Chapter 104: Chapter 104
Amelia's POV
Anna came in wearing a beautiful white flowing lace gown with a floor-sweeping train finished in eyelash lace. Her luxurious brown locks cascaded down her back with a jeweled hair comb sweeping it to one side. Dainty diamond-encrusted earrings and matching bracelets adorned her, giving her an ethereal and angelic look. She supported gran, Tristan's grandmother as they approached us slowly, smiling at all of us. Audrey, wearing a white and red sheath dress came in with another woman who was gran's nurse and greeted us approvingly. Finally, after gran's nurse took over from her, Anna came over to us.
"Hi, when did you come?" she asked excitedly.
"Five minutes back," I answered her. "This dress looks so good on you," I said, having specially designed it for her for the event. Anna grinned with happiness.
"Thanks a lot, Amy. In fact, all the dresses you designed are truly exceptional," she said, making me blush a little.
"Thanks, I'm glad that you like them, Anna," I said honestly. Claire walked toward us, smiling at us.
"We've been waiting for ten minutes already. What took you so long?" asked Claire.
"Sorry we're late, gran had a little trouble getting into the car," Anna explained.
"That's alright," said Cassandra. "How are we all looking in red?" she asked excitedly.
"Drop dead gorgeous! It's a shame that the boys won't see you today," said Anna with a wink.
"Who dressed up for them?" Cassandra rolled her eyes. They all grinned knowingly, wishing in their hearts that the boys would somehow see them. They had no idea what was cooking up in their heads.
Anna turned towards me. "Come on, I'll introduce you to gran," she said warmly. My heart started beating with apprehension. Would Tristan's family like me the way they liked Anna? Would gran accept me? I was over-eager to get her approval.
Drawing me forward towards gran, she introduced us, "Gran, this is Amelia, Tristan's girlfriend. She designed all our dresses for the wedding, and Amy this is our gran," she said with a bright smile on her face. My eyes widened hearing her introduce me as Tristan's girlfriend. It made me blush but it felt so good that I didn't correct her. Let them think of me as his girlfriend. I smiled, kissing gran on her cheek but she pulled me into a warm hug. Claire told me that gran had hip surgery a few months back, and she was recuperating.
"Hello, gran. So good to meet you," I said with a warm smile, hugging her back.
"C'mon, let's go. The event is about to start. I wonder where all the boys are! I haven't seen them for the last two hours!" exclaimed Tristan's mom, making us all groan. Gran chuckled knowingly.
"Did you expect them to see you off, Audrey? I'm sure they're up to something," said Gran, making our eyes widen as we looked at one another.
"Do you think, we'll let them?" said Claire with an eye-roll and then she and Audrey ushered us into the elevator and we went upstairs to the venue. I gasped with wonder at the grandeur of the place.
My eyes were dazzled by the huge, banquet hall opening onto a secret private garden and pool area. A beautiful balloon decoration with white and red balloons hung in the middle of the hall, with green garlands and red streamers hanging from it. There were two huge dining tables on either side of it, sheathed in white silk tablecloth with a golden table runner through the middle of it. Small glass vases with red and white roses were placed at regular intervals, giving the whole place a very vibrant look. Small handmade cards with the names of guests were placed thoughtfully on the table. The chairs were encased in similar white silken fabric and tied with a red ribbon.
Red, white, and pink tulle fabric was bunched together and strung like garlands and used with naturally cut bougainvillea spilling out of small conical vases hung on walls, giving the area a magical vibe. The decor was so awesome that it had me wishing that I was the bride now. How would it feel if I really was the bride? And Tristan, my groom? I blinked away the thoughts and concentrated on what was happening around me.
Floral decorations and tulle were hung in the garden area, with lots of seating arrangements. The whole thing was done up in shades of white interspersed with bright violet and lavender, giving the place a dreamy, romantic vibe. How I wished that this would be my pre-wedding party instead of Anna's!
Five muscular and tall security guards stood at attention making us look like celebrities. Huh! Who needed five security guards? Two each were stationed at the two entrances to the banquet hall, and another at the garden entrance, all wearing dark-shaded sunglasses and full uniform with caps too, all having identical buff bodies and mustaches. I gaped at them. Why were they wearing sunglasses? I'd never seen security guards with sunglasses! It looked ridiculous and I couldn't help the giggle that erupted from my mouth. The strange thing was that they seemed like guards straight out of some celebrity magazine!
"What the hell! Why do we need such tight security?" asked Cassandra, eyeing the guards.
"I know, right? I feel less like a bride and more like a celebrity!" giggled Anna.
We entered the hall amidst a lot of chatter and silly giggling. Everyone was talking at the same time. I could hardly hear a thing. Most women eyed the security guards with lustful eyes. I rolled my eyes at their flirty glances. They were Audrey's or Anna's guests, some were family members while the others were colleagues of Anna's from her dance institute. Gran was escorted by her nurse Ellie Stewart, and we sat in the garden area to begin the event. I could feel the hair at the nape of my neck stand up. I knew I was being watched. I looked around but found no one. Was I hallucinating?