ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO

ANISHA POV

If Dylan could have had it his way, him and I would have married in the next seven days. It was his dad who convinced him to push to fourteen days. The invitations were being made, and the two of us went to see the wedding planner. It was a team of fifteen people, led by a lady who really seemed to be on top of her game. She really knew what she was doing, and I did not even want to ask how much she was charging for her services. I constantly reminded myself that it was time to accept the reality of being rich. I needed to stop asking about prices and fearing to buy staff. Of course I meant to be responsible, but a bit of spoiling oneself here and there was not harmful.

They showed us a number of videos showing their previous works, and one of the team-mates explained everything in detail. I fell in love with the vintage themed wedding. That was what I wanted, I wanted natural colours; the ethical colours. Dylan and I went back home and cuddled up together on a sofa, we got into details of our wedding.

"Can we have it in Yellowleaf, please Dylan? We met there, and I love the mountains there. There is one particular mountain, Rope Mountain. I love it!" I looked at Dylan with pleading eyes.

He laughed, "you should see your eyes right now. You look like a little child begging for candy. Of course, Anisha. We can have the wedding anywhere you want. Even if you want it in Mars, I will make it happen."

We discussed a lot, and on the following day, we narrated to the planners what we wanted. I was very specific, and I wanted things done exactly as per my specifications. Dylan reminded me multiple times that the budget was unlimited, so I needed to say everything the way I wanted it. Yellowleaf was my choice for venue. The city meant a lot to me. I met Dylan there. Of course I had met him before, at Olga, but I met him for the second time there; and the second time was the one which brought love to us. and I met my father there too; pastor Everdeen. I loved Yellowleaf.

Rope mountain was not too high, like most of the mountains in Yellowleaf. If anything, it did not qualify to be called a mountain, in my view. It was really low. Considered to be the most beautiful mountain in Yellowleaf, I totally agreed with the person who had classified it thus. At the foot of the mountain was a huge lake, with sparkling blue waters. Dylan and I agreed that we wanted the chairs for our guests to be lined right in front of the lake, facing the beautiful lake. The chairs, which we specified to me made of pure rustic teak wood, were supposed to have cushions covered in velvet material. Each chair need to have two armrests, and big enough for the person to sit in freely. Along the aisle we requested for a carpet with a beautiful rustic print, running from high up the mountain, all the way to the front of the crowd. My dream was for a helicopter to drop me off right at halfway up the mountain, and since it was neither high nor steep, I was going to walk down towards the groom.

I wanted reeds, and if it was too late to plant some, which it was, I did not mind artificial ones. The planner assured us that real reeds were going to be available, much to my delight. Dylan ordered my usual blue calla lilies, mixed artistically with pure white roses; but I wanted all the flowers dried, to maintain the rustic look. Dried palm leaves spoke to me well, and I wanted them to be thrown in here and there.

At the front, I envisioned a large ark, made from polished reeds. I asked for it all, from the wooden "JUST MARRIED" banner, heart table confetti, lined round bark pots, dried leaves decorating the tables. I stated all my dreams, and asked the team to use their experience to surprise me.

Dylan and I both wanted Liam at our wedding, so it was automatic that Mr and Mrs Woodruff were also invited. From my side, I did not have many guests to invite. The obvious ones on my list were Ms Meyerton and Valentina, my maid of honour. I also had to invite Amelia and Tessa. As for Amelia's husband, I really was not interested in having him. There were my two uncles, brothers to my dad, along with their wives. And of course there was my brother Gareth, who showed me love from the first day he met me, I wanted him at the wedding; him and his two sons. I could not have spoken anything about Lisa, for she and Carter were rotting in prison. That was all for me. I could not think of anyone else.

Dylan had a much longer list. He included most of the people for his parents' sake, for he knew that his parents, especially his mother, wanted to keep their friendships in their elite circle well guarded.

It was around 11PM; Dylan and I were in bed, busy discussing the wedding plans.

"Two weeks is too short, Dylan. Will the chairs be done already? We can resort to buying some readymade ones, you know." I told him. My head was cracking from all the planning.

"You're making things heavy for yourself. Just give that team instructions, ask for daily updates, and go to sleep." He said to me.

"I want to be hands on!" I defended myself.

"I understand, but don't strain yourself. Like now, I can see you're exhausted. Let's sleep, and we can talk more about it tomorrow," Dylan took my laptop from off my laps and he placed it on the table. He got into bed and pulled me very close to him. I was about to protest, but before I knew it, I found Dylan on top of me, kissing me wildly. The door to the room flung open, and we were both alarmed.

In the doorway stood Mrs de Milo, with Mrs Silva right behind her. Mrs Silva looked at us and quickly looked away, saying, " I am sorry, sir Dylan and Miss Anisha. I wanted to warn you in time, but I…"

"It's ok, Mrs Silva. You may go and rest now," Dylan spoke while he sat up on the edge of the bed.

He was not wearing a shirt, and he only had boxers on, so he used bed linen to cover himself up, leaving the upper part of his body bare. As for me, I was wearing a very short nightdress and I dared not allow Mrs de Milo to see it, so I pulled on the linen as high as I could, and left only my face peeping, feeling very scared of the vicious woman who stood at the entrance.

"Tell me it's a joke!" she spat out the words at Dylan.

"Will you excuse me mum, so that I can get dressed properly?" he asked politely.

She laughed. "You want to get dressed properly? What are you ashamed of? It seems like you already go around displaying your body to women. Are you married to this girl? No! And yet here you are, displaying your body right in front of her. What happened to the self respect that I taught you?"

"Mum, I'm really uncomfortable talking to you while I am not decently dressed like this," Dylan said in a pleading voice.

"I'm going nowhere. We're going to talk now! Tell me, Dylan, have you ever heard about respect? Respect for parents, to be specific? What, or rather who, gave you the guts to go ahead and propose, and even come up with a wedding gate, without my approval?"

"But I did tell you, mother. I told both you and dad that Anisha and I had come up with a wedding date."

"And what did I say? Didn't I say I needed more time to process it; and you went right ahead, defying my orders."

"Mum please, not now," he pleaded.

"But when, huh? When should we talk about this? You want to come to my grave and start crying, bringing me some flowers and all, after you and this girl of yours have killed me? At the rate you're going, you will kill me. I am stressed, I am depressed, I have constant headaches. I have forgotten what it means to be happy!"

The woman was silent, probably giving time to allow her words to sink in. Dylan remained silent as well, so Mrs de Milo carried on,

"Do you care about your mother, Dylan? Do you care about me at all? You want to see me dead, don't you? Do I mean that less to you, that you chose to tell your dad everything about your proposal and yet when you came to me, you were already talking about the wedding? Why did you keep me out of the loop?"

"I'm sorry mum. I was scared. I didn't know how to begin, so I told myself if I tell dad, then he will pass the news to mum."

"You were sacred of what?" she yelled.

"Your reaction, mum! You have failed to accept Anisha, but I have told you many times that she is the woman that I love. Mum please, wont you trust me for once!! This is the girl I love, she makes me happy, she is my world. Mum please, give us a chance to show you that we are right for each other."

"Dylan de Milo; you can never be right for that girl, do you hear me? That can never happen! Given a decade, or even a century, I would never accept her! She is not fit to be a de Milo! Need I remind you, son, that this same girl, who is lying in your bed and is using you to fulfill her lustful desires, grew up at that no-name place, and she was nothing but a number! They called her 0028; along with all the other children at that home! Dylan, you are worth more than this, trust me my child. Let me help you, I can get you someone who comes from a wealthy family, and is worth being a daughter-in-law of the de Milos."

"Is everything about money, mum?"

"Everything is about class, Dylan! That girl lying naked in your bed, does not belong in your class! She reduces you! Your value diminishes when you are with her, and so does the value of all of us!" I had never seen anyone as angry as how the woman was.

"Mother please, do not talk like that about her. I love her. I will help her to achieve her dreams. She is studying now, I will help her in any way I can. If it makes you happy, I can organize to buy her space at the mall tomorrow, and open up a boutique there. Something small and unique, just for a start up. I can talk to Mr Rockridge right away, so that he facilitates the buying of the property."

"That's the problem with her, Dylan! You keep spending money on her! What does she have? What is she bringing to the table? Do you want a woman who wants to be spoon-fed? What happens if one day you have children, and if you die first before her? Those children will suffer! You need someone with a strong background!."

"She can enroll to learn business management, mum. And I will train her everything that I know. I will help her on how to run businesses. I love her. Please accept it, mum. I really love her. And I am not leaving her no matter what."

After making a loud smirking sound with her lips, Mrs de Milo said, "if you know what's good for you, cancel that wedding" and she walked out, banging the door so loud that the alarm went off, with the security report saying "door crushed into".