Devil Bride

TW: Language and verbal/emotional abuse

“Has anyone seen Vanessa? Where the fuck is Vanessa?”

Sydney scurried while lifting her dress to prevent her heels from ripping holes in it, although that could not make the awful thing look any uglier. She was the bridesmaid and best friend of the bride, she was used to being supportive of Vanessa’s poor judgment, in this case, a purple 1920s-looking ruffled dress with netting. Considering her track record, Vanessa picked a decent groom. Everyone loved James and on the best days, Vanessa did too.

Sydney hurried down the venue halls, turning her neck quickly at every corner so much that it was beginning to cramp. Of all the stunts Vanessa could pull, this one was the most ridiculous yet. “I swear when I find that girl I’m going to kill her,” Sydney mumbled to herself as she started to trip over the ruffles of her dress getting caught underneath her heels. She searched everywhere but one place, the bar wouldn’t be open until after the reception. It would be the last place she would look, but Vanessa always turned to alcohol when running away from her problems. Could she really be doing this right now? The thought was not unlikely of Vanessa at all. Sydney scuffled her way to the bar, beginning to break out in beads of sweat around her upper lip and the tiny blonde hairs on her forehead began to erect in a frizz.

The bar was empty upon entering, but Sydney scanned the room with a glance that drew her toward the bar top. She searched around it to find her friend sitting on the ground leaning her back against the bar and bringing a brown glass bottle to her lips. Her dress puffed out all around her making her look like a cloud. Sydney's cheeks began to flush. “You can´t be fucking serious right now!”

Vanessa looked up at Sydney and smiled. Sydney never swore, but Vanessa was the only person who could drive her to that point and she lived to witness those moments. How cute it was to see a delicate lamb like Sydney enraged over anything. It was pure entertainment for Vanessa.

“What? Can't a bride enjoy a little drink before her wedding?” Vanessa pressed the bottle to her lips.

“That's even if you get married! You're supposed to be getting ready! What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I’m fucking thirsty!” Vanessa snaps. “Here, have one with me.” She lifts one hand in the air offering Sydney the beer and patting the floor next to her side with the other.

Sydney's heartbeat began to feel like a horse’s gallop. Her throat began to tighten and her nostrils flared. Still, this behavior was nothing new for her. Vanessa has always gotten a thrill of pushing everyone's buttons, especially the fragile ones, like Sydney. The adrenaline rush from making people angry made Vanessa feel like a goddess among men.

“If you don't get up right now…”

“You’ll what?” Vanessa interrupted, the corner of her lips widening like a child who was just given their favorite treat. Sydney being flustered at this level heightened Vanessa's amusement. A lion was being threatened by a fluffy little rabbit. Their eyes dueled, Sydney’s with an erupting fire and Vanessa's with a cynical and icy glaze.

The lump in Sydney's throat was finally released. “You don't deserve to marry him.”

“Oh, he’ll marry me.” Vanessa took another sip, still unbothered by Sydney's anger. “I could spit this beer in his face right now and he would still marry me. You remember that one party?”

About a year ago, Sydney and some coworkers had planned a birthday party for Vanessa. All was fun until Vanessa started to get out of hand with her drinking. She was known to be a sloppy drunk, obnoxious and rude. Her drunkenness got worse after her breakup with Kyle, although her alcoholism was one of the main reasons he left her. Her wound was still fresh, but she refused to show her weakness. She had James now to clean up her mess. The party was another one of Sydney’s distractions, one of the many duties that came with being Vanessa’s best friend.

Vanessa was wearing a dress that was a little high off her knees and bent over unknowingly exposing her backside. Drunk or not, Vanessa was always unhinged so she would not have been bothered even if she was aware of her Lindsey Lohan moment. When James noticed, he leaned toward her and informed her in a discreet whisper that her dress was lifting. Vanessa stood up and pressed her mouth to his and spit beer all over his face. James pulled his head back in rabid disgust wiping the beer off with his sleeve. Before he could speak, Vanessa began to laugh and threw herself back on a sofa in the section of the bar that Sydney had reserved for the party.

“Oh, I'm sorry, does that upset you?” She spread her legs open, chewing gum with her mouth wide open mimicking a cow. When Sydney noticed what was happening, she darted towards Vanessa and covered her legs with the jacket she was wearing. She quietly scolded something at her but could not be heard because of the volume of the music. Either way, she was being ignored. Meanwhile, another friend tried to help de-escalate the situation by moving James further away from Vanessa. James looked at Vanessa as he was being gently pushed backward, his face mixed with anger and humiliation. Vanessa still smiled and then responded to Sydney while holding her gaze on James. “What? He's just being a little bitch.”

That was Vanessa, a scoundrel with no limits to which buttons she was going to push. And yet, she still had friends and now a soon-to-be husband who desperately wanted to marry her. Even though it didn't make sense, Sydney knew she was right. James was a good man, and even though she didn't deserve him, he still loved her. Defeated, Sydney stormed off in the opposite direction. Despite being angry, this was the way Vanessa was handled all the time.

Back at the venue, James stood in front of a life-size mirror inside his room fixing his bowtie. He patted down his suit one last time for any final touches before the ceremony. He never thought this day would come. He has loved Vanessa for many years, but fate always seemed to keep him away from her. There was always something. Someone, actually, but James remained loyal to all of Vanessa’s faults. After many years of being committed to being her knight in shining armor, he was finally being rewarded for his patience and dedication.

James became very much aware of Vanessa's demeanor when they first started dating, but it wasn´t enough to make him feel indifferent. This was the girl he had been in love with for as long as he could remember. While she did seem to insult him quite often whether in public or private, there was something about Vanessa that he was so drawn to. Whatever it was must have been the same spell she had everyone else under. Vanessa was reputable for being the destroyer of dignity. If she was so obviously heinous, then why did people still love her? In this case, it was because James was her knight and he was going to achieve what others couldn't. This marriage was going to secure that for the both of them, he was sure of that.

He exhaled and shrugged his shoulders as if he were preparing to go into battle when he heard a faint rustling sound coming from the door. He looked over to find an envelope that someone slid underneath it. James, it read on the front. He picked it up and instinctively opened the door to catch a glance of the person who delivered it, but the hallway was vacant. He closed the door behind him and opened the envelope to find multiple photos. As he skimmed and flipped through each one, he saw they were screenshots of text messages between Vanessa and different people. Some were with people whose names he did not recognize; some were of chats including Sydney. He found one dated the night of the party.

VANESSA: I've tried everything to get Kyle to talk to me and nothing is working!

SYDNEY: You were out of line tonight with James. Why don't you just break up with him already?

VANESSA: Because I need Kyle to see. This fucking idiot isn't doing the job though.

SYDNEY: Vanessa, Kyle is not coming back. He moved on. Please stop punishing James and leave him alone.

VANESSA: I will leave him alone when I am done!

James flipped to another picture dated back to when James and Vanessa first started talking.

KYLE: Vanessa, I don't want to accuse you of anything but ´I've noticed that guy James has been liking all of your photos on social media. Now he’s leaving you flirty comments. What’s going on?

VANESSA: He's just some loser who has had a crush on me forever, it's nothing. You’re being fucking dramatic.

KYLE: Then can you please tell him to leave you alone or block him?

VANESSA: I'm not going to block anyone, you're being a little bitch and I’ll have whoever the fuck I want on my social media.

James flipped to a new photo of a conversation between Kyle and Vanessa dated a few months after that conversation. By then, James and Vanessa had been dating for a month.

VANESSA: Kyle, I know you don't want to be together right now, but I need you to know I am willing to wait as long as I need. You'll come around soon. Remember how much you love me.

KYLE: Leave me the fuck alone and do not speak to me ever again.

James continued to look through the photos, but essentially the messages were all the same. They were either Vanessa contemplating a plan to get Kyle back or some type of lie she had told James. She insulted James in several messages, old and new. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. His hands turned cold and he felt a lump in his throat. A new type of anger ran through his blood. He felt foolish and angry, but more than anything, he felt pathetic for feeling sad. He loved Vanessa and was always willing to endure it all for her because he knew deep down that they were destined to be together. To experience her cruelty this way and realize he was part of a failed attempt to win a game she was playing made his world crumble. How could he face her today at the altar in front of all their loved ones? Even worse, how could the people he considered friends know all of this and continue to cheer their relationship on? Was it because they all wanted to finally see her settle down with someone who could see the monster in her and love her without question? Everything James thought he knew was now in the palm of his hands pressing daggers into his chest. Could this be the sign he needed to finally walk away from Vanessa?

In that final moment, he decided to take every bit of dignity that Vanessa had stripped from him back. He was not going to allow her to destroy him anymore. These pictures were going to be the truth that would finally set him free and put Vanessa to shame for eternity and since Vanessa loved having an audience, their wedding was going to be the perfect opportunity to give his bride her long-deserving gift. James shoved the vows he had written for Vanessa from his suit pocket and placed the pictures inside. He exhaled again, prepping for battle, ready to face his monster at last.

The time of the ceremony had arrived and James stood at the altar anxiously. He was overwhelmed and hurt but still felt a sense of empowerment for what he was about to do. So many years of wanting this moment only to be faced with repetitive moments of humiliation. He found comfort in knowing that this was finally going to be put to an end.

The guests all stood to their feet as Vanessa began to walk down the aisle toward James. His heart rate slowed and his palms began to generate a cold sweat. She was now standing in front of him, smiling, when she softly blew her breath towards his face. He could smell the beer on her. He was angered and looked behind her to see Sydney standing with a nervous smile. He turned his head toward their guests and could also see the same smiles. They suddenly all looked different to James. Inauthentic, all of them. For how long? James wondered. Do they all know?

The minister began to speak. His ears muffled from the moment she stood next to him, he couldn't hear a word the minister was saying. Stage lights were shining down on his bride as she began to read her vows. Again, a muffling sound exiting her lips was all James could hear as time stood still. When she finished, she handed the paper with her vows back to Sydney, leaned into James, and whispered, “Sydney is one hell of a writer huh? But I meant every word.” She leaned back and winked at James.

It was now James’s turn to speak. His moment had come to pull out the pictures and fulfill his knightly duties. He would read the text messages instead of his vows and shame her once and for all. James would look at their so-called friends, fake, all of them, and smile because among them was a traitor. They all were, but for once someone tried to save him. In return, he could finally proclaim that the dragon had been slain.

He glanced at Vanessa one last time, examining her face for imperfections knowing that her lips only spoke lies. Her eyes, which he loved so much, were full of darkness and deceit. The heart in her chest that he adored, belonged to no one. He soaked her all in one final moment. Her skin, her hair, her scent. The woman he has always wanted who had just vowed to love him for the rest of her life was finally at a mercy that he never knew would be in his power.

He reached into his suit pocket and fumbled between the photos and his vows. He reached out and stared into his bride’s eyes and just before he began to read, he remembered that this was the moment to lock them in forever. He had already experienced all the worst parts of her, the lies, insults, and endless humiliation. This marriage meant that there was promise of better days. A better Vanessa. The knight had already been through his greatest obstacles, this could only mean he was on his way to his true reward. Excitement filled his head and the muffling sound cleared from his ears. He began to read his vows, their guests moved to tears, and Vanessa let out a faint yawn. James didn't mind, he was her soulmate, and he was going to rescue her from herself.

The ceremony ended as the two repeated after the minister. “I do,” said Vanessa, victorious in her conquest, looking back at Sydney with a wink and chewing a piece of gum with her mouth open. Their guests rejoiced in relief and waited for James to respond as his cheekbones began to regain a warm color.

“I do,” said James.