It was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Valerie never believed in that until now. She gnawed on her bottom lip as a whole platoon of stylists gathered around her, making her pretty for the big ceremony. If Richard saw her on edge like this, he would throw a big fuss and she knew how that would end.

The stylists told her it was normal pre-wedding jitters. They said she was the luckiest girl in the world to be marrying Richard, the youngest billionaire with a face and body of a supermodel. They said she was in the middle of a fairytale. Or maybe one of those erotic books where the guy was not only rich but attractive and had a personality that required a girl to tame.

Valerie didn’t try to correct them. They weren’t wrong anyway. He did have the looks, the body, and the money. He could be kind and caring too. She would be lying if she said that the lavish gifts and gestures hadn’t won her heart during courtship. 

Besides, if it weren’t for Richard, her fashion career would have died in the crib. He had launched her from a nobody into an up-and-coming personal stylist within a year. That was the good thing about dating - and marrying - someone who was born into old money. They had the financial assets and the connections to make things happen.

“You can use your phone now, Miss Kim. We have finished your nails.” one of the stylists said.

Murmuring her thanks, Valerie reached for her latest model phone that Richard had bought her a week ago. A message popped up. It was from Richard, of course.

She typed out a quick reply.

Three dots appeared on the screen, followed by a message.

Valerie huffed. She hated reporting everything she did to Richard. People said it was sweet and considerate of him. She had thought so too in the beginning. In fact, she had tolerated all his little eccentricities until yesterday.

The memory of their conversation in bed yesterday flashed in her mind. She had been telling him about her unplanned visit to her sister, Kyler’s place. Over the last week, she had gone to Kyler’s house countless times to go over the wedding and discuss Kyler’s duties as maid of honor. 

It had been a long time since the two sisters had spent time together after Valerie moved out to live with Richard. Although Kyler never said anything bad out loud, she could tell that Kyler was wary and distrustful of Richard. Sad to say, Richard felt the same way about Kyler.

But when she had gone to Kyler’s place, they had had such a wonderful time together. It was as if they had never been apart. She had been regaling Richard about what was going on in her sister’s life. How Kyler was under a lot of stress because of her dissertation. And then she brought up her idea to stay with Kyler one day a week to help out with chores.

Richard had a kind smile plastered on but she could see the tension knotting his shoulders as he said, “If she’s under that much stress, I think we shouldn’t force her to be maid of honor. I can get my cousin, Madeleine, to step in. You know her. She’s a darling. Also, you know what I think? After we get married, it might be better if you spend less time with Kyler.”

When she had asked why, he merely shrugged and waved it off. He joked around about married couples being all lovey-dovey and Kyler being able to take care of herself without her big sister around. She had no choice but to accept his explanation since he promptly went to sleep. But his answer gnawed at her the whole time.

She glanced back down at her phone. Swiping the conversation with Richard to one side, she opened up a chat with Kyler and typed out a message.

Two seconds passed before a reply came.

She shook her head and wrote back.

She had typed the last three words after second-guessing her own intentions. Maybe this was normal pre-wedding jitters after all.

That gave her pause. Was she happy? 

Another message appeared.

Valerie almost laughed out loud. A fortune teller who sells tea and soothes people’s minds? Why did that make her mind drop down the gutter? She tilted her head to one side, disturbing the work of the stylist working on her hair. Muttering an apology, she righted her head.

“How much longer will this take?” she asked the stylist.

“Sorry about the wait, Miss Kim. About five more minutes or so and we’ll be done.”

Settling back into her seat, she waited for Kyler to reply. Once she had the location, she booked a taxi. Left with nothing else to do, she looked at herself in the large mirror. She almost couldn’t recognize the person looking back. A more elegant, regal version of herself stared at her with vacant eyes.

Was this really going to be her when she married Richard?

To be honest, she loved the curls they had weaved into her chest-length hair. And her makeup was perfect. On any other day, she would have been on cloud nine. But nothing made her happy. All because stupid Richard had said that about Kyler.