Chapter 173 - Her Wedding Day

It's her wedding day.

Yeah?!

Today was a hubbub of activities that even though Arianna wanted to drift away to a wonderland in her head, she couldn't. There was always one or two people around to congratulate her on her wedding day or work on her appearance.

Arianna had been washed, scrubbed - that was one of the most embarrassing episodes of her life - shaved - yeah, that was the second most embarrassing moment - till she was as good as new.

Big Joe did not let her redo her bachelorette party judging from how the last one ended in disaster because she took advantage of it and plotted her escape. Apparently, Big Joe was not taking any chances with her. But then, Arianna was not the type to give up easily.

The closest thing to a bachelorette party she got last night was getting wasted. Her now new best friends - Ashley, Rose, and Chelsea - were quite resourceful and managed to sneak in some booze. Even Cassie surprised them by getting snacks to go along with it and made sure they weren't interrupted for the rest of the night.

They tarried into the night; partying hard and having the time of their life only to wake up this morning with a terrible hangover - She even forgot about her wedding day. 

So you can imagine how murderous Arianna felt when she was dumped into the bathtub by women who she had no clue about with their hands roaming all over her body and in places she dared not mention. 

They waxed and shaved all hairy spots on her body till Arianna felt freshly plucked like a Christmas turkey. She felt raw, clean - and violated. Those hands on her body earlier would forever traumatize her, not to mention how mortified she was. 

Big Joe never discussed this with her; he certainly doesn't understand the word, "boundaries". Arianna was as pissed as hell because she had a disturbing feeling where all of this was heading to. He certainly hadn't given up on their idea of a wedding night. She would make sure to disappoint him greatly. 

"Elijah, where are you? What are you planning?" Arianna was beginning to get anxious and agitated. She even began to question trusting Elijah's words, how sure was she that he even knows today was her wedding day? What if he got caught up with some things? Was she having false hope? 

"Oh my God, you look so beautiful!" Someone said, bringing Arianna back to the present. 

As she thought, it was one of the guests that had come to see Big Joe's wife. Most of them that visited her did so to satisfy their curiosity while some pitied her and the rest came to scorn her.

Just as Arianna thought, it was a miserable fate marrying Big Joe and some of the jealous, arrogant women shamelessly rubbed that knowledge in her face. Not that she minded, Arianna hardly knows who they are, so why should she care what they said? 

However, this particular woman, Arianna knows her, at least, she recognized her from the day she officially met Big Joe as her husband. 

"Thank you, Juliet," Arianna added no title or whatsoever, calling her by the name and that made the woman lift her brow. Apparently, the woman was expecting some form of respect from the bride to be, thinking she was some pushover. 

Sadly, Arianna was not in the mood to give her one. Moreover, Juliet was just a guest in the wedding today while she was Big Joe's wife - she had the authority - and today was her - dreaded - wedding. So yeah, she had more power here.

At once, Juliet covered the irritation that slightly furrowed her brows with a smile that didn't touch her eyes, "You look so dazzling today that it's obvious that you're excited about this wedding. I'm sure you couldn't wait for the morning to come so you could be married to the love of your life, Big Joe," 

Arianna might have kept a neutral expression but her clenched fists betrayed her feelings. Was this ladybug trying to anger her to death or something? 

What does she mean by the love of her life, Big Joe? Arianna was so pissed off that she bit the inside of her mouth to keep herself from sassing back. 

Some people willingly ask for a death sentence, why can't they just mind their business? 

Arianna could tell nothing went on between Juliet and Big Joe - they were just business partners. But this wasn't the first time that Arianna had met women that liked to be in control - including other people's households when given the chance. 

Unfortunately, she met her match. 

"Of course," Arianna retorted, "Why wouldn't I be in a hurry to marry a man with many resources at his disposal? Wouldn't you do the same if you were poor and in my shoes," Arianna tried to make her voice as innocent as possible but her three friends and bridesmaids in the room with her were not ignorant of the power tussle between them. 

Juliet was taken aback by her unusual answers, it seems Arianna was smarter than she appeared to be. Her plan of using the young woman was not going to be as smooth as she thought. She thought to withdraw immediately before she created animosity between the both of them. If that happened, it would be harder to get her on her side later. 

"Have a nice day," Juliet deflected Arianna's question, saying instead, "Indeed, you look beautiful. Congratulations on your wedding day," 

"Thank you," Arianna tried to be as cordial as possible. All she wanted to do was to hurl off this wedding dress and run as far as she could. As if that was possible. Big Joe had men outside those doors that would incapacitate her before she even took a step. 

And with that, the ambitious woman finally left the room and Arianna was able to breathe. She was tired of those pretentious bitches and their indirect insults. 

"Rose, please lock the door and tell the other interested well-wishers that the bride-to-be is not in the mood for their Felicitation," Arianna groaned out to Rose who was more than happy to seal those nuisances away. 

However, before she could close the door, a pair of loafers confidently stepped in.