Chapter 219: The Bouquet
Rose watched with a huge smile as the bride and groom said their vows, pledging to love and cherish each other until their deathbed and sealing it with a kiss as soon as the groom lifted his bride’s veil.
Rose clapped with a bright smile on her face. It was a wonderful wedding, but at the same time, it was hard not to think of what could have been.
Hers would have been a simple wedding too, perhaps even simpler and smaller than Edna’s. She didn’t have a lot of family. Her mother was the only child of old parents who had died long before Rose was born, and her father wasn’t from Edenville.
Rose didn’t have aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, or nephews like Edna did. So only a few people would have been in attendance and they would be more of Ander’s family.
She would have also worn her mother’s wedding dress, an old white dress. Rose had always wanted to wear it since she first laid eyes on it when she was only eight.
Her bouquet would have been roses. Her mother said it suited her. She didn’t know if the woman was right or wrong, but she had been named after the deep red flower.
Rose blinked away the thoughts of loss and concentrated on the wonderful moment in front of her, clapping hard at their kiss as tears filled the corners of her eyes.
After that, it was time to throw the bouquet, and Mia sought her amid the guests and pulled her out of her seat. "Join them," she cried.
No one seemed to be coming to her rescue as the little girl tried to drag her, and Mia’s mother was nowhere to be found.
"Mia, I don’t think..." but the rest of her words died in her throat when she saw Edna with her veil off, gesturing for her to join the ladies who were lined up in front. Some of them pushed to stay in front of others. Rose could hear the sounds of laughter and giggles even as they struggled.
She nodded and stood to her feet, letting Mia drag her. The young girl pulled her to where the other girls were and stood beside Rose. Out of nowhere, her mother snatched her away, saying, "You’re too young to get married."
Mia cried as her mother lifted her, kicking out her legs, but her mother didn’t hold her. Rather, she tossed her onto a huge man who grabbed her effortlessly.