Never meant to be

I was in the penthouse suite brushing my hair when I first heard the loud, panicked voices of people arguing. Not again, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. People had been fighting all day over the littlest of things. The food, the flowers, the seating arrangements and the decorations, you name it and there was a problem with it. I wasn't surprised though, my sister and mother were perfectionists, I actually pitied the wedding planner because I know how much pressure she must be in from both of these people. I wonder why she has taken up such a tremendous task of satisfying not only Cindy but also my mother. Cindy's wedding was all anybody could talk about for months, not that I was complaining or something. I'm particular happy she's getting married and I love weddings; there was just something about the ‘till death do us part’ line that always got me. The idea of two people deciding to spend the rest of their lives together was so utterly romantic and everything about a wedding symbolized that decision for me. It had surprised me that my sister had agreed to the wedding after dating Zayn for only three months but hey, I guess when you find the ‘one’, there isn't a lot left to think about. I giggled like a little girl when I thought about finding the 'one'. Hopefully I'd manage to find my soulmate too. Mark was everything I could ever ask for and more. He was thoughtful, sweet, romantic and pays attention to every details, he was the ideal boyfriend and I'd fallen for him head over heels. He would be here today and the idea of seeing him in a tux made my stomach flutter with butterflies. I got up and walked over to the full-length mirror placed in my room to examine myself, ignoring the increasingly loud voices that had started coming from the hallway. Whatever it is that was wrong could easily be handled, just like it had always been handled, seriously they just needed to calm down. I twirled a strand of my curly black hair around my finger and fidgeted with my figure-hugging cream dress. Of course it had been selected by my sister and I don't dare argue; it was her wedding after all, I couldn't just go telling her that the dress she'd picked for me barely gave me room for breathing. I was naturally curvy and the dress did a good job showing everything. Now I almost looked as thin as my sister and that made our resemblance even more prominent. Both of us were cursed with the same pale skin which had refused to get a shade darker. Cindy often said people would die to have such a clear tone but I how I wish the hours spent at the beach had paid off. The dress was fitted at the bust and the sweetest neckline revealing only an appropriate amount of cleavage. A bow right underneath the bust tightened the grip on my waist and the skirt of the dress skimmed my body, hugging the area around my hips. It was hard being in it but if I must confess, it does make me look so gorgeous. Cindy did inherit our mother's exquisitive taste. I was still standing in the mirror examining myself for the millionth time when suddenly a large number of people walked in, halting me in my tracks. My parents, Cindy's in-laws the Lyon's and her fiance Zayn, along with my uncle Steven and my Aunt Cassy all stormed in without as much as a knock, but the look on their faces made that thought go away immediately. Worry was written all over their faces and my mother looked so pale enough to faint any moment. Oh no, something terrible had happened, I thought to myself, dread filling my body. It was how defeated and gloomy my father looked that told me that the problem was bigger than the usual wedding woes. He was generally a very optimistic man and he never worries over little things. “What is it” I find myself asking them my heart racing a mile per minute. No one answered; they all looked like they were to afraid to say something. I looked around at all of them expecting someone to say something. Mrs Lyon placed a hand on her husband's shoulder just as he was about to say something. He looked so angry and I feared at witnessing one of his tantrums. After what seemed like an eternity, it was my Aunt Cassy who answered, her face contorting into a mask of pain. Okay, now I'm officially freaking out. “Honey, we found this in your sister's room” she said, holding up a piece of paper. I shakily walked towards her and grabbed the paper from her. On it, was my sister's fine handwriting, she wrote: I'm sorry but I can't do this. I can't go through with this wedding. I don't love him enough and please try to understand that I'm doing this for the both of us. I'm going away and I'm not sure if I'll be coming back. Don't try to find me and please don't bother contacting me and looking for me. A gasp left my lips as I held the note in my hands. This could not be happening. It had to be some kind of a sick joke that everyone was playing on me. My eyes searched their faces for any sign of 'yeah we got you right there' but there was no sign of contradiction. Everyone was just as shocked and hurt as I am. However, one face confirmed the horrifying act. Zayn. He looked so dejected and broken that I felt my heart ache for him. His shoulders slumped in despair, his body stiffened and his fists clenched. That however, wasn't the worst part, the worst part was how he was trying to be strong and not give away the amount he's feeling. How could Cindy have done this to him, to all of us? “Ami we know that this must be so difficult for you but the fact is that we have a wedding to hold in less than two hours with over five thousand people arriving.” I looked at my aunt like she's lost her mind. What wedding is she talking about? The bride has just ran away and left a terrible mess for all of us to deal with and the frightening consequences that were bound to follow. There isn't going to be a wedding anymore, how could there be? My father who had been quite all along suddenly spoke up like he was reading my mind. His voice lacking that confidence it normally associated with. “We can't cancel the wedding sweetheart. It'll run us, all of us. If a wedding doesn't take place today, we would not only be humiliated but also stand the chance of losing everything” he said and I looked at him stupidly trying to decipher where this was headed. My mother, someone who would never allow herself be humbled by anyone or anything looked at me with a pleading eyes. “We need your help Ami.”