Having Her

Chapter 1

D A I S Y

"I am the maid of honor, I am supposed to walk out last." I tell Sia, my best-friend and the bride who just pouts more upon learning that I had to walk out with the bridesmaids, and even though I would be the last one, I'd still walk out before her.

"I really want you with me."

"I know, but that's not how it's supposed to work, remember?" I insist, "I walk out last, just before your daughter, and then you take your entrance. Jake will be by your side."

She nods, sighing. "Is Aliyah ready?"

"She is." I grin, "And let me tell you, she looks just like you in that white dress. I mean, I know she's supposed to look like you being your daughter and everything, but I've always believed she has more of the Wilson genes... until today. She looks like a young Sia."

Sia's face brightened up quickly upon talking about her daughter. "Is she nervous?"

"Nope. She's only two but she's so excited to be able to walk down the aisle before you. She's really happy being your flower girl."

She shakes her head. "Two and a half. Besides, I think she's just happiest she gets to walk down before you. You know how much your niece adores you." 

I shrug, winking. "I'm the best."

Sia laughs as I help her with her the pins that hold her veil. God, this was the dream when I first learnt that my twin brother and my best-friend had a thing for each other... for them to get married someday.

I had seen too many perfect stories end up either in heartbreak or in graves, and the mere thought of their story ending with the same fate had always lurked in my heart. I wanted them to be bound to each other for life, because that's how they had fallen in love... in whole. And then their story did turn out to be perfect in the end. The high-school sweethearts who had a perfect love, a perfect daughter and now the perfect wedding. 

And even then... I had this overwhelming feeling that I was forgetting something. 

"The flowers are in place. The decorations look okay. The band is here. The music is alright. The bouquet is ready. Aliyah is all dressed, even you are all done. What am I forgetting then?" I voiced my worry out loud.

This was the fourth time I had cross checked the list I had made, and everything was good. And yet, I couldn't shake this feeling off... as if I was forgetting something.

"Nothing." Sia smiled at me as she walked closer carefully holding her gown up. "Dais, everything is alright and in place. You haven't forgotten anything."

"I'm just stressed." I accept, smiling sheepishly. "I dreamed this moment for you since we were kids. I want everything to be perfect."

"Everything is perfect." She insisted holding my hand in hers and giving it a squeeze.

"Except your veil." I say, my eyes widening, "Why is it falling so low?"

My best-friend chuckled. "The hair pins got a little lose."

I frowned. "Let me adjust it for you." She says on the chair in front of her mirror, and I stood behind her, observing how they were placed before I remove and redo them.

"You know I wouldn't be here if not for you, right?" She looks at me from the mirror, "You literally took care of every small detail."

"That's my job.." I smile too, pressing my eyes in reassurance. "..to make sure everything is perfect for my best friend when she walks down the aisle today. Except these hair pins. Why can I not figure them out for the life of me?!"

"Dais, I will take care of that.." My eyes snap at the entrance of the room to see Anna walk in. Ah, saviour. Anna was my step-brother's fiancée, and we had quickly ended up becoming best friends after I first met her years ago. 

"Thanks Anna." I give her a sheepish smile, letting her take over. I was good with a lot of things, but taking care of hair pins was not one of them. 

"So, how excited are you to get married now?" Sia smugly smiled looking at Anna, who just blushed.

"I'm still nervous."

"I told you Anna, everyone's nervous until the day finally comes. And then when you're actually walking down the aisle, it all becomes fine again." Sia re-assures her, and Anna only timidly nodded in return.

Anna had terrible social anxiety, and she had been very vocal to us about how she was so nervous to walk down the aisle. Her wedding was a few months from now.

"How did Zach let you off his eyes, huh?" Sia teased, changing the topic.

Anna just rolled her eyes playfully. "You know he forgets the world when he sees Aliyah."

I and Sia both laughed. God, Zach loved Aliyah and left no stone unturned in pampering her. 

"My husband let me go," Anna added, "But your boyfriend was finding you, Dais."

I bit my tongue when I realised I hadn't seen him since I arrived at the location and got dressed.

"Shit." I mumble, "I'll be back."

Both the girls laugh watching me hold my gown up and run downstairs as fast as I could in my heels. High heels were uncomfortable, but to be honest, I was more used to them then most. I was a model, and was almost always in heels- on the ramp, behind the stage, in parties and sometimes even under street wear. 

I reach into the halls, and the first person I meet eyes with is Zach, my step-brother, who was cooing Aliyah while talking to Justin, a common friend of him and Cole, my twin brother and Sia's groom.

"Hey," I was breathless, and that quickly caught both their attention. "Have you seen Jay?"

"Yes," Justin answered with a smug smile, "Your boyfriend is finding you."

"Or so I've heard." I mumble, "Where is he?"

"Behind you," Zach answered, and furrowing my eyebrows, I turn rapidly, only to come face to face with him.

Jay. My boyfriend.

"Hello beautiful." An immediate smile spread through my lips as I heard his voice and saw him in front of me dressed in a blue tux and a bow tie, a cheeky smile on his lips.

"Hi." I felt even more breathless. Maybe it was because I and him had been distant lately- with him settling in a new business and me busy planning my best-friend and twin brother's wedding. Or maybe it was because I was still as dazed by his charm as I was when the first time I saw him. Or maybe it was just the blue tux. Hmm, it was definitely that.

"You look stunning." He tells me, his eyes scanning my wine coloured gown. 

"I look pretty similar to all of the bridesmaids," I playfully roll my eyes.

"Except you look prettiest." He cheekily says, leaning down to kiss me and I meet him midway, placing a soft kiss on his cheek instead. His hand wraps around my waist and he looks puzzled as to why I didn't kiss him, but I simply pointed at Aliyah behind us. 

Aliyah might be only two, but she was an inquisitive kid and sometimes had questions that her parents couldn't manage to explain to her in baby terms, which was why they kept PDA to the minimum in front of her and so did we, always afraid that her next question might take all of us by surprise.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something." I tell him.

However, his smile just inches further. "It's the nerves," he assures me, "You've looked into every little thing that you could and everything is perfect outside, just like you wanted it to be."

He placed another little kiss on my nose. I relaxed considerably. "I've missed you," I mumbled.

Maintaining a long distance relationship could be hard. It was Anna who had introduced me to Jay about three years ago, and while we had a little summer fling it had soon ended when I had to return to Paris and Jay to Brooklyn. We somehow stayed in touch and reconnected a year ago. He asked me to be his girlfriend about six months ago, and I'd said yes, hoping it wouldn't be so hard anymore.

I was going to shift to Queens to be near my mother after Cole and Sia's wedding, and with Jay in Brooklyn, we'd be only an hour away from each other.

"I've missed you too," He replied, smiling, "And I can't wait for you to shift so close to me."

"Yeah," I smiled from ear to ear, "Me neither."

Justin cleared his throat behind us. We both turned towards him, and he went on, "It's time."

I nodded taking a step away from Jay. "I'll see you outside."

"Mh-hmm." He buzzed, nodding, placing a kiss on my cheek as I left inside to take one last look at myself and then make sure that all of Sia's bridesmaids were there and ready to walk out.

My brother was already at the altar. He looked nervous in his black suit, but still as happy as ever because the smile on his lips and twinkle in his eyes never seemed to die down.

Everything was perfect. All of the bridesmaids looked perfect and their partners look perfect. The day was nice and sunny and golden and the white and pastel blue flower decorations that I had helped Sia pick out looked perfect.

Hell, even Aliyah walked out perfectly. She had had practice since she was also going to be the flower girl at Zach and Anna's wedding a couple months later and had already been practicing for both the weddings.

It was perfect when all the bridesmaids walked down the aisle with their partners, and it was perfect when I followed alone.

Everything seemed perfect to me until I saw the man standing next to Cole, and a cold shiver passed down my spine when his dark green eyes fell upon me and he didn't bother looking away, making my smile flatline despite how much I tried to keep it on.

Caleb Miller was the best man. From all the things to forget, how could I have forgotten something like this?

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