Olivia wanted to pull her hair out.

“It looks wonderful,” Nylah said as she massaged Olivia’s shoulders. “Really, it does. I mean, it doesn’t look exactly like what we had envisioned, but this is fine, too.”

The hairdresser they had hired had backed out at the last minute, and the replacement didn’t know how to recreate their imagined style. Olivia looked at her face and hair in the mirror. The traditional wedding updo that she had wanted was out the door, and instead, she had been left with a mess of curls.

“You know,” Nylah said. “Most of this will be hidden behind the veil, anyway.” She hugged Olivia’s shoulders. “By the time you come back here to change for the reception, we can take all of those pins out and you can have a half-up-half-down relaxed look while you sit for speeches and eat dinner. It’ll feel better like that.”

“You’re sweet to try and make me feel better,” Olivia said, sighing.

“In the meantime, you should probably get dressed,” Nylah added.

Olivia’s head swiveled to face the colorful dress in the corner of the room. She had tried it on at her final fitting a few days prior, and it had looked more beautiful than she had expected. The fabric itself was stunning, but she had been fearful for the mishmash of colors—she just imagined herself looking like a circus tent.

Even now, as she slipped it on, just an hour before the wedding, she couldn’t help but feel scared that it wouldn’t look right on her. She could feel her nerves making her stomach tie itself in knots.

She hadn’t been able to eat breakfast that morning—the result of nerves, and a fear of feeling or looking bloated. What if breakfast didn’t agree with her and she ended up feeling sick? She had already been feeling under the weather; she couldn’t add stomach pain or upset to the list as well.

“Oh, Olivia,” Nylah said as Olivia stepped out from behind the privacy screen. “You look so beautiful! Your hair is perfect with that dress, too. Come look! Come look!” She waved her over to the full-length mirror that stood on a swivel in the corner of the room.

Olivia walked up to it, her soft shoe flats shuffling against the carpet flooring of the dressing room. The image in the mirror wasn’t what she’d expected. She didn’t look like a circus tent. She didn’t even look like herself.

From the corner of her eye, she spied Nylah as she picked up Olivia’s phone and snapped a picture of her. “For your sister,” she explained. “She’ll love this.” Nylah held the picture up to her. “You look so beautiful!”

Nylah’s words struck one of Olivia’s heartstrings. A tear nearly broke free from her eye.

“Oh, no,” Nylah said, a smile creeping across her face. “No tears now. I know that we used waterproof mascara, but you should try to avoid crying, anyway.” She let out a small chuckle and wrapped her arms around Olivia. “I’m so happy to have you in my family, now,” she said.

She pulled away from Olivia, just far enough so they could see each other eye to eye.

“Just think,” she said. “In less than an hour, I’ll have my very own sister!” She grinned. “I know that this is your big day and that Yasin is the one marrying you, but I want to be greedy for just one minute. I’m totally looking forward to having a sister. I know you already have one,” she said, “but I’ve only had brothers. So I’m looking forward to sharing you.”

Olivia tried to hold back tears. She nodded at Nylah, not realizing that she hadn’t said a word in the last few minutes. Her mind was filled with them, however. Her mind was filled with thoughts and emotions that ran wild.

There was happiness and excitement for the wedding. Nervousness about having to stand in front of so many people. But the biggest feeling was sadness. She was so happy to be getting married that she hadn’t thought about the fact—until Nylah started talking about having a sister—that this was all a sham.

Their marriage might be legal on paper and in real front of the cameras, but she wasn’t really going to be Yasin’s wife. She was just a means to an end. She needed to remember that if she was going to go through with it.

“Come on,” Nylah said. “Let’s get you to that altar.”

Olivia hadn’t realized the enormity of the situation until she walked out of the room with Nylah and their wedding staff and started making her way to the ceremony. There were reporters lined up outside. She could see them through the windows as they passed by the glass. She stopped to stare out of the building at the sea of people in fancy dress. A few of the members of the crowd snapped pictures of the building and of the guests that were arriving.

“It’s a star-studded event,” Nylah said, standing next to her. “I don’t know if you know all of the Rebayan celebrities out there, but the turnout is actually quite amazing.”

“I’m glad that I left all of the invitations up to you,” Olivia said. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Nylah elbowed her. “I didn’t do much.”

Olivia could feel her gaze burring holes into the side of her face. She turned to her future sister-in-law. “What is it?” she asked.

“I know you have a lot on your mind,” she replied. “But you seem much more preoccupied and…different. Are you okay?”

Olivia nodded. “I’m just sad that Jennifer couldn’t make it,” she said.

It was true. It just wasn’t the whole truth.