Chapter 15 - Didnt Have the Courage (1/2)

After all guests had left, Chen Mu waited for Susu outside of her fitting room. Hearing familiar light heel sounds coming down the hall, his eyes focused on the girl in a simple white wedding dress with embroidered flower designs. Although simple, the elegance that she emitted was undeniably beautiful. Her hair was tied up and a veil could be seen on her hair; untouched.

”Chen Mu, I thought you left already.” She smiled sweetly. She had minimal makeup on her almost poreless, glowy skin. He noticed a strand of her hairstyle loosen on the side and reached out to help her fix it.

Before his fingers touched the veil on her head, he had paused and asked, ”May I? You have a strand of hair sticking out on the side. It kind of bothers me.”

”Sure. It's not like anyone else will be uncovering the veil off my head anyways.” She giggled lightly and stood still, waiting for him to fix the loose strand for her. Gently and slowly, his fingers lifted the veil and he leaned closer to her.

”You look beautiful today.” He whispered to her ears as his face remained a few inches from her face. In his heart, he felt suffocated watching her suffer and marry a man whom she did not want to marry. He also understood that this was something she wanted to do for her mother.

”Thank you.” The dazzling smile that she revealed while showing her teeth made her look like the blissful brides at the wedding hall. She was an angel with the most beautiful heart that he had never seen in anyone he met.

Chen Mu saw the wedding ring on her finger and held onto that hand while rubbing the hard surface of the ancient looking ring, ”This ring... suit you well. You know, there is a story behind the making of this ring. A famous designer wanted to create a ring for his fiance, but on the day that he had completed it, his fiance died in an accident. Shortly after her death, the designer lost his aspirations to continue making unique pieces. This pair of matching rings was his last work.”

”Chen Mu...” She sounded astonished when she heard the story.

”Hmm?” His eyes gazed gently at the woman whom he loved dearly, but became somebody else's bride today.

”Did Tian Yuo tell you this story? Because I heard the exact same thing one time. It was during the first time I met him. I recognized the ring around his neck and after talking for a bit, he told me the story behind this ring.” She sighed softly as she reminisced about the past when she first fell in love with him.

Chen Mu smiled and poked her forehead, ”You don't need to know how I know about this story. Just focus on being the bride and main girl for the day. Hurry and go changed. Everyone is waiting for you downstairs.”

”Mm...” When she saw Chen Mu, her sullen heart felt slightly better. Now that he reminded her that everyone was waiting for her, it brought her back to reality that she is living with the Tian family now.

She swallowed nervously as she set her hand on the door knob, preparing herself to change out of the wedding dress and follow her in-laws home. Sensing her anxiety, Chen Mu couldn't help but wrap his arms around her to give her a hug of encouragement. He had been holding himself back from hugging her because he knew that he would have to fight his inner desires even stronger to not bring her away from this place.

Her voice trembled slightly, ”Thanks, I needed that.” It was obvious that she didn't want to go. If he had the choice and was in the right position to snatch her away, he would do it right now. He waited until she came out of the fitting room to say goodbye.

Waving and smiling at her lonely back figure made him feel like an idiot. He watched her enter the elevator, press the floor button, and the elevator doors close. His legs lost its strength, and he slumped against the wall of the hallway.

With his hands covering either side of his lowered head, tears began to trail down from his eyes to his jawline. He mumbled, ”Chen Mu, you idiot. You had the chance to explain to her and tell her that the person she met to begin with was you! The person whom she thought was Tian Yuo was actually you! And the one whom she has fallen in love with since young... had been you. Why was it this hard to gather up courage to tell her the truth?”

With his eyes closed, he tried calming his emotions by taking deep breaths. In his mind, flashbacks to their first meeting replayed over and over again...

Tian Yuo (Age 6): ”Come on! Let's switch for the day. Sometimes even our mothers can't figure us out because we swapped out clothes and accessories! Please...I'm going to tell my mom that I don't want to marry her anyways.”