332 The Wedding Plan
âClara,â
âMom,â The girl looked up from the magazine she had been looking at as soon as she heard her motherâs voice.
She stood up and went to welcome her mother, âThank God, youâre home right on time.â
âYeah, you told me that it was an emergency. I had to finish up as quickly as I could to answer my darling daughter.â Diana pinched her cheeks playfully while Clara smiled.
âCome on, mother,â Clara turned and took her by the hand, leading her to the couch she had been on and made her sit with her, âThe wedding planner would be here any moment,â
âThe wedding planner?â The woman was taken aback by the news.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOh God, mom, you seriously didnât forget about that,â She groaned, rubbing her head.
âHonestly, I actually thought you were pulling my leg, this isnât the first time youâve pulled jokes like this one, Clara. You are really getting married? Why havenât I gotten a call about that from Marcel? That isnât proper!â The woman felt insulted.
At once, sweat coated Claraâs forehead while her hands trembled but she intertwined her hands together and hid her nervousness with a smile,â Oh come on, mom, you know, Marcel is a busy man? â â
.....
âAnd Iâm not?â she pointed out sternly.
Clara tugged on her clothes, âDonât be like that, mother. He probably didnât intentionally forget to tell you and also thatâs why thereâs going to be a family dinner this Friday,â She lifted her phone to show her mother the message she received from Marcel not long ago.
Diana took the phone from her daughter and carefully read the message, making sure that it was truly from Marcel as she said.
Even at that, she still looked up at Clara with a disapproving look, âThen, whatâs with the wedding planner. We are having a family dinner this weekend on how to go about your wedding and youâre working on it already?â She couldnât understand her daughter at all.
âThe family meeting is for formalityâs sake and the wedding is two weeks from now, I donât have time to waste around,â she threw her hands up in annoyance, âAnd mom, I informed you about the wedding already. You should be supporting me!â
But the woman sassed, âOh yeah, sure you did. Letâs see, how did you inform me once again?â
Diana angrily tossed the phone back to her daughter which she caught and then pulled out hers from her pocket and scrolled through messages,
âI did receive a notification when I was on stage at a conference days ago. I ignored it and then when I was done with the event, I decided to go through my phone and find out who had texted me in my private line, only to see that it was no one else but my lovely daughter, and thus she quotes, âMom, Marcel and I are finally getting married, inserts *happy emoji*â and that was all. You seriously wanted me to believe that?â
âI did call you.â Clara defended her action.
âYeah, you called to tell me to come back home because itâs an emergency and we needed to talk. You didnât tell me that we needed to talk to the wedding planner as well,â The woman pointed out.
âOkay, fine, itâs my fault. I should have given you enough information and shouldnât have sprung the whole surprise on you. But then, Marcel and I have always been together and you should have known weâd be getting married any moment from now.â
âDonât you get the point, Clara? God, I wonder whose birdbrain you took after,â Diana face-palmed, âThis family! They are looking down on you!â
âNo, youâre wrong. Daniel treats me well, more than you can imagine. Itâs just Marcel that is the problem. But then once we get married and I give him a child, heâd come around. The rowdy ones are always the ones to love strongly. This is my sacrifice, mother, for a better future, for me.â Clara said while her mother looked at her pitifully. Her poor child, what has she gotten her into?
At the same time, one of the staff came in to announce, âThe wedding planner is here, should I let her in?â
Although the question was thrown at her, Clara looked at her mother knowing that her decision would influence her answer.
âPlease mom, help me out. Just this once,â Clara desperately pleaded with her and even though the woman wanted to refuse her, she couldnât bear to see her daughter in so much pain. She had underestimated her daughterâs feelings for Marcel.
So she nodded and a bright smile spread across Claraâs face at once. She drew her mother into a hug, promising her, âYou are not going to regret this.â
However, the woman was regretting it already. Diana just realized the hell she had pulled her daughter into by using her past marriage as a reference. That must have motivated Clara and made her turn this way. She was afraid that her daughter was blindly digging her grave. Sadly, Diana didnât know how to stop her because Clara was already in so deep.
Just like a bullet shot in the chest was in close proximity to the heart and could cause death if removed carelessly, Diana didnât know what step to take so as not to push Clara one step closer to the grave. What was she going to do?
âHi Alexi!â
âHi miss. Clara!â
Diana was roused out of her thoughts when the wedding planner finally arrived and exchanged pleasantries with her daughter.
âAnd this is my mother, Diana,â Clara introduced the wedding planner whose eyes brightened upon seeing her mother.
âHi madam Diana. It is such an honor to finally meet you in person. I might not be an avid fan but I respect your efforts and contributions to this society,â The woman gushed over her mother.
âThank you so much. Itâs a good thing having you plan my daughterâs wedding,â said Diana calmly, enveloping her hand with hers. Unlike the wedding planner, she was able to control her emotion and carried herself with grace.
âYes, it was quite a shocker hearing that the daughter of Diana Alberta is getting married, which makes me wonder why it isnât in the news yet. I mean it would be quite a sensation considering your status in society.â
And at that question, Clara and her mother shared a look.