldn’t let my apparent choice to forgive everything that he had done to me so publicly come back to negatively impact my reputation.

I looked at her and smiled. “I know how it must seem from the outside,” I said, “and maybe my judgment is blinded by my feelings.”

The words hung in the air between us, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. Her eyes remained locked on mine, searching, as if she didn’t quite believe me.

“The reason that I went forward with the marriage is simple,” I explained. “I love him.”