Today was a day every bride was looking forward to, to be with the man she loved, but like Annette now who had changed her name to Mariama, she sat before the dressing mirror which she knew cost a lot, her heart tightened, and she wondered if this revenge she was planning on would go just as she wanted.
But the pain in her heart couldn't let her go back, she was definitely going to take revenge, show them who she was, take her pound of flesh.
And even if she ever comes back to Barcelona, she will never be the daft and uneducated girl they knew she was going to come back in style.
But that didn't bother her now. She just hoped that the man she was getting married to didn't find out her real name was Annette and not Mariama.
She smiled just as she remembered that she didn't get his name.
What kind of bride does not know the name of the groom definitely a bride who was hungry for revenge just like her.
"We will get married in three days,"he had told her that night when he came back to the room.
"And after that we will sign a contract which will bind us together. No catching of silly feelings." He had told her, and she nodded, agreeing to his every word.
She did not want to worry about the words that were written on the contract. What she was focused on was getting revenge and having the perfect powerful man behind her.
For now, she was going to keep her identity hidden from him until the right time comes when she would tell him that she was not Mariama Navarette but Annette Perez.
Besides, she thought to herself, Annette was dead to everyone and Mariama was here to stay.
"Cover this up."she instructed the beautician as her finger traced the scar which ran from the side of her head down to her jaw,a scar from her fall thanks to Roxanna.
The scar that will always remind her to take revenge.
"Yes ma'am." The beautician said as she went on with her beauty expertise and successfully covered up the scar with makeup.
She wasn't going to go around with lots of makeup on her face for the rest of her life,she would have a surgery soon.
"You look so beautiful." the beautician said, smiling at her, trying to get her to talk and become friendly with her.
"I want you to shut up and continue with your work you were employed to make me look beautiful and not to talk." She barked. The beautician, who immediately felt so small, continued with her work.
After the beautician and hair stylist finished, she got up and gave herself one last look in the mirror. Her silver white wedding dress with gleaming stones which blinked in the sunlight made her look like the most beautiful bride ever.
A knock came on the door, and it was pushed open. The driver stood in the doorway staring at her.
"Good morning ma'am." he said and stopped looking confused because he didn't know her name.
"It's Mariama Navarette." She said with a strong voice and turned to him. "Why are you here?"
The driver's stuttered before he said why he was there.
"The car is ready to take you to the cathedral,"he said.
She said nothing to him and still gave herself a look in the mirror.
"You look beautiful,"the beautician said again, and she shot her short dirty look.
"How many minutes do we have left before we get to the cathedral?" she asked no one in particular, but the driver realized she was talking to him.
*The cathedral is a 45-minute drive. "
"Okay then," she said." I am ready. "
In a few minutes' time, she was standing beside a Rolls-Royce Phantom as the driver opened the door, and she walked in with a lady who acted as her chief bridesmaid.
In a few minutes' time, the car was racing to the cathedral while she rested her head on the headrest and thought about how her life had changed in just hours.
As soon as the car pulled up in front of the church, the crowd she saw there surprised her. She thought the wedding was going to be a small one.
But it felt as if the whole city had turned up, cameras flashed as journalists tried to push their way to her.
It was her wedding day and not a court case. She cursed under her breath.
She still didn't understand what was going on. She knew the man she was getting married to was popular, though she knew so little about him, but he must be a filthy rich person to command a crowd like that on his wedding day.
It was when she began to go through the aisle that she realized she was going alone without a father.
It really hurt her because the first time she got married to Raphael, she had gone alone, and now she was walking down the aisle alone again.
The church was filled with so many people who looked so serious, men in suits and women too, who looked like they had all come for a business meeting.
From the crowd she couldn't make out who was his family or friends or even a business associate, but that didn't matter now what the matter was, she was one step ahead to getting revenge.
Soon she stood before him as the priest began the vow.
"Do you, Juan Pablo Esteban, take Mariama Navarette to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death you do part, according to God's holy ordinance?
Oh, wow, Annette thought to herself, so that was his name Juan Pablo,nice name.
He looked at her as he said.
"I do."
Then the priest turned to her and repeated the vows.
She looked up at him and gave her best smile.
Revenge was within reach now, but she would try to love this man.
She glanced at the priest and then back to Juan Pablo.
"I do."