Red Love

Chapter 56

Back  to Lucy's POV

I place a hesitate hand on my stomach, taking deep breaths to settle the sick feeling. My chest rapidly rises and falls as my mind races with all the worst possible scenarios that could happen today.

"You need to calm down before you end up passing out." Dina's quiet, focused voice sounds from above me.

"I know." I groan, ready to stand from the chair but quickly remembering that my hair is currently being curled.

"Dina's right. We would hate to put the wedding on hold because the bride is out cold." Barbara smiles, teasingly, but I add her joke to the growing list of things that could go wrong. My heart rate increases.

"Lucy, she was joking." Cass interjects, noticing the uncomfortable shift in my facial expression.

"I know, I know, it's just...it could happen. Or I could trip on my way down the aisle, or I could puke all over the place, or someone else could puke all over the place, or...Jason could could not show up. Today could be the day that Jason wakes up and realizes that I'm not the girl for him, that I'm not worth his time or devotion, that he deserves so much more. Today could be the day that Jason wakes up and realizes that he doesn't love me. He could leave me at the alter both humiliated and heartbroken." I feel a tear fall down my cheek as I voice my greatest fear.

The amount of fear and excitement I feel today is overwhelming. I'm either about to gain the world or lose the one thing I value more than the world. My life is about to either finally settle into place or finally shatter into a million pieces. I'm on the verge of gaining or loosing everything, and I've never been so afraid.

"Lucy, look at me." A quiet yet firm voice commands. "Jason is not going to leave you. He loves you way too much to leave you. Trust me when I say, you make him happier than he has ever been. I haven't known Jason long, but I have never seen him smile wider or laugh harder than when he is with you. You make his life better in every way. He knows better than anyone that you are a gift, a one in a million blessing. Girls like you don't appear everywhere, and Jason would be fool to let you go. And while Jason may make some stupid choices, he is not a fool." Kody smiles as she tilts my head up and forces me to look her in the eyes.

I take one look in her deep hazel pools, letting her words envelop me a sort of mental safety blanket. I sigh peacefully as the truth of her words calms my racing mind and soothes the fears that nearly overtake me. Kody moves to grasp my hands, giving them a firm squeeze before tucking a loose curl behind my ear. I close my eyes and take one more deep breathe before giving a small nod.

"Feeling better?" She whispers. I give another nod. It's the only action I feel strong enough to muster. "Alright, everyone back to work. We still have a lot to get done and not a lot of time to do it." Kody walks towards the large closet of the suite but turns to face me one more time before she slips inside. "Oh, and Lucy, if Jason did try to escape, I wouldn't let him get three feet outside before I tackled him to the ground. I can promise you that."

———————Time Skip———————

My hand goes to reach for the large skirt that is currently pooling around me. I smile softly as I run my other hand down the fitted bodice of my dress. Everything about me screams princess, billionaire,...wife.

I take one final look at my face, realizing that this is the last time I will see myself as a Quinn. After today I will leave behind the name that has caused me such a lonely and painful life. Today I become someone new. Today I become a Todd. A brief sadness comes over me as I realize that I've actually enjoyed being a Quinn. And with that last name there is so much I could do, so many alliances I could make, so much power I could hold. I realize that being a Quinn has made me special in ways I couldn't imagine, and I feel like today I will loose that uniqueness.