Seven months later.
Cynthia was heading out of her own built-in spa inside the mansion. She had just finished her manicure and pedicure session.
Next was hair and makeup.
Once she got to the hallway, she was greeted by the heartwarming sight of the woman who raised her. Whenever she saw her nowadays, she couldn't help but feel hungry. And the woman could always tell right away.
"Ms. Evans? Would you like some refreshments?"
The nanny was in the middle of her seventies and her main characteristic was her salt and pepper hair; Cynthia had always thought that her hair went grey way too early. When she asked her if it ran in her family, Mrs. Edinburgh used to joke around with her and say that she got one white hair for each time the girl she raised was mischievous back in her rebellious teen years.
Her hair was something Cynthia loved, but she hated other things.
Her nanny's eyes seemed to be getting more wrinkly by the day now, and recently, she started slightly limping as she walked. It bothered Cynthia a lot, her nanny was her only family.
She hugged her lovingly.
"Careful not to press on the baby now!" Her nanny's voice trembled slightly, she treated Cynthia exactly like she used to when she was a little girl. The soon-to-be mother was happy that some things never changed. It allowed her to act a bit spoiled around someone, at least she still had that.
She needed to be a tough cookie when she faced the rest of the world.
Tonight, the occasion was like no other, she had been waiting for this day patiently for months now. It was the first day she would step foot outside of her mansion after seven long months of waiting.
"The hairdresser and makeup artist are waiting in your dressing room." Mrs. Edinburgh said.
"I'll be right up, nanny!"
*Tsk! Tsk!*
Mrs. Edinburgh clicked her tongue when Cynthia ran up the first two steps of the stairs.
"I know, I know! It slipped off my mind for a second!"
It was true that Cynthia had reached her third trimester now, but her belly was still light and not that big in comparison to what she had always seen in the movies.
"We're going to accelerate your existence with a nice dress, don't you worry about it," She smiled as she caressed her pregnant belly and continued walking up the stairs – slowly this time.
***
After two hours of preparations, the masterpiece that was Cynthia was ready to go to war.
She was dressed in a turquoise maternity Maxi chiffon dress, looking every bit like the pregnant Barbie she used to enjoy playing with so much as a young girl. Her blond hair was in sew-in weaves, adding thickness to her everyday style. It emphasized the length and volume her pregnancy added to her already luxurious hair. And though she wore a significant amount of makeup, she went with the 'I don't have any make-up on' casual look. It was her favorite because of her already big green eyes, they only needed some light eyeshadow to sparkle under her thick beautiful eyebrows, and she only put some transparent lipstick over her full lips.
"I'm ready revenge, but the world might not be ready for us..." she said with a small smile on her face, feeling conflicted about going out now.
As she descended the stairs, she saw her nanny's eyes watering, but the Mrs. Edinburgh quickly wiped the waterworks away with her famous embroidered handkerchief. Someone else would've thought she cried happy tears, but Cynthia knew better.
"Don't cry for me nanny, I'm stronger than ever now... I will remind them just who Cynthia Evans truly is,"
Her nanny knew better too, 'My precious girl has shut her emotions down completely...'
Mrs. Edinburgh cried some more.
***
For Cynthia's grand entry, arriving at the exact right time was the one crucial thing for her plan to succeed. But she had that covered already.
She did not go to confinement all those months in her mansion doing nothing, after all, and for today's scheme, her detective who was undercover as a butler had secretly crashed her ex husband's wedding and waited for her inside the church. Dimitri sneakily stood by the church's door and waited for the perfect moment to give Cynthia the entry signal.
She took a deep leveling breath, 'It's showtime,'
She pressed her phone against her ear exactly one minute before she reached the door to the church, it opened for her a few seconds after that, and she hurried inside when heard the words she was waiting for.
"…If anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace..." the priest said monotonously.
'Perfect timing!' She inhaled sharply filling her lungs with precious oxygen.
"I DO!" She shouted as loud as her vocal cords let her. That much force was needless with the church being as quiet as it was; her voice echoed all around.
It was like a scene from a movie.
The guests exclaimed loudly at first, they all turned around to watch the woman who stood at the entrance of the church, light came from behind her, so she wasn't visible immediately. She walked slowly and deliberately with the long train of her turquoise dress floating behind her like a cloud. She looked like a fairy right out of a fantasy romance novel, no woman was prettier than her right then and there – that included the bride who stood gaping at Cynthia.
Cynthia had felt her feminine charms increase to the maximum with her pregnancy, she radiated from within. Her confidence kept floating to the surface and then leaked outside of her in waves, she shone like a midnight star.
"Cynthia?" Henry was flabbergasted.
"Cynthia..." Sally Russo, Henry's soon-to-be new wife spoke Cynthia's name in pure wonder as if she was seeing a ghost, she wondered whether or not she was hallucinating. Cynthia knew Sally like the back of her hand, the bride clearly wanted to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
'I'm real alright,' Cynthia thought to herself, but she could not spare one glance at her ex-best friend. She kept walking until she was right next to the happy couple with her eyes fixed on her ex-husband.
The man froze in his place with his jaw slightly dropped, it was not quite the CEO posture he practiced long and hard to master.
Cynthia grinned.