❇ Rachel's POV ❇

"Rach, how do I look?" Helen questioned as she tugged her hair behind her ears.

"Stunning."

I texted Ella and Nicole to double-check on the preparations. Helen repeatedly poked my thigh with her perfectly manicured fingers.

"Oww. That hurts."

"I was asking if I have smudged my makeup?"

"Nope. As I have said, you look stunning." I answered after taking a good look at Helen.

I glanced up from my smartphone to find Helen fidgeting with her fingers.

"My, my. I thought you were a cool bride?"

Helen huffed as she took out her makeup kit.

"Of course I am. I just want to look pretty for Dylan."

I keep away my smartphone and took over the makeup kit.

"Hey, I was joking. C'mon, let me touch up your makeup." I said as a cheeky grin was gracing my features.

Helen rolled her eyes before closing it for me to start the beautifying process. In actual fact, my stomach was in knots. I was told that Dylan's best man would be Zachary. I did not tell Gavin about Zachary at all, I only briefly mentioned dating someone in high school. I have a feeling that Eva would be joining Zachary and it might not end up well.

Helen and I are in the car waiting for the girls to be ready with the preparations then we would be on our way to the church.

"Hey, have you and Gavin set a date?" Helen asked as I was reapplying her lipstick.

"For what?"

"For your wedding of course! What else could there be?"

"Oh. Well, we just started preparing. I don't think it'll be any sooner though. Recently, Gavin is working on a big case. We barely have time for ourselves. He managed to squeeze in time to attend your wedding with me."

"I see. I guess he does need more time for his work since he just started not too long ago?" Helen was unsure if she was correct and I nodded in agreement.

"Hey girls. We're ready to go now!" Ella's excited voice greeted us as she got into the car.

I stole a glance at Helen and finally saw a hint of nervousness. She was being awfully calm today, which was weird to me. But, everyone does have their own way of handling certain situations.
*~*~*~*~*

When we arrived at the church, the flower girl was already waiting outside for us. Ella, Nicole and I were scurrying out of the car and got ourselves ready. Helen's father took Helen to aside to have a private talk.

I walked over to the flower girl and bent down to her eye level. She was twisting the dress and looked like she wanted to cry.

"Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?" I tucked her hair behind her ears and put on a warm smile.

"I'm kinda nervous."

I looked around suspiciously as though I was checking if anyone was eavesdropping. The flower girl had an eyebrow arched when I turned back to face her.

"Me too," I whispered as if I was telling her a secret.

"But, I have a method to calm ourselves down. Wanna do it with me?" I added with a cheeky wink and earned myself a chuckle from the flower girl.

"Yeah!" She replied me enthusiastically which put a huge grin on my face.

"Well, take a deep breath in and hold it for three seconds. Repeat this for a few times. C'mon, let's try this together." I immediately took a deep breath in after speaking.

I saw the flower girl followed my instructions and took the opportunity to poke her in the sides. She let out peals of laughter which made me smile.

"Are you feeling better now?"

The flower girl calmed herself down from the laughing fit and repeatedly nodded her head.

"Thank you so much." She jumped forward to give me a hug.

She was called to get ready and so was I. Distracting people from their fears was much easier than mine. I hid my shaky hands behind the flower and tried to give Ella a reassuring smile.

We were told to stand in a straight line as the door was about to open. I was the one standing right in front, leading everyone in. It was no secret that I absolutely do not enjoy being in the spotlight. Well, not exactly the spotlight was thrown to me. Because that person would be the bride, Helen.

I did the breathing exercise to calm my jittery nerves and felt my hands getting colder and colder. Ella leant forward to whisper into my ears.

"Rach, you will do just fine. Don't worry. Imagine you're walking down the aisle with Gavin waiting for you at the other end."

Slowly, I felt my body relaxed and my lips twitched up into a small smile. Without warning, the door flew open and I could hear that everyone was applauding.

The small smile was frozen and I bravely took the first step out. As much as I wanted to run down the aisle, my legs got used to the speed that we have practised countless of times. I caught Gavin's eye and he winked at me mischievously. I held onto the giggle that was at the edge of my mouth.

All the girls went to their respective positions after walking down the aisle. I stood at the side designated for the bridesmaid. Helen's mother was seated next to Helen's stepfather. She passed me the box of ring and I could see the tears shining in her eyes.

As I returned back to my position, my eyes lifted up to meet Zachary's gaze. Out of awkwardness, I immediately looked down at my feet.

There was not a dry eye in the church as Helen and Dylan exchanged their wedding vows. After Helen and Dylan said their "I dos", Zachary and I were quick to pass the bride and groom their wedding rings. Everyone was on their feet, clapping their hands when the pastor announced that the groom may kiss the bride now. Dylan lifted Helen's veil and kissed her. We were all extremely happy for the newlyweds.

Suddenly, I felt a drop of tear rolled down my cheeks. Helen hugged me tightly and wiped away my tears of happiness.

"I can't wait to see you in a wedding gown, Rach!" Helen beamed at me, grinning from ear to ear.

I could not speak without choking on my tears, therefore I nodded my head with a huge smile. All the family members took turns to come up and take a photo with the newlyweds. While all the bridesmaids and groomsmen posed for a photo at a corner in the church.

"Can we have a photo of the best man and maid of honour?" The photographer suggested which made me froze in my position.

"Sure, why not?" Zachary agreed to it as he walked out to stand in front of the camera.

Ella gave my back a push to stop me from overthinking.

"Yeah, I don't mind," I said in a tone that was nearly inaudible.

I sauntered over to Zachary's side and smiled at the camera. I was well aware of the awkward space in between Zachary and me, so I held out my hand in a peace sign. Zachary was quick to follow me and we managed to take the photo without feeling so awkward.

All the ladies followed the newlyweds out as the bride was getting ready to throw her flower.

Ella and Nicole hooked their arms with mine as we walked out with bright smiles. Eva's hand was intertwined with Zachary's as they came out from the side.

"Hey girls. Get ready." Helen informed us before she turned around to throw the flower.

The ladies stood around Helen as they prepared themselves. My eyes followed the flower as it was high up in the air. The next moment my palms were a little sweaty in excitement. I really thought I could catch the flower, but it landed in the hands of Eva's. She was standing in front of me when the flower was caught by her. Eva squealed in happiness as she ran to hug Zachary.

Gavin wrapped his arms around my waist which earned him a playful smack on the arm.

"Babe, are you disappointed?" Gavin asked with a lopsided grin.

"A little," I answered truthfully as we walked hand in hand to send off Dylan and Helen.

All the worries I had about Zachary meeting Gavin was all for nothing. They did not have much time for interaction. As for Eva, she was being awfully nice to me today. I quickly stopped myself from over analysing everything as I waved my best friends goodbye.

Author's notes :
Yooo guys! I finally managed to write this chapter out. 😅 Anyways, I hope this chapter was worth the wait! 😋 We're so close to 1k reads for In Time! Thank you guys for your support! ♥ Tap on the vote/comment/share button below, if you want to! 👇