𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 (𝐁𝐖𝐖𝐌) .

17ღ

"Tell me EXACTLY what was 'unholy'," I spat at him. The words became acid in my mouth, leaving behind a feeling of guilt and shame. "We made out pretty nastily until you vomited on my suit, henceforth why I took it off." I held my chin in my hand trying to bark up an explanation for the fiasco.

Nothing.

"I'm sorry," I say. But in reality, I didn't feel bad because he allowed me to cheat on Cristian with him. In plain silence, I lost my temper and pursued further, ready to hear the full and whole truth. "And? What else happened?" He looked at me with a confused expression. "What do you mean? Nothing else did happen, I mean other than you screaming at the top of your lungs out the window. Remind me never to let you have alcohol in my presence." My face felt hot, but a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. At least we didn't have sex together. "Are you going to tell your fiancé?" Ezekiel asked.

There were up-sides and down-sides to letting Cristian know that I practically boned another man. On a good look, he would be receiving a taste of his own medicine, preferably a nasty ass 30 ML dose of Pepto Bismol. If he won't dismiss Ophelia then I won't dismiss Ezekiel. On the other side though, he'll probably order Ezekiel dead. The ultimate dilemma is if I take revenge or not. The answer was clear.

"I'm not gonna tell him shit," I say. "I don't want you to get hurt." He gets up from the bed and I look away, remembering he's not wearing anything but underwear. "But you're about to get married, shouldn't you be honest from the jump?" I roll my eyes at the snark, an insult burning at the tip of my tongue but I let it go. I'm too graceful.

"What he doesn't know won't kill him, besides it's not lying if we don't say anything. Trust me, it's for your safety."

•         •          •          •

I sat in front of the mirror, eyeing the makeup carefully applied on my face. It was a natural beat, with deepening eyeshadow and eyeliner, and a cashmere-colored lip gloss as a finishing lacquer for my lips. With unsteady hands, I held the final invitation, the result exactly what I wanted; simple with a dash of extra. While revising it over again, a faint knock sounds from the door.

"Mio Dio, you look beautiful, Monet," Francesca says. Even from the distance, I could see the water in her eyes. She was really happy. She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and smoothes out her dress. " O Santa Maria, how long I have waited for one of my children to get married," Francesca reveals in a low voice. She stood behind me, admiring my face in the mirror with her hand on my shoulders. 

"I don't know what you've done to him," she continues, "I've never seen him fall in love so fast." I choke on my spit. Fall in love?  Clearing my throat I say, "Pardon?" She smiles at me and makes a knowing face. She knows I know exactly what she said. "As his Mama, It's quite clear to me that he loves you. He's just too stupido to say anything, just like his father was. May I ask- do you love him too?" Before I could dodge the question, Chiara walked into the room apart from the other bridesmaids in their assigned room. She was in her crimson dress and her hair was styled very elegantly. She was wearing stilettos that made her tower over both me and her mother. As if she wasn't already intimidating.

"I'm sorry for interrupting but Monet, there's an urgent situation." I stopped looking at her through the mirror and turned around. "Urgent situation? What happened?" 

In the lobby, Alecia was on the ground in full tears while security guards restrained her. She was screaming bloody murder and resisting the guards. I've never seen her act this way. I was too shocked to say anything. "Let me see, Monet! I have to tell her something!" I spoke up when she went up a notch. "You could say it now, or keep crying on the floor. Your choice." She was immediately let go and brought into my room for a private chat.