[Mandy's Diary Today]
For the sake of Gandalf's beard! I'm almost late for Justin's surprise birthday party! Blame my annoying brother, Steve, for ripping my special outfit with a nail so I need to change it again!
I jumped out of the car and dashed out into the courtyard of The Bedington family's mansion. A cake complete with candles in the shape of the number 22 is in my hand. My feet moved swiftly past a Doberman dog that barked almost making me jump in surprise and drop this pretty cake. I glared at one of The Bedingtons' beloved dogs that were tied up in front of her house.
"Back off, Bitch! Stay there!" I snapped, fiercer than The Bedingtons' dog's bark that somehow got the name Cinderella. What a cruel female dog. She always bites my skirt every time I come here! For God's sake, I hate dogs. I will never give up on dogs. Even if Harley Quinn showed up and pointed a gun at me to force me to love dogs, I wouldn't.
Ignoring Cinderella's barking, I ran again up the line of stairs to the mansion's door, then a guard opened it and I screamed because, once again, I screwed up. I broke my heels! Can you not?! This is my fiance's day!! I just continued stumbling my way and kept grinding a smile toward a bunch of nicely dressed-up people. They looked at me in disgust—I could tell whether they mocked me or pitied me.
I kept moving my feet, struggling here and there with these broken heels, making my way to meet Justin. Once I got close, I showed him the cake that I made wholeheartedly. Justin didn't seem to care about my appearance—that I freaking believed—had shredded into pieces just like getting hit by a nuclear bomb.
"Happy birthday, Cupcake. I made… whoooaa!"
Damned, my feet got slipped in this ridiculous big rug spread out the entire hall, and I tripped! You heard that right. I tripped over and the cake flew freely in the air. My head looked up, staring at the miserable cake—flying like a ballerina, passing over some Bedington's family members, and made a perfect landing right at Magdalena Bedington—Justin's grandmother, the one whom I feared the most among the Bedingtons.
Fuck. My. Life.
"AMANDA GILBERT!!!"
I let out a small grind and murmured 'sorry', while Justin help me to stand up and Peyton Bedington brushed off the remnants of the cake cream on the old woman's face and hair. I swallowed hard, feeling the anger of Grandma Magdalena with a haunted aura suffocating me. Well, I might be a bit overreacting.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry." I let out a small chuckle.
"She barks louder than my dog," Justin whispered, sending goosebumps all over my body. I swallowed hard again. Again, I swallowed hard, moving my glance to Justin to seek help. Instead of protecting me from grandma, he scared me with his so-dramatic-wide eyes.
If only he were not my fiancé, I would gladly shove my heels down to his throat.
Meanwhile, I heard grandma rambling in French, with some of the servants began to usher her out of the hall to clean up. Peyton sent a signal to Justin—that I understood as "get your fiancé out of here"—and I could feel my knees turn to jelly. I could not stand straight, knowing the fact that my existence would never be acknowledged in this family.
"I screwed up. I messed up your birthday," I whimpered, still stumbling to walk—if it was not for Justin's help. Thanks for my broken heels that ruined my day shredded to pieces! I rolled my eyes looking at myself, "Just kill me, Neptunus."
Clucking softly, Justin smacked the back of my head, making me wince in pain and hiss menacingly.
"Don't say that, Muffin. Your presence itself is enough to make me happy," he replied in between low grunts. We came to the side of the large garden with several lampposts standing along the path. The Bedingtons are known for being perfectionists, idealists, and upholding their noble values which makes me want to throw up, once again if Justin weren't my fiancé.
I could not even comprehend, how I was still living and breathing well to this time, labeled as 'Justin Bedington's Fiance' or even worse as 'Justin Bedington's Future Wife'. Did it ever cross your mind? Justin Bedington's future wife. Hah! Call me overdramatic, because I was sure that I did not live in the human world. Perhaps in Narnia or Neverland, wherever it was. Getting approval to put a ring on my finger from the Bedington's family was the most thrilling moment in all of my life in this world. How could you not? You had seen how fierce Magdalena Bedington was, right? If only Justin did not threaten to not inherit the position after his father, Magdalena must have kicked my ass out of the huge mansion—that I guessed was worth thousands more than my bras.
Forgot about it. The point was, I could not believe that I had Justin Bedington, my one, and the only world that I knew. From the time I wet the bed to being a high school kid, Justin Bedington was my only world. People called him The Sex God. We've been friends since elementary school, but sadly, he only found out about my existence when we met face to face in our last year of high school. And now, somehow, he chose me to be his partner. A candidate for Mrs. Bedington was not just any woman. I'm sure Justin was in a trance when he put the engagement ring on my finger. Maybe someone forced him to swallow bottles of alcohol to make him drunk?
Still, with shuffling legs, we arrived in front of the long swing where Justin used to relax by lying there every afternoon. With anger welling up in my chest, I took off my stilettos, one of which was broken. I threw that damn thing anywhere, no matter where it fell. All I heard was screams of pain in front of the security post, but I didn't care. We sat side by side on the long swing, with Justin's arms propped up on the backrest.
"Your family hates me." I shook my head.
"Stop it, Mandy. Don't be dramatic." Hearing my complaint, Justin just rolled his eyes. "It was just a minor accident. You accidentally dropped my birthday cake on my grandmother."
"Maybe Grandma Magdalena would report me to the police station and I would end up in jail and you guys can laugh all you want when you see on a newspaper page with a headline MANDY GILBERT WAS BOUGHT INTO PRISON AFTER THROWING A CAKE AT MAGDALENA BEDINGTON." I sighed softly, shaking my head in concern while Justin gave a short laugh.
Justin suddenly flicked my earlobe, making me dodge to the side impulsively, making me touch my ear defensively. "Ouch."
"I don't know what made my subconscious ask the hand of a Drama Queen like you to be my future wife," he moaned. For the sake of Sponge Bob's box panties, his moan is sexy.
"Aww… Cupcake, thank you so much. You remind me to know that you are a deity to be worshiped and do not deserve the love of a commoner like me." I smiled hyperbolically.
Justin shook his head. He took me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head on his shoulder while following the direction of his hand pointing at the constellation expanse above.
"You know what star that is?" he asked, pointing to the star that was brighter than the rest of his friends.
"Sirius," I answered in a whisper.
"Do you know what Sirius has in common with you?"
I looked up, staring directly at the hazel eyes in front of me, then shook my head slowly without breaking the faint smile on my lips for getting an intense stare from him. "Uh-uh, I don't know."
"Sirius has the brightest position in space. Just like you. Somehow you managed to occupy the highest position in my heart, Mandy."
I gave a short laugh. "Justin, you didn't even know I was your friend in elementary school."
Justin's expression suddenly changed. He furrowed his brows, pretending to be surprised by what I just said. "You never show yourself to me, Mandy. How can I know you?"
"That's because you're too busy with your own business. After all, why was I showing my face in front of you? Do you expect me to send you love letters like your fangirls out there? Or sent a cupcake that says BE MY VALENTINE, JUSTIN?" My nose wrinkled disapprovingly. "I'm Mandy Gilbert. I don't do stupid things like that."
"Well, now you're blaming me." Justin tilted his head to one side in response to my attack just now. "Always selfish."
"What? You were the popular guy that every girl wanted." My lips pursed sideways. I wish I had slapped his face with my stilettos if only I hadn't thrown them anywhere. Sometimes this man could be very annoying, but the next second, he could also be very sweet. He's like a chameleon; changing in unexpected circumstances.
Thank God. At least he didn't inherit his grandmother's horrific double-triple attitude. Like Muriel and Voldemort when put together.
"It's still my birthday, right?" Justin tried to shift the debate between us.
"Hm…." I turned my face away, slightly annoyed.
"Mandy." Justin tugged at my face, bringing my eyes to his. A pair of hazel eyes filled my view. After more than four years we've been together, I never get tired of getting stares like that. Such an intense gaze, calm, warm, and protective. "I will never get tired to say 'be my wife, Amanda Gilbert.'"
The corners of my lips pulled into a wide smile, making my cheekbones even higher. I buried my upper teeth into my lower lip so I could feel the cherry essence there. I love this gloss. Candice Fields chose it for me and the thing that made my cheeks flush red was when she said, "Justin would love to feel the cherry essence on your lips."
For the sake of Gandalf's beard, I was ashamed every time I remembered it.
"And I will never tired to say 'I do.'" I returned Justin's warm hand, bringing it to my lap.