Our Accidental Forever
Chapter 31: The Wedding Preparation

Chapter 31: The Wedding Preparation

Arec’s POV:

I never imagined preparing for a wedding could be this exhausting, or awkward. Every step felt like I was sinking deeper into a tangled mess.

A tailor circled around me, fussing over my tie as I stood in front of the full-length mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief.

The tuxedo fit perfectly, tailored down to every inch, making me look like the groom I was supposed to be.

But somehow, it felt too tight. Like the fabric was reminding me just how constrained this whole situation was.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath.

"Ridiculous?" The tailor glanced up at me from where he was adjusting my cuffs. "You look sharp, Mr. Weston. Handsome. Ready for the big day."

I forced a smile, nodding slightly, but inside, everything felt... wrong. The big day. The wedding. The fake marriage. It all felt like a performance, and I was the lead actor, playing a role I wasn’t prepared for but had to.

A knock at the door saved me from my spiraling thoughts. I turned to see Ella standing there, looking more nervous than I’d ever seen her.

She was already in her dress, a simple, elegant gown that flowed softly around her. It wasn’t over-the-top or flashy, but it suited her perfectly. Under different circumstances, I might have told her how beautiful she looked, but today, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

She caught my eye in the mirror, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. The awkwardness between us was very visible. We’d spent the past few weeks in this strange limbo, acting like a couple in front of others, but keeping our distance when we were alone. It was exhausting, pretending to be excited about a wedding that neither of us really wanted.

The tailor excused himself, sensing the tension, leaving us alone in the dressing room.

"How’s it going?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

Ella hesitated, then stepped further into the room, smoothing down the fabric of her dress as if she didn’t know what else to do with her hands. "It’s... fine. Everything’s moving so fast, I can hardly keep up."

I nodded. "Yeah, it’s all a bit of a whirlwind, isn’t it?"

She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. "Understatement of the century."

We both laughed lightly, but it was the kind of laugh you have when you don’t know what else to do. The kind that doesn’t quite reach your gut because the situation is too absurd to process.

As the silence settled again, Ella’s gaze dropped to the floor, and I could feel the weight of everything unsaid between us. The wedding was only a few days away, and neither of us had really talked about what it meant, or how we were feeling about it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, breaking the silence.

She looked up at me, blinking as if I’d startled her with the question. "Yeah, I’m fine. Just... tired, I guess."

I nodded, understanding completely. This whole charade was exhausting. The endless meetings with vendors, the fittings, the constant pressure to smile and act like this was the most important day of our lives, it was taking a toll on both of us.

"I talked to the florist today," Ella said, her voice quiet. "They said the arrangements will be ready for delivery the morning of the wedding."

"That’s good." I cleared my throat. "And the caterer?"

"They confirmed the menu. Your grandmother approved everything."

Of course, she did. My grandmother had her hands in every part of this wedding, making sure it was exactly as she imagined. A perfect, elegant ceremony for her beloved grandson, completely unaware of the farce we were staging.

"And... the guest list?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Ella gave me a tight smile. "All set. Family and close friends. Just as we agreed."

"Right," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "No press. No media. Just... us."

"Just us," she echoed softly.

The words hung between us like a heavy weight. Just us. It was ironic, really. We were getting married in front of the people closest to us, but none of it was real.

No one would know that this wasn’t a love story, that we weren’t star-crossed lovers ready to commit our lives to each other. This was business. A contract. And yet, we were both caught up in the charade.

"Do you think people will suspects anything?" Ella asked suddenly asked.

I glanced at her, surprised by the question. Her eyes were downcast, her fingers fidgeting with the lace on her dress. She looked nervous, like she was afraid of the answer.

"No," I replied, my voice firm. "They have no reason to. As long as we stick to the plan, they’ll believe it."

Ella sighed, exhaustedly. "This is... harder than I thought it would be."

I looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"

She met my eyes, her expression pained. "Pretending. Acting like everything is fine when it’s not. My mom is so excited, Arec. She thinks I’m finally getting my happy ending, and I can’t even tell her the truth. It’s... it’s exhausting."

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I’d been so focused on my own struggles, my own pressure to make this wedding convincing, that I hadn’t considered how difficult it must be for her. She was carrying the weight of this deception just as much as I was.

"I’m sorry," I said quietly.

Ella shook her head. "It’s not your fault. I agreed to this, remember? I just... I didn’t realize how hard it would be to look my mom in the eye and lie to her face."

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to reassure her, but the words wouldn’t come. What could I say?

That everything would be fine? That once the contract was over, we’d both move on with our lives like nothing happened? I didn’t even know if I believed that myself.

Before I could figure out what to say, Ella sighed again, her shoulders slumping. "I just want it to be over," she whispered. "I want to stop pretending."

I wanted to tell her I understood, that I felt the same way, but the truth was... I wasn’t sure if I did.

The closer we got to the wedding, the more conflicted I felt. On one hand, I was desperate to secure my position as CEO and put this whole mess behind me.

But on the other hand, there was something about Ella, something that made me question whether I could really walk away from this as easily as I thought.

Before I could say anything more, the door swung open, and Sam waltzed in, a wide grin on his face.

"Wow, look at you two!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Practicing your wedding poses already, I see."

Ella and I both turned to him, startled by his sudden appearance. He winked at me, then turned his attention to Ella.

"You look beautiful, Ella," Sam said, giving her an exaggerated bow. "Arec’s one lucky guy."

Ella blushed slightly, glancing at me awkwardly. "Thanks, Sam."

I shot him a look, silently begging him to stop, but Sam just grinned wider, clearly enjoying himself.

"Can’t believe the big day’s almost here," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "You must be getting excited, Arec. Marrying the girl of your dreams and all."

I forced a smile, but it felt like my face was about to crack. "Yeah... excited."

Sam’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "Just remember, buddy. You might be able to fake a marriage, but you can’t fake chemistry. Better work on that if you don’t want anyone catching on."

I clenched my jaw, shooting him another warning look. "Thanks for the advice."

Ella shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting between me and Sam, clearly picking up on the tension.

"Well," she said quickly, "I should probably get going. The wedding planner wanted to go over a few more details with me."

She gave me a small, tight smile, then nodded to Sam before slipping out of the room. The second the door closed behind her, I turned to Sam, my frustration boiling over.

"Really?" I snapped. "You had to make it awkward?"

Sam raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I’m just trying to help you out. You two are about as natural as a pair of robots. If you don’t start acting like you’re actually in love, someone’s going to figure this out."

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "We’re fine, Sam. Everything’s under control."

"Sure," Sam said, smirking. "If by ’under control,’ you mean a complete train wreck waiting to happen."

I shot him a glare, but Sam just shrugged, completely unfazed by my irritation. "Hey, I’m just saying. You better hope you can keep this act together. Because if anyone catches on..."

He trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish. The consequences were already clear in my mind. If my grandmother discovered that this whole wedding was a sham, everything I’d worked for, everything I’d sacrificed, would go up in smoke.

"No one’s going to find out," I snapped, cutting him off before he could go further.

Sam raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhere between amused and skeptical. "Sure, if you say so," he muttered, the tone in his voice making it clear he wasn’t convinced.