**** Caroline's POV ****

My mom was smiling back at me through the picture frame. I ran my fingertips over her face. Wherever she was, was she still smiling like that? Had going away from my father given her another chance to find happiness? I hoped it had. I hope she was happy today, at this very moment.

It was my wedding day. It was one of the most important days of my life. I was happy—so much more than happy. I wished she was here to see me, to share my happiness with me, to give me assurance before I make the biggest commitment of my life. But she wasn't here.

And it would be fine, as long as she was happy—wherever she was.

The door to my room opened and Nadia walked in. "Everything is done. The car is here. We're good to go," she said.

I placed the picture frame back on the bedside table and gave Nadia a nod. I had spent the whole of the morning getting ready for the big day and Nadia had been there with me all along. Since dad had to stay back at home for an important meeting, he had told me to stop by the house to go to the venue together.

I had done that, no questions asked.

At our arrival, he was still in the middle of an important deal. He had told me to wait till it was done.

I had done that, no questions asked.

"Is he waiting?" I asked Nadia about my father.

"No. He's still in his office. And you asked me not to drag him out so..." Nadia shrugged.

I nodded, then made my way towards his office. "Tell him we'll be late," said Nadia. She had decided to stay out of his office. We both knew her patience had been thinning ever since we arrived at my father's house. It was better she didn't face him.

I knocked on his office door. No response. I knocked for the second time. No reply. Nadia clenched her teeth. With a deep breath, I pushed the doors open.

He was sitting at his desk, looking at the computer screen. When he saw the doors open, he shifted his eyes to me. "Caro," he said with a smile. He was smiling a lot today.

"It's time to leave, dad. We are going to be late," I said. Whether it was my growing impatience at his behavior or my knowledge that I was finally going away from him, I was not sure, but my voice to him was assertive.

His eyes went hard for a split second before he controlled his temper. "You see I have this really important meeting going on, Caro. I'll lose a couple hundred thousand dollars if I leave now," his voice was non-threatening, almost convincing.

"It's my wedding."

"Your mother and sister are going to be there with you, Caro. You will be fine. I need to get this done. I was trying for this deal for months and they called me this morning to have a meeting. I can't just abandon it now."

But he was perfectly fine with abandoning his daughter on her wedding day, I thought to myself. But then, had he ever thought of me as his daughter? He had turned back to his computer screen, convinced that he had made a solid argument.

"Did you ever care?" I asked. The question had crossed my mind every day since he forced mom to leave. Some days, the answer was loud and clear. Some days I had hoped for a different answer. Today, I finally had the courage to ask him.

He looked back at me. He didn't speak instantly. I got my answer.

"I'm very sorry for not being with you today, Caro." The tone he used was the tone he always used with Lahaina—sweet, loving, filled with adoration. All my life I had wished for him to speak to me in a similar manner, but now that he did I realized, it was fake too.

I gave him a smile, which he didn't see and he had turned away to look at the screen. "Goodbye." I wanted to add the word 'dad' to it, but it failed to leave my lips. Perhaps it was better this way.

Shutting the door behind me, I walked back to Nadia. "Let's go."

"What did he say?" Nadia looked at me, then at the door behind me.

"He had an important meeting," I tried to play it cool, but my voice broke, spilling all my emotions for her to see.

Nadia stared at me in disbelief. I saw the red, hot anger creep in her cold blue eyes. I saw her clench her fists and purse her lips. I saw her stare back at the door, thinking of storming inside. But she didn't. Instead she looked back at me, her face mirroring the hurt I was feeling, and embraced me in a hug.

"He didn't deserve to be on your most important day anyway," she said, as she stroked my back to calm my nerves.

"I guess he didn't."

"Yeah, he didn't," Nadia assured. She broke the hug and took my hand. Giving it a squeeze she said, "you have me."

I smiled and nodded. I did have her. I always did.

We walked out of the house with Nadia trying to convince me how my father's absence was a good sign, like the universe wanted to keep all the bad things away from my wedding. With him not being there, the day would only feel better.

By the time we reached the car, I was laughing. The chauffeur was waiting for us and Nadia helped me get inside, taking great measures to not spoil the dress. She was going to follow me inside when I heard a car stop behind ours.

I looked into the rear view mirror to find out who it was, but one look at Nadia was enough to figure it out. She was staring towards the car with an angry scowl, her eyes trained on the person for a few seconds before she decided he wasn't worth her attention and looked away.

"Well, not all bad things are going to be away today," she stated. Nadia helped me out of the car. The instant I was on my feet, she turned away. Walking a few steps in the opposite direction from the one Dylan was walking towards us, Nadia folded her arms across her chest and looked anywhere but at us. Her face showed her dislike for my company and if she made any effort to hide it, it didn't work.

"You know I don't give compliments easily, but I must say you make an adorable bride," Dylan said, giving me a short hug. His eyes momentarily shifted to Nadia. A small smile tugged at the side of his lips.

"What have you done to her?" I asked.

"Where is the jerk family?" He asked. I frowned because that was Nadia's go to word to every bad thing. If he was using it, and I was sure he was using it intentionally, then it meant it had been used on him before. I shook my head and decided to answer his question.

"Lahaina and Juliea will be there. My father has more important things to attend to," I told him. Surprisingly, it did not hurt as much as before.

"You didn't need him anyway. You have me," Dylan said with an assuring smile. Nadia's head shot towards us and her scowl grew deeper.

"Imagine me to be your dad," Dylan said. "The good, handsome, intelligent, less of an asshole and more of the brilliant I am version and give me this opportunity to walk you down the aisle to the man whom I still don't give a shit to."

Through the self-flattery and expression of his dislike for my would-be-husband, I could hear the adoration in his voice. Dylan forwarded his hand for me to take. I chuckled his words and got inside his car.

I waited for Nadia as she gave me a look of betrayal for choosing Dylan's car. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it the next moment, walking to the car and getting in. She didn't spare a single glance to Dylan the whole way to Aaron's father's house. What the hell was going on between them?

When Dylan stopped the car at the venue, I felt my heartbeat quicken. Looking only outside of the place I could tell the interior was going to be beautifully decorated. Though I doubted if I would be able to focus on the decorations.

Nadia was the first to jump out of the car. She came around to help me with the dress. Dylan offered me the crook of his arm, which I took with gratitude. I was too nervous to walk straight and the dress was not going to help either. He offered his other arm to Nadia. As expected, she ignored it and walked before us.

Aaron's father came to greet us inside the mansion. Unlike my father, he looked like he was overflowing with happiness. He showed me with compliments as he guided us towards the backyard where the aisle was set up.

The music started to play as we took our places near the aisle. Even with the melodious song playing around, I could almost hear my heart hammering inside my chest. I tightened my hold on Dylan's arm.

When the wedding coordinator signaled Nadia, she turned to me with an encouraging smile. "Make sure you don't fall," she said as she walked down the aisle first.

"Make sure you hold me if I fall," I whispered to Dylan. I found myself unable to speak any louder.

"Make sure you keep this dress to yourself because if I stepped on it, you'll definitely fall," he shot back at me. If the situation was any different, I would have glared at him, but all I did in the moment was take a deep breath. Then I took my first step toward Aaron.

- Analia