Episode 3

You will never be loved.

Vivian.

"Very well, Miss Smith, we have finished the interview," Mr. Gomez says, standing up and extending his hand. He smiles at me, and I do the same. "Thank you very much for coming. We will be calling you during the course of the week to inform you if we accept you or not," he says, and I nod, shaking his hand.

"Thank you for interviewing me, and I hope to be able to work with you," I say. The man smiles, causing the wrinkles around his eyes to deepen.

"To tell you the truth, you have very good recommendations. I would hire you without a doubt, but the boss is the one who decides," he says, and I nod.

"I understand. Very well, then, until soon, at least I hope so," I say nervously, smiling.

"Until soon, Miss Smith," I turn around and leave the office. I breathe a sigh of relief and begin to walk towards the elevator. I stop in front of it and press the button to call it. At that moment, my phone rings, and I search for it in my purse. Since I have too many things in it, I can't find it. I hear the elevator doors open and take a step to enter while still searching for my phone. Suddenly, I bump into someone and look up apologetically.

"Oh, I'm so sor-" my words stop as I see who I have bumped into. It's a man, and I have to say that he's very handsome. From his features, I would swear that he's a foreigner. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize," I apologize.

He looks at me in silence for several seconds, I don't know if he's analyzing me or if he's attentive to the call he's answering since he has his phone in his ear.

"Give me a minute," he says, and I hear an assent. Spanish? He covers the mouthpiece of the phone and gives me a kind smile. "Don't worry, Miss," he comments, stepping aside.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry again," I say, getting into the elevator. He continues on his way, and the doors of the elevator start to close, but I notice when he turns his head back to look at me. I give him a friendly smile, and then the doors close completely. Just at that moment, the phone rings again, and having it in my hand, I see that it's Jeimy. I sigh and swipe my finger on the screen.

"Are you done yet?" she quickly asks.

"Yes, I'm leaving the company," I reply.

"Well, hurry up, I'm already downstairs," she says and hangs up. I sigh and put the phone back in my bag. When I leave the company, I notice Jeimy's car right in front. When she sees me, she honks the horn. I walk towards her and get into the car right by her side.

"We need to hurry. The seamstress has an appointment in half an hour," she explains, and I nod.

Today is the final dress fitting for the wedding dress. It's been twelve days since the incident. Incredibly, Jeimy has almost everything ready. Only the rings and my final fitting are missing. Everything has been kept a secret. The Johnsons want to avoid a scandal. After all, the bride everyone knows for Tomas is Kendall, not me. After several minutes of driving, Jeimy parks the car right in front of the boutique. We get out and enter the place where, a few meters from the entrance, Mrs. Caroll is sitting on a sofa. I already imagined that she would be here, just like the last time we came. I smile and remember the conversation we had that time.

Flashback.

I quickly get out of the taxi, I was running late for the appointment with the seamstress. I had to choose the dress I was going to wear for the wedding. I enter the boutique quickly and am surprised to see not only my friend but also her grandmother.

"You finally made it!" Jeimy exclaims, getting up from the sofa.

"I'm sorry, I was running late. I was busy with some university matters," I explain.

"Don't worry, dear. The important thing is that you're here now," Mrs. Caroll says. I smile at her, and she does the same. "Vivian, let me introduce you to Angelica Roger. She's the best wedding dress designer in the city," she introduces. The woman is middle-aged, very slim and slender, also tall. She has tanned skin and wavy black hair. She's dressed very elegantly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Vivian Smith," I greet and introduce myself.

"The pleasure is mine, dear. Let me tell you that you have beautiful skin and a fantastic figure. I hope it stays that way after the babies." He comments and I feel my cheeks burn. "Tell me, how do you want your dress?" he asks.

"W-well, it's a civil wedding, so something simple would be appropriate..."

"Something simple? No, it's your wedding, it should be spectacular!" Jeimy exclaims, and I look at her somewhat annoyed with her idea, and she furrows her brow.

"Jeimy, it's her wedding, not yours. She gets to choose what to wear. When you're the bride, you can choose the most extravagant dress you want." Her grandmother scolds her.

"Fine." She says reluctantly.

"Alright, I have some dresses displayed here, but if you don't like any of these, I also have these magazines." He says, handing me four magazines that were on the table. "These have several designs that I think can be adjusted to what you want." He comments, and I nod.

"Let's first see the ones that are already ready." I suggest, and she smiles and nods.

After seeing the ready-made dresses and not liking any of them, I decide to look at the magazine. I flip through the pages, without any of them convincing me, while I think that maybe the problem is not the dresses, but me, or rather, this whole marriage thing.

Although I love Tomas, and this could be a great opportunity for me, I don't feel like this is a good idea. What if the only thing I achieve with this is for him to hate me? Thinking about that weighs on my chest. God, why does this have to happen! I had already resigned myself. After so many years loving him, I had come to understand that he wasn't meant for me. But now, this opportunity presents itself, and even though I'm happy and want to hold on to it, I'm afraid of what might happen. In fact, it still seems strange to me that everything is so calm. I haven't been able to talk to Tomas, I don't even know if he still thinks I'm to blame for what happened. And even stranger, Kendall hasn't expressed her opposition to the matter. Everything is so strange and...

I am pulled out of my thoughts when I feel someone touch my shoulder. I look at the culprit and smile at Mrs. Caroll.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Caroll, I was distracted. What were you saying?"

She smiles sweetly at me and takes my hands. - I can sense that you're worried. What's wrong? - she asks, and I decide to be honest.

"It's just that... sometimes I think that this whole marriage thing is not a good idea."

"I see, you're scared." she comments.

"More than that, I feel like it's not right."

"Why? Don't you love my grandson anymore?" I open my eyes in surprise at her question. Does she also know? She smiles. "Yes, I do know. I realized that a long time ago, by the way you look at him." she answers my unspoken question.

"Well, even though I love him, he loves Kendall, and that's what worries me and makes me feel like this is not right."

"My grandson is a very intelligent man in some things" she says "For example, in business, but unfortunately, he lacks common sense when it comes to women. His first girlfriend was a strange girl with piercings on her face who liked to dress in black. Then he had another one who liked to show too much and was too flirtatious. He didn't tell me because I had warned him, but the girl cheated on him. He had two others, each one worse than the other, and now he is with this girl who, although she seems like a good woman, I know what she truly is. She can deceive my grandson, even my foolish son and daughter-in-law, but not me. I know she is a harpy in love with our name and money. I know everything she did to Jeimy and that her apologies were just empty words" the woman speaks with resentment and looks at me "I will not allow my grandson to make the grave mistake of combining his life with a woman like her" she says, and now softens her expression "On the other hand, you, you are the perfect woman for him. I know your love is sincere and that you are a good, decent, intelligent, noble, and sweet woman. That's why I want you to be the wife of my grandson, the mother of my great-grandchildren. He doesn't love you now, but I'm sure he will, because he will realize how wonderful you are. So change that expression, remember, you are choosing the dress for your wedding."

Her words calmed me down a bit and in the end, helped me make up my mind completely to do this.

End flashback

And now here I am at the final dress fitting because I am getting married in two days.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Caroll, Mrs. Angelica, sorry for being late, I was at a job interview" I explain.

"Don't worry, dear, Jeimy hadn't mentioned it yet" Mrs. Caroll says.

"Well, come this way, the dress is ready, try it on and we'll see if it needs any alterations or if it's already perfect" she comments, guiding me to the fitting room.

When I enter and see the outfit hanging, I smile. It is beautiful and I can't believe I'm going to wear it to marry Tomas. I put it on and leave the fitting room. My friend, Mrs. Caroll, and the seamstress smile at me.

"It fits you perfectly" Jeimy comments.

"You look beautiful, dear" Mrs. Caroll says.

"Magnificent, spectacular!" the seamstress exclaims excitedly and approaches "It seems everything is perfect."

"Yes, it seems so" I comment and smile.

I will be Tomas's wife.

And the day of my wedding has arrived. Right now, I am in the guest room of the Johnson Mansion, fully ready, waiting for my mother, who will give me away at the altar, to come for me and announce that it's time to begin. I look at myself in the mirror and smile a little, happy and scared to see myself dressed as a bride.

In the end, I chose a dress that is neither too simple nor too flashy. It is a creamy white color, with a V-neck and short sleeves that cinches at the waist, and the skirt is flared with different layers that make it look voluminous. I decided it should be a bit shorter, just below the knees. I am wearing white heels. My makeup is very simple and natural as I didn't want anything heavy. It consists of a little light-colored eyeshadow on the eyelids, eyeliner on the waterline, mascara, I didn't apply eyeliner, and pink lips. I did have a hairstylist do my hair. She made braids on each side and at the bottom of my head, she gathered the hair and placed small white flower-shaped clips, leaving some strands out to accentuate my face.

"I'm getting married," I mutter, still unable to believe it. It feels like a dream.

My phone receives a call and I pick it up from the table. I furrow my brow upon seeing an unknown number, but thinking that it might be about my internship, I decide to answer it.

"Hello, good morning," I greet politely.

"Don't think you've gotten away with it, you stupid girl," a woman's voice comes through, and instantly I know who it is. "Don't even for a second think that just because you're marrying Tomas, you've taken him from me or that you'll make him love you," she says, laughing. "Oh, silly girl! He loves me madly and neither you, nor your stupid friend, nor that arrogant old lady will make him stop. If I wanted to, I could ruin your stupid wedding right now, but I'll let you believe in the fairy tale you've built in your head just so you can realize that you mean nothing to Tomas." Her words pierce my chest like a dagger. "I hope you enjoyed having him between your legs that night, because it will be the one and only time it happens. Remember that even though he's marrying you, you'll never have his love, and I'll have him in my arms and in my bed whenever I want. Congratulations on your wedding!" she finishes, and hangs up.

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