# Chapter 12: A Storm in a Teacup, or a Rift in the Road to the Altar?
The Save The Date office hummed with its usual creative chaos, but inside Hannah's heart, something was shifting. It had been a few days since Toby's blog had appeared, and she couldn't help but notice—he was emerging from his shell with every word he wrote. His answers to the awkward questions had been surprising, brave even. Hannah had admired that courage, especially when she herself had ducked out of answering the more intimate inquiries with a joke and a well-placed deflection.
"You know, Jess," Hannah mused, swivelling in her chair, "I think Toby's funnier than I am. His blogs are actually quite brilliant."
But Jess was staring at her computer screen with an expression that suggested she'd just discovered a winning lottery ticket in her inbox. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly agape.
"What? What is it?" Hannah asked, her curiosity piqued.
"The. Actual. What." Jess breathed. "Han, you are *not* going to believe this email."
Hannah, ever the joker, guessed wildly. "Elton John has offered us his LA mansion and private jet?"
"Not quite. But almost as good."
"George Clooney's Berkshire pad with full access to the pool and cinema?"
Jess rolled her eyes with theatrical exasperation. "Your knowledge of celebrity homes is frankly concerning. No—this is better. How about an all-expenses-paid honeymoon to St Lucia?"
The words hung in the air like confetti. Hannah stared at her friend, certain she was being teased. But when Jess turned the laptop around, there it was in black and white—a genuine email from a woman named Esmeralda Miller at a St Lucia Tourism Agency, offering the couple an entire free honeymoon in paradise. The email mentioned Hannah and Toby's blogs, praising their adventurous spirits, and suggested that between the beaches, bars, volcano driving, and ziplining, they'd have plenty to fill their days—and, Jess added with a waggle of her eyebrows, their nights would take care of themselves.
"You and your dirty mind," Hannah chided, though she couldn't suppress her grin.
But even as the excitement bubbled between them, a thread of doubt wove through Hannah's thoughts. She glanced down at her bare left hand—no ring, no engagement, just a contract and a promise to marry a man she'd never laid eyes on. "Jess, do you think we should be saying yes to all these offers? I love a freebie as much as anyone, but this is my *wedding* we're talking about."
Jess waved her concerns away like an annoying fly. "Of course we should! You'd love St Lucia, and unless you've been secretly hoarding cash, you can't afford it otherwise. All you have to do is post a few things on social media, write a blog when you're back, and boom—Caribbean sunshine with your brand-new husband!"
Hannah laughed despite herself. Jess's enthusiasm was infectious, even as it bordered on overwhelming. "You've gone all hyper about this wedding," Hannah observed. "Here's me trying to stay calm while secretly crapping myself, and you're bouncing off the walls."
"I just can't wait for you two to finally meet," Jess said dreamily, tapping her feet against her chair. "I keep picturing your faces when you see each other on the big day."
"What does my face look like in these daydreams?"
"Happy. Very happy." Jess nodded firmly.
"And Toby?"
"He's gazing in wonder at the beautiful woman walking toward him, and he can't stop smiling."
For a moment, Hannah let herself believe it. She pictured the scene—the flowers, the music, the stranger who was somehow already her fiancé. "Do you think he'd mind if I called him Tobes? I like the sound of it."
"I'm sure you can call him whatever you like when you're 'getting to know each other,' if you know what I mean," Jess teased with heavy air quotes, and they both dissolved into laughter.
But beneath the laughter, Hannah felt a strange melancholy. "It's still weird that we're engaged without really being engaged, you know? I don't even have a ring." She glanced at her bare finger, and something in her chest tightened.
"Don't worry," Jess assured her. "You'll have a beautiful wedding band in a few weeks. And he'll have impeccable taste in jewellery for the next thirty years, just you wait!"
"Er, Jess, the 1950s called and asked for their outdated views back!"
They bickered playfully about romance and gifts, about how Jess and Tom had been together so long that surprises had shrivelled up and died. Hannah laughed, but she noticed how Jess's smile didn't quite reach her eyes that day. It was a fleeting observation, quickly buried beneath talk of lunch plans and wardrobe logistics, but it lingered in Hannah's mind like an uninvited guest.
They were meant to go to Hannah's mum's house the next day—a lunch date with "Joan of Bark," as they'd secretly nicknamed her during their teenage years, when it had seemed like everything Hannah did was wrong. Jess was coming along as buffer, peacekeeper, and beloved golden girl—the daughter Joan had always wished she'd had, or so it sometimes seemed.
The bus journey to her mum's house was an exercise in endurance. Hannah found herself wedged next to a slightly unkempt but extremely talkative old man whose personal hygiene left much to be desired. She got off a stop early just to escape him, reasoning the walk would do her good—especially given her continued failure to curb her Chunky Kit Kat habit.
The drizzle started almost immediately.
Of course, she didn't have an umbrella. She'd been meaning to buy one for weeks, but every trip to Marks & Spencer ended with tights and Percy Pigs instead. She arrived at her childhood home slightly damp, slightly flustered, and completely empty-handed, unless one counted a single squashed pink pig sweet at the bottom of her bag. She decided it didn't count.
Still, she softened as she looked at the front garden. Since Joan's divorce, gardening had become her mum's passion—other than slagging off her ex-husband and his new family, obviously—and the flowerbeds were a riot of colour, joyful and alive. Hannah smiled despite herself.
Three knocks on the door, a key in the lock, and then—BAM. An entire orchestra appeared to be playing a concert in the hallway. The music swelled so violently that Hannah had to wait nearly a minute for the violins to die down before she could shout above the din.
"Hello! It's me, Mum!"
"Gosh, Hannah, you gave me a fright!" Joan emerged from the kitchen, looking flustered.
"Lovely to see you too, Mum," Hannah replied, plastering on a smile and brushing her mum's cheek with a kiss.
"Jess is still coming, isn't she?"
"Yes, don't worry, she'll be here soon. Though don't forget I'm your dear daughter, not Jess!" Hannah attempted another smile, this time through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath to calm the familiar irritation that always simmered beneath the surface of their interactions.
"So, how have you been, Mum? It's been a few weeks."
Joan busied herself with oven gloves, not meeting her daughter's eyes. "Yes, well, the last time you were here was when you dropped your little bombshell, wasn't it? I can't say I'm happy about this marriage situation, but your brother and lovely Julia seem to think it's a good idea. And as Scott says, at least it's dear Jess who matched you with this Toby man, and we know she has good taste in husbands. How is Tom, by the way? He's such a lamb."
Hannah's mouth fell open in astonishment. "Did you say you'd spoken to Dad?"
"Yes, he called me last week. We had a good chat about you, and Scott, and gorgeous Leo, obviously." Joan finally looked up. "Your father seems to think you're sure about what you're doing, so I suppose we should be supporting you. It looks as though I'm outnumbered anyway."
Hannah was stunned. Her parents had been divorced for decades, and they rarely spoke except through gritted teeth. But her mother had actually—*listened*? To her father? About *her* wedding?
The door knocker interrupted her shock, and Hannah gratefully escaped to let Jess in. "Her Majesty is being weirdly okay about things," she whispered urgently as Jess crossed the threshold. "Wonder boy and Julia are all for it, and Dad called her, and she actually listened to him. It's odd."
"But good odd," Jess whispered back. Then, in full voice, she swept into the kitchen: "Joan! So lovely to see you! Have you lost weight? That dress is gorgeous on you. Thank you so much for having us."
Hannah watched, equal parts amused and exasperated, as Jess worked her magic. Her mother practically preened under the compliments, fussing over Jess like she was royalty.
"You do spoil us, Joan!" Jess beamed.
*You, she spoils you,* Hannah mouthed behind her mother's back.
The lunch began pleasantly enough—quiche and salad and promises of Victoria sponge cake, all set to the soundtrack of Joan's subtle digs. "I expect you're watching your weight, aren't you, Hannah? I remember being so nervous before my wedding day that I could barely eat. My dress was almost too big."
"I don't think I'll have that problem!" Hannah laughed, determined not to rise to the bait.
But then, just as Hannah thought the visit might pass without incident, Jess opened her mouth and everything changed.
"Has Hannah told you about all the little extras we've lined up for the big day?" Jess asked, turning to Joan with bright enthusiasm. She began counting on her fingers: the boutique flower company in Manchester that had worked with Instagram stars, the cake made by that eccentric contestant from Bake Off who'd created a seven-tier mirror-glaze wonder, a second cake made entirely of cheese from a local deli, favours from an artisan gin company, a massive balloon arch, a photo booth, a wishing tree for messages to the couple, and possibly a chocolate fountain.
Joan's face arranged itself into a careful smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well, you've certainly been busy. But it all sounds ever so expensive. Do you really need all these favours and whatnot?"
And then Jess delivered the fatal blow: "That's the best part—we're getting them all for free!"
The word "free" echoed in the kitchen like a gunshot. Joan's frown deepened dangerously.
Hannah watched her mother's expression shift from confusion to something far more dangerous. She could sense the disapproval building—that familiar tide of judgment that had been threatening to flood the room since the wedding was first announced.
"Why would these people provide things for your wedding without payment?" Joan asked slowly, her gaze fixed on her daughter.
Hannah tried to explain, adopting a bright, breezy tone she definitely didn't feel. "Don't worry, Mum, we do pay them—just not in money. We'll be mentioning them on Save The Date's social media and thanking them in our blogs. They get loads of exposure, and their perfect audience sees them online. In the modern world, that's worth far more than actual cash!"
Joan continued to frown, her lips pressed into a thin line. "So you're effectively selling your wedding day to every single company that wants to give you things? You're trading these 'extras' for some words on Facebook?"
Hannah glanced desperately at Jess for support, but her friend suddenly discovered an urgent need to visit the bathroom. "I'm just nipping to the loo, won't be long!" Jess said, fleeing the scene with the speed of an escaping prisoner.
Alone with her mother, Hannah felt the walls closing in.
"I know it sounds weird, Mum, but this is how lots of things work now. People make entire careers out of mentioning products on Instagram. They make millions!"
"But you're not some reality star!" Joan spat, her voice dripping with distaste. "You're supposed to be a responsible professional woman, not someone who goes round marrying a complete stranger and seeing how many freebies she can collect! It's so *cheap*, Hannah. To think I almost came round to this idea—I was looking at hats on the John Lewis website! You can do whatever you want, as you have done your whole life, but don't expect me to come and watch you selling yourself in front of everyone."
"Mum, I—"
"I don't want to talk about it. I'm too upset." Joan turned away, her back rigid with disapproval. "Ah, Jess, there you are. Shall we have that cake now?"
The Victoria sponge might as well have been sawdust in Hannah's mouth. She ate mechanically, making polite conversation while her stomach churned and her heart raced. Every glance from her mother was a knife, every silence a verdict.
Fifteen minutes later, Hannah was in Jess's car, watching the leafy streets of her childhood neighbourhood disappear behind them. She couldn't speak. The tears were gathering—hot and shameful—threatening to spill over the moment she opened her mouth.
"Han, are you all right?" Jess asked, placing a hand on her knee. "Joan of Bark will come round. She did before. You just need to get your dad to talk to her again."
"This isn't Dad's problem." Hannah squeezed her eyes shut so tightly that tears gathered in the corners like prisoners. "I need to fix this myself."
She turned to her friend, swiping her arm across her face. And then the words poured out of her—words she'd been holding back for weeks, emotions she'd been burying beneath appointments and fittings and Instagram-perfect photo shoots.
"Maybe Mum's right, Jess. I don't need all those Insta-perfect bits. The important thing is that I'm marrying a man who matches me, and we get to live our happy-ever-after. That's it."
"I hear you, Han, but why not make it the best day ever?"
"Because it might mean my mum doesn't come to the wedding." The admission hung heavy between them. "Can you imagine if your mum hadn't come to your wedding? It would have been a completely different day, wouldn't it?"
For the first time, Hannah gave voice to everything she'd been feeling. "We've got carried away, Jess. We've forgotten what this is really about." She gestured at the impossible weight of the arrangements, the sponsorships, the exposure. "Save The Date is doing brilliantly. We've hit the targets the bank set. And I just don't think some sponsored posts are going to change anything that matters."
Jess pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. For a long moment, there was silence between them. Then, reluctantly, she nodded. "You're right. They won't. I just want your wedding to be perfect, Han. When I look back at my own wedding photos, all I can see is how cheap everything was. I don't want that for you."
"But it didn't matter, Jess!" Hannah cried. "I was there watching two of my favourite people declare their love for each other. That was everything. Isn't that what you remember? That happiness and contentment spread across your face?"
"I suppose," Jess said quietly, fiddling with her keys. "It feels like a very long time ago now."
Hannah softened. "It was nine, nearly ten years ago. You could renew your vows one day—have the wedding you always wanted. Especially if Save The Date takes over the world!"
She was more shaken than she cared to admit, mostly because deep in her heart, she knew her mother had a point. Hannah thought about her grandmother's wedding day—Vera and Gramps, married just seven days after asking their parents' permission. The war might have been over, but rationing was still in force. The villagers had pooled their own rations and lengths of material to make sure Vera had a wedding dress, and her mother had a frock to wear too.
That selfless, communal spirit—that make-do-and-mend romance—was the polar opposite of Instagram mentions and #gifted tags. It was the kind of love Hannah had been searching for her whole life. The prettiest flowers and the tallest cakes meant nothing if they came at the cost of her family's blessing.
"I'm sorry to spoil your plans, Jess, I really am." Hannah reached out, pleading. "But I need to pare it back. Can you understand that?"
Jess sighed, gathering her keys into her palm with a resigned nod. "I do understand, Han. And I'm sorry if I forced all this on you. Let's go inside and look through everything we've been offered. We'll turn down anything you're not comfortable accepting. To be honest, I haven't given Toby any details yet anyway—I wanted to get everything sorted first. He won't know any different."
"Thank you." Hannah squeezed her hand. "I'm not saying we have to refuse everything, especially if it helps Save The Date in the long run. But I need to be able to tell Mum she was right, and that we don't need all those things. It's the only way she'll come round." She paused. "Maybe even that won't be enough. But at least I'll have done everything I can."
"Fine. It's your wedding day, after all." Jess managed a small smile. "Dare I ask how you feel about St Lucia now?"
Hannah almost laughed. "God, I'd almost forgotten about that! But maybe if we just don't tell Mum it's a freebie—say Save The Date is paying for it—that'll be fine. She's not going to stalk our Instagram account just to catch us out, is she?" She bit her lip. "Does that make me a bad person?"
"It most certainly does not!" Jess declared with renewed enthusiasm. "Bring on the palm trees!"
Hannah hugged her friend, grateful for her understanding. "You're the best, J. And don't think I'll forget about the vow renewal idea—you should do it for your tenth wedding anniversary."
Jess grimaced and looked away. "If we make it to our tenth anniversary," she muttered darkly.
But the words barely registered in Hannah's mind. She was already planning how to fix things with her mother, how to strip the wedding back to what truly mattered. She was thinking about G-ma and Gramps and that beautiful, simple, wartime wedding. She was thinking about the kind of love she hoped to find with a man she'd never met.
---
**SAVE THE DATE BLOG: FINAL LETTERS BEFORE THE BIG DAY**
There were just days to go until the #marriedatfirstswipe couple tied the knot. This was their last chance to truly open their hearts to each other before they met at the altar.
**Dear Hannah,**
The last few weeks have flown by in a blur of suit fittings, wedding day schedules, and a growing feeling of, "Oh f***, this is really happening!" So I'm glad Save The Date only gave us one question to answer.
*What's the one thing you'd like the other person to know before you get married?*
In one of my earlier letters, I mentioned I'd had one big relationship in my life, which was two years ago. What I didn't say is that two years ago, I was *engaged*. We were so happy, and we thought we had our whole lives ahead of us. We made plans to leave our jobs and take a year off to travel together after the wedding.
Tragically, she was involved in a car accident on a country road. Four days later, she died in hospital surrounded by her family.
We were devastated. I wasn't in a good place for a long time, and it took me a while to process my grief. But the thing that kept me going was knowing that she would have hated to see me so broken. So, eighteen months later, I finally decided I needed to get my life back on track and try to find the old me. It took time, but here I am. I've realised I'm not the old me anymore—I'm just me. What happened will always be with me; it's part of who I am now. But that's not a bad thing.
I'm telling you all this (in a public forum, no less!) not to scare you away—and I really, really hope it doesn't—but to give you another piece of me before we marry. Everyone I care about knows my story, so I wanted you to know it too before we meet.
The only other thing I want you to know is that I'll be there waiting for you on our wedding day, no matter what. Excited? Yes. Nervous? Probably. But I will be there.
*Until then,*
*Toby x*
---
**Dear Toby,**
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman about to marry a man she's never met must be in possession of nerves of steel (sorry, Jane Austen!). So although I'm absolutely crapping it—as I'm sure you are too—I'm also trying to be as calm as possible about our impending nuptials. (I've never used the word "nuptials" before. Go me!)
I was intrigued by Save The Date's one final question for us. What if whatever I'm about to tell you is a complete deal-breaker and you call off the wedding?! Let's hope not for everyone's sake! But hopefully my answer won't put you off.
*What's the one thing you'd like the other person to know before you get married?*
The thing I'd like to tell you is relevant to why I signed up for #marriedatfirstswipe in the first place. I want to find the kind of love my grandparents had. Gramps and G-ma have always been a massive part of my life. Sadly, Gramps died fifteen years ago, but I've never known two people more devoted to each other. Even in their old age, they still did little romantic things for each other to show they cared.
I want to grow old with someone I'm utterly devoted to and who's devoted to me. I haven't been able to find this person myself, so I asked Save The Date to do it for me.
Maybe it was much simpler in the 1950s when my grandparents were courting, without apps and swiping and cyber-flashing. But I'm not asking for a knight in shining armour scattering rose petals and chocolates. Instead, I want that security of knowing the other person is at home waiting for me after a long, tiring day—someone who is my equal, intellectually and emotionally.
Is that too much to ask in the modern world, do you think? Well, hopefully you don't think so—otherwise you wouldn't be taking part in this mad plan at all, would you?
I want to meet the right man for me—but also a man G-ma approves of. And I very much hope that man is you, Toby. (No pressure, then!)
I can't wait to find out in a few days' time.
*Love, your wife-to-be,*
*Hannah x*
---
As Hannah read Toby's letter for the third time, tears streamed down her face. She'd known there was something deep behind his careful charm, something he was protecting. A lost love. A broken engagement. A heart that had been shattered before he ever signed up for this mad, beautiful experiment.
Perhaps he could feel her hope through the screen. Perhaps he also heard G-ma's voice whispering about fate and love and the universe conspiring to bring two souls together. Or perhaps they were simply two lonely people who had risked everything by trusting that there was someone out there—someone who would wait for them, no matter what.
"Excited? Yes. Nervous? Probably. But I will be there."
Toby's promise echoed in her mind. In just a few days, she would look across a crowded room and finally see the man behind the letters, the blogs, the vulnerability, the hope. Whatever else happened—whatever sponsorships she gave up, whatever battles she fought with her mother—Hannah knew that when she reached this man, he would be worth every tear and sacrifice.
Fate had already set its wheels in motion.
The wedding was almost here. And all Hannah could do was trust that Mrs Ellie Thompson—no, *Hannah*, she reminded herself with a blushing smile—that this would be the day her life truly began.
---
## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
What a beautiful, emotionally layered chapter! Everything comes together perfectly here—the showdown with Joan of Bark feels painfully real (we all know that mother-daughter tension!), and Hannah's journey toward understanding what really matters at a wedding is genuinely moving. Toby's vulnerability in revealing his late fiancée nearly broke my heart, but it also showed the tremendous strength of his character and how ready he truly is to love again. The final letters exchanged between the couple are heartbreakingly sweet, leaving a romantic cliffhanger that makes me desperate to read what happens on the wedding day. The way Hannah chooses family and authenticity over Instagram-perfect freebies is such an authentic moment of growth.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars**
## Next Chapter Prediction
The big day is finally here! After all the letters, nerves, and emotional honesty—and with Hannah and Jess having stripped the wedding back to its meaningful core—I predict the moment Hannah and Toby lay eyes on each other for the first time will be absolutely electric. Will there be instant chemistry, or will nerves get the better of them? Given Toby's past heartbreak and Hannah's desperate longing for her grandparents' kind of love, something tells me that when they finally meet at the altar, all their fears will melt away, and the "fireworks" Hannah has been hoping for will finally ignite. But with Joan of Bark threatening to stay away and Jess's own marriage clearly struggling in the background, the wedding might be the catalyst for more drama than anyone anticipated!
---
To listen free the next reviews chatpers, please access website novelsaudio.com and search keyword: Married at first swipe free digital audiobook or click the link in the description of this video or if you want to listen or read full the Married at first swipe free digital audiobook please access website Novelsaudio.com