The King's Lover
Chapter 219: The Bouquet

Chapter 219: The Bouquet

Rose watched with a huge smile as the bride and groom said their vows, pledging to love and cherish each other until their deathbed and sealing it with a kiss as soon as the groom lifted his bride’s veil.

Rose clapped with a bright smile on her face. It was a wonderful wedding, but at the same time, it was hard not to think of what could have been.

Hers would have been a simple wedding too, perhaps even simpler and smaller than Edna’s. She didn’t have a lot of family. Her mother was the only child of old parents who had died long before Rose was born, and her father wasn’t from Edenville.

Rose didn’t have aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, or nephews like Edna did. So only a few people would have been in attendance and they would be more of Ander’s family.

She would have also worn her mother’s wedding dress, an old white dress. Rose had always wanted to wear it since she first laid eyes on it when she was only eight.

Her bouquet would have been roses. Her mother said it suited her. She didn’t know if the woman was right or wrong, but she had been named after the deep red flower.

Rose blinked away the thoughts of loss and concentrated on the wonderful moment in front of her, clapping hard at their kiss as tears filled the corners of her eyes.

After that, it was time to throw the bouquet, and Mia sought her amid the guests and pulled her out of her seat. "Join them," she cried.

No one seemed to be coming to her rescue as the little girl tried to drag her, and Mia’s mother was nowhere to be found.

"Mia, I don’t think..." but the rest of her words died in her throat when she saw Edna with her veil off, gesturing for her to join the ladies who were lined up in front. Some of them pushed to stay in front of others. Rose could hear the sounds of laughter and giggles even as they struggled.

She nodded and stood to her feet, letting Mia drag her. The young girl pulled her to where the other girls were and stood beside Rose. Out of nowhere, her mother snatched her away, saying, "You’re too young to get married."

Mia cried as her mother lifted her, kicking out her legs, but her mother didn’t hold her. Rather, she tossed her onto a huge man who grabbed her effortlessly.

"Papa!" Mia wept. "I want to catch the bouquet too."

"Not yet, Mia," her father said, tapping lightly on her back.

"But Papa," Mia cried as she rubbed her eyes. "Why can’t I?"

"Don’t worry. Very soon, you will. I promise."

She lifted her head and looked at her father’s face. She didn’t look convinced by his reply, but she surprisingly stopped crying and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That’s my girl," he said and tickled her, and she giggled.

"Papa," she cried, signaling him to stop. free.webn\ove(l)(.)c(o)m

Rose smiled as she watched. Suddenly, Edna’s voice called out. "Are you ready?" she asked and raised the bouquet.

"Rose, get it!" Mia cheered from her father’s shoulders.

"Hey!" one of the ladies in the front yelled. "You aren’t even going to support your aunty?" She also had a resemblance to Edna.

"No!" Mia replied, sticking out her tongue, and everyone laughed.

"Ready?" Edna yelled in front of them.

"We are!" the ladies said and turned to face the bride.

Edna slowly turned her back to them, her train dragging across the ground. "Ready?!" she asked again as she lifted the bouquet.

"We are!"

Edna lifted her arms and tossed them backward, but it was only a feint, and complaints poured through the women gathered. Edna laughed as she lifted her hand once again, throwing it backward as hard as she could.

Rose stood behind all the women. She looked up as the bouquet floated overhead. At first, it was too far to reach, and then it was right in front of her. She didn’t think—she just reached out and jumped, catching it before anyone else.

All the ladies almost jumped on her, but they stopped and hugged her instead while Mia clapped loudly from her father’s shoulders.

It was dahlias, Rose mumbled to herself as she stared down at the bouquet. She had not been able to see the kind of flower they were before now.

The pale purple flowers were stacked together in the wrap and tied at the bottom. The little petals clustered to form a small, circular flower with a dozen flowers forming the bouquet. They were very pretty, and they smelled just as good.

"Congratulations," Edna announced with excitement as she saw who caught the flower. "You’re going to get married next."

Rose smiled back at her, but she didn’t believe Edna’s words in the slightest. The bouquet catch was nothing but a game. She was stuck in a whirlpool and could only move in the direction it spun her.

After the bouquet, Edna introduced her to a few members of her family as people gathered and spoke. "The banquet will begin soon," Edna said.

"I don’t think I can wait till then," Rose said when they were alone. She looked towards the guests as they huddled together and children ran all around. They looked like a tightly knit family. Rose was almost envious.

"Yes, you can." feeNovelFire

Rose shook her head and turned towards the carriage. It hadn’t moved, but now Thomas rested on it, his eyes locked on her. She had noticed him when she went up to catch the bouquet.

"I can’t. I have to get back to the castle. And I believe this is yours," she whispered and started to hand Edna back the bouquet, but the latter quickly stepped back.

"I can’t take that. I can’t even touch it again. It will bring bad luck. It’s yours now," she gave Rose a soft smile.

Rose nodded.

"Thank you for your gift," Edna said.

Rose shrugged. "It’s not really mine. Mister Henry said I should give it to you."

Edna nodded and looked to her feet. "I’m glad you came."

"I’m glad I came too. You’re such a beautiful bride. I can’t believe I would have missed this. And I’m sorry. I never should have reacted in that manner. I was just angry, and I truly wish you a happy marriage."

Rose smiled, her eyes wrinkling at the sides. She could feel the tears just under her eyes, but she held them back. Edna might think it wasn’t happy tears.