I sighed as I looked in the mirror once again. I looked once again at my braided dark hair falling over my shoulder and my emerald sleeveless dress. I wondered why I had put so much effort into looking pretty. After giving my makeup a final touch-up, I headed for the door of my hotel room and stepped outside.
After a quarter of an hour's drive, I finally arrived at the reception venue. I walked through the garden until I reached the actual spot. It was like some kind of huge tent, all decorated with lights and flowers, while soft and pleasant music was playing in the background. Everything was really simple, but beautiful. What a rage.
The rest of the guests were divided into different groups, and the laughter and comments echoed throughout the esplanade. At that moment I realized that I probably didn't know any of the people present, so I grabbed a champagne glass and positioned myself in a corner, where I had a peripheral view.
At one point, all conversations stopped and everyone looked in a particular direction and started clapping and cheering. Despite knowing full well who they were, I decided, once again, to display my foolishness and looked.
He was too gorgeous. I could get stubborn and deny it, but that would have been lying outrageously. Kevin was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen. But what made him dangerous wasn't just his beauty, not by a long shot. It was the way he talked, the way he looked, the way he walked that made him a ticking time bomb of sensuality and desire. I knew that better than anyone. Well, actually, there was another woman who must have known it too, and that was precisely why she was going to marry him.
As much as I had repeated it to myself, and as much as I had convinced myself of it, the truth was that she was a beautiful girl. Her hair the color of sunlight, her brown eyes and, above all, her smile. I had always considered myself a beautiful woman (though perhaps more attractive than beautiful), but I knew she had a prettier smile than mine. As everyone surrounded the bride and groom and showered them with questions and compliments, I left my empty champagne glass on one of the tables and picked up another, knowing that those were only going to be the first of many.
After a while, you could tell that the party had already started. The music was livelier than at the beginning and people, probably encouraged by the alcohol, had taken to the dance floor. Meanwhile, I was still standing in the same corner as before, finishing what was already my sixth glass of champagne. About half an hour earlier, a man in his fifties (he looked like someone's uncle) had approached me and asked me to dance with him. I made an effort to smile and politely declined his invitation, making up any lame excuse, like I didn't like to dance. I did like to dance, but if I went to the dance floor the chances of running head-on into someone I didn't want to were too high.
At that moment, the volume of the music lowered and I saw how the lovebirds stood at a kind of lectern, each one with a microphone. She was the one who started talking. The truth is I didn't even hear what she said, but I guess she thanked everyone for joining them on such a special day and blah, blah, blah... As I looked around to see where I could get another glass of champagne, I heard that deep voice that made me shiver inside. I looked and there he was, smiling broadly as he repeated his fiancée's speech in different words. And then, he slid his hand up to intertwine with hers and said, and I quote "...she is the woman of my life. The great love of my life." And that's when I felt the ultimate breaking of my heart. All my hopes vanished as I heard him utter those words. I clutched my cup so tightly that I feared it would burst in my hand. And then it happened. I looked at him and realized that he was looking at me too. He was looking at me with surprise, which was ironic, considering he had invited me. I was aware that I would burst into tears if I stood there a single second longer, so I ran away.
