His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 301: The Bride

** Harper **

[ Ten months later ]

"Seriously, I have never seen a bride as chill as you in my entire life." Chelsea stared expressionlessly into the mirror in front of her as the hair stylist worked on her braid, though it was more than obvious who she was talking to. "I mean, you’re getting married in less than four hours! And you’re still in the mood to check your phone all the time!"

Harper looked up from her phone, returning a sheepish smile to her maid of honor. "Well, I don’t have anything else to do right now, since I’m the last to go for hair and makeup ... And I’ll just get anxious if I simply sit here and keep thinking about the ceremony anyway."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "I can’t believe Eli let you complete your web novel the night before your wedding. That’s straight up asking for distractions. Your readers better be leaving you the sweetest and nicest comments there are in the world."

Harper chuckled.

It was never her plan to finish her book on such a special day, but apparently, after a long year of updating Secret Crush, the plot had finally reached an end on the last day she expected it to. She had considered rushing it a bit in the past week to get it over with sooner, though Eli actually thought that it was a great omen for their wedding — what could be better than seeing the story that marked the beginning of their love journey reach a happy ending at the same time as their real life? So she decided to leave things to their own natural pace, and the two of them enjoyed a mini celebration last night when the final Chapter was uploaded.

Of course, that last Chapter was a wedding scene. And of course, her readers were nothing but sweet and nice as always, showering her with lots of comments and gifts that kept her phone buzzing for the whole day, which she took as blessings for her own wedding as well.

"It’s not called distractions if there’s nothing to be distracted from." From within the small group of bridesmaids already wrapping up with their makeup, Emory chimed in. "The bride has handled everything ahead of time, no more last minute hassles. It’s called efficiency! She’s earned the extra time to chill on her phone when anyone else in her place might be running around like a headless chicken."

"Ugh, I forgot you have a fangirl here that won’t allow half a negative comment about you." Chelsea raised her hands in surrender as the hair stylist finished securing the last hairpin, declaring her braid done. "I swear that wasn’t a complaint, Emory. I was up reading her final Chapters late last night myself! I’m a hundred percent grateful that she didn’t leave me on a cliffhanger while she goes on her honeymoon and puts her story on hiatus."

Everyone in the room chuckled at that. Emory uncrossed her arms, the protective air in her loosening a little bit with the gesture.

Yep, that trait totally runs in the family, and Harper immediately thought of Eli as she returned Emory a wink.

It was probably an odd thing to include the groom’s half-sister, who he was never particularly close to, as a bridesmaid. But Harper couldn’t help it. For the past ten months, she had gotten unexpectedly close to Emory as time went by. The intern had extended her time at Miracles into a full co-op for an entire year, possibly because she was feeling that invested in the project, and the two of them worked together so perfectly that they quickly became good friends outside of work as well.

Sometimes, the way they think matched so well that Harper would wonder if the half-sibling pair somehow shared a telepathy link of some sort, letting Emory understand her future half-sister-in-law’s thoughts so instinctively. Which, of course, made Eli extremely jealous, but that was story for another day.

"Having an easy and comfortable peace of mind is actually a huge blessing on a wedding day." The conversation was apparently catching the hair stylist’s interest, and she smiled at Harper as she waved for the bride to come to the chair in front of the mirror. "People can tell how you feel from your face, and that good mood just makes you so much more naturally beautiful. I’ve done enough weddings to know the difference."

"Which also makes our work a lot easier, by the way," the makeup artist agreed, dabbing her final touch ups on the last bridesmaid. "I give all my happy clients an extra prayer to wish them a long and loving marriage."

"Oh, I certainly wouldn’t mind that priceless bonus." Harper laughed.

She looked into the mirror as the hair stylist started on her updo, and the makeup artist moved on to Chelsea. The room slowly quieted then, everyone keeping their voices low for the main star of the day to focus on her preparations.

Harper had chosen a floral braid today, nothing extravagant but unique on the details that gave off an elegant charm. The makeup was a natural style that complemented the vibe, and she had loved it at first sight during her trial session. She couldn’t wait to see what Eli would think of it when they finally saw each other, an hour from now for the photoshoot just before the ceremony.

"So you’ve still managed to keep your hair and makeup a secret from the groom?" As if reading her mind, Chelsea dropped the question from the next chair over. "For how lovey dovey you guys are all day, I find it hard to believe that you can actually keep any secrets for this long."

"You bet I did. Some things are worth keeping a surprise for." The smile on Harper’s face widened at the thought. "He hasn’t seen any of it ... and not the dress either."

Through the mirror, her eyes darted to the dress hanging on the opposite side of the wall. Yes, she definitely couldn’t wait for that surprise to come.