"Does it have to be Tobias who gets married?"
The moment this question was asked, the young man in the room with them choked on air as he stared at her wide-eyed.
Seraphina's question implied that it did not have to be Tobias who got married here today.
Tobias could still work things out with Selene later on while Shawn was the one who got married today instead.
After all, Shawn did not have anyone in his heart which would make things easier for them if they were to get married instead.
The young man had never expected to suddenly become the protagonist of the conversation and hence did not know how to react.
He was two years younger than Tobias and Seraphina and had always seen her as the dependable older sister figure.
Therefore, now being asked if he could be the groom and marry her, he did not know whether he approved or was against this arrangement.
However, before he could think further about how he truly felt regarding her suggestion, he heard his mother rejecting this plan on his behalf.
"Grandmother will doubt why Shawnie is marrying instead of Tobias..." Theresa expressed her worries as it would not be easy to explain why the groom had suddenly changed.
"And it would be easier to explain why the bride had changed?" Shawn shot back with a look of confusion and annoyance as soon as his mother had spoken up.
It was only after those words had left his mouth that he realized what he had done and his face turned a bright red in embarassment.
If it had been any other situation, Seraphina would have teased him further but she held her smile back when she thought of the serious conversation they were having right now.
"Grandmother never met Selene." Theresa revealed while shooting her younger son a glare.
Due to her ill health and the hasty plan that had been made for Tobias to get married, Grandmother had never been introduced to the bride-to-be.
They had decided to have the two meet after the ceremony but things had not worked out in their favor.
"But we can use this to our advantage!" The mother added as she held Seraphina's hands once again.
Thus, she rejected the suggestion to have Shawn married to Seraphina and revealed the plan she had come up with in its place.
Sensing some hesitation coming from Seraphina, she caressed her hand and urged her to agree with the plan she had just proposed.
"I will deal with Tobias." She promised and before the young woman could think about this any further, pulled her out of Selene's changing room.
Theresa was quick to her feet as she summoned her assistant and the stylists to the room she had been using earlier and they surrounded Seraphina, wasting no time in getting her dressed before she could change her mind.
It was an awkward situation where they were helping someone get dressed as a bride for the second time today, not to mention that it was for the same groom.
Everything from the dress to the flower bouquet and even makeup was as per Selene's preferences which made it difficult for them to adjust it to suit Seraphina's appearance.
However, they remained professional and did their best despite the unfavourable circumstances.
Within twenty minutes, Seraphina, who had arrived to attend the wedding in a baby blue mid-length dress was made to change into that exquisite bridal gown that the previous bride had left behind.
Though it did not fit her perfectly due to the difference in their measurements, the stylists worked their magic and made sure that the gown, at the very least, did not fall off her body.
Thus, exactly ten minutes before the ceremony began, Seraphina sat before the mirror, staring at herself dressed as a bride when she had just come here to attend someone else's wedding.
"Don't worry about anything and leave it all to me!" Theresa patted her chest and gave her one last smile before walking out of the room once she was sure that Seraphina would not change her mind.
At the same time, she asked her assistant to stay behind and watch the young woman, in case she too had a change of heart later on.
Once she had finished instructing her assistant, she thought of Shawn, whom she had given the task of handing over Selene's envelope to Tobias and watching over him closely.
Though she was worried about her heartbroken son, she had another task to complete so she went ahead to discuss the changes in today's ceremony with the priest.
---
Having reached this point in her recollection, Seraphina paused as she glanced at Tobias, whose gaze was fixed on the platinum ring on his finger.
"You already know what happened after that..." She muttered before looking away from the man she had married earlier today.
Tobias nodded his head as he knew what took place next.
However, what he did not know was the effort his mother had put in to make everything possible.
---
After leaving Seraphina and the assistant behind, Theresa had gone to find the priest who would be officiating the wedding ceremony today.
Convincing the priest that the bride had changed last minute was far more difficult than expected yet she managed to accomplish it with her unrelenting persuasion and sizable donation to the chapel's maintenance.
Thus, begrudgingly, the priest had accepted to be a part of the plan and went ahead to make some changes to the schedule.
With this task completed, Theresa was heading back to check on Seraphina when she caught sight of Shawn rushing in the direction Tobias had disappeared.
Trying to keep up with their pace, she too hurried in the same direction and finally ended up in Selene's empty dressing room.
The devastated look on her elder son's face broke her heart but she knew that she had to steel herself and deliver the news of what needed to happen next.
"Be ready, the ceremony begins in 10 minutes." She reminded her elder son while patting his shoulder.
Hearing that sentence felt like lightning had struck him as Tobias stared at his mother with wide-open eyes.
"Selene came back!?" was the first thought that popped into his head and those words slipped out of his mouth before he knew it.