I Swear It: Herophine

Chapter 35

Titan and Jordan wasted no time planning their engagement party, which is why I find myself in a nail salon after getting only three hours of sleep after my shift last night. Mercy said we simply had to get manicures and pedicures, stating it had been eons since she's had one done. The same cannot be said for me because I just did all this shit with my own sister for her wedding.

"Jordan has like three hundred cousins, tonight is going to be insane." Mercy says while sipping her mimosa and I try to stay awake as someone works wonders on my sore feet.

"It's not like they'll all be there tonight, right?"

"No, but a bunch of them will be. Her mom is one of eight and they're all super close so even the cut down guest list for tonight is going to be ridiculous. Some of them are great, others are real bitches," she says with a huff, eye widening quickly as if she'd said too much. "Has Hero said anything about them at all to you?"

"No, we haven't talked much about the guest list for tonight Merc. Why did he fuck one of her cousins?" I say with a laugh, noticing quickly that Mercy hasn't joined.

"Oh my God did he fuck one of Jordan's cousins?!" Yup, definitely awake now.

"It was so long ago!" Mercy practically screams, "and he was so drunk, she basically threw him in the bathroom at a bar and took advantage of him! Felix went in after she walked out and he was asleep on the toilet in one of the stalls! Seriously Jo, it didn't mean anything to him." She states pleadingly.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I know Hero has a past, but I was really hoping to be done with running into his ex hookups after the Ellen debacle. And one of Jordan's cousins, I mean seriously? Someone we're going to be seeing for the rest of our lives? I mean the rest of his life? Shit.

"Shit, why did I have to open my big mouth? Putting vodka in this mimosa was a mistake." Mercy chastises herself and I can't help but laugh.

"It's not your fault Merc. I'm not even mad, I just, I don't know, I wish it wasn't something we had to deal with tonight, you know?"

And as if his ears were burning, I feel my phone vibrating, Hero's name popping up on my screen in an incoming call.

"Speak of the devil," I murmur to myself as I answer.

"Hey Hero, I'm getting my nails done with Mercy, what's up?"

"Hi love, I'm just getting done at work. I talked to Titan and it sounds like a lot of people are going to be there tonight. I just um, well I wanted to talk to you about something before we went tonight so I was wondering if I could come by a little earlier tonight and talk to you about it?" He sounds nervous, like he just got confirmation that a certain cousin will be in attendance tonight.

"Does this have anything to do with a certain someone you fucked being there tonight?" I ask, a hint of humor in my voice that I wasn't really expecting.

"Fucking Mercy. Dammit," he huffs, "I didn't really want you to find out this way baby. It meant nothing. Less than nothing. Less than less than nothing, if that's even possible." He's doing that thing where he rambles when he's nervous. I love when he does that. It's cute and I can practically hear him running his hands through his hair and across his eyebrow. It's in this moment that I decide, it doesn't matter. He has a past, I have a past, what matters is the future. Preferably, our future.

"Baby?" I say as sweetly as I can, wishing I was there to touch him during this conversation, make him look me in the eyes and know I'm telling the truth. He hums to let me know he's listening.

"Does her being there tonight change anything between you and me?" I ask.

"Absolutely fucking not." He quickly answers. It's settled then.

"Then I'll see you tonight at 6pm and I'm going to look hot and you're going to look hot and we're going to have a great fucking night no matter what. I love you no matter how bad your taste in women was before me." I say with a giggle and I hear him let out a breath of relief.

"Fucking hell I don't deserve you. I can't wait to see you tonight love."

We continue talking until Mercy is pretending to puke over how cute we are and the nail technician needs my hands.

Okay so there's a lot of people here tonight. Like, more than Katherine's wedding. I am feelings incredibly overwhelmed, not allowing Hero to let go of my hand since we walked in the door, Mercy stuck to my other side.

"Did you see her yet?" I whisper to Mercy, who luckily understands who I'm talking about immediately.

"Who, Letti? No I don't see her, I guess she hasn't flown in on her broomstick yet. But those blonde bitches over there?" She motions with a shake of her head to the group of stunning blondes by the bar, "those, my friend, are the fucking bitches. And Letti is the leader of the pack."

"Hey Mercy can you shut up please?" Felix pleads next to his wife, seeing my discomfort. Hero stays quiet, just squeezing my hand again and I wonder for a second if Felix and Hero can read each others minds the way Kat and I sometimes can.

We make our rounds, Hero introduces me to his extended family and we take countless pictures with the happy couple and Hero's family. I keep trying to duck out so they can get a picture of just the family but Hero holds me closely against him and his mother all but sinks her nails into my arm before saying, "this is a family picture dear, we don't want anyone missing."

I've almost completely forgotten about the infamous Letti, we've steered clear of the bitchy cousins all night and with the amount of people here it's been easy to forget they're even here. It's been a pretty amazing night, without maid of honor responsibilities I'm able to just enjoy the party with my man and the people slowly becoming my family. Hero's hands have been lazily running up and down my body since we got here and I had to pull him into the coat check once already tonight. Everything feels perfect, like a dream.

I finally pried myself away from him to go to the bathroom with Mercy after many kisses and a whispered promise that I have no intention of sleeping anytime soon tonight with how he looks in his suit. Yum.

I'm walking back with Mercy, when I spot Hero talking to a brunette, his face seems annoyed and his shoulders seem tense and I feel Mercy freeze beside me.

"So the bitch is here after all. Go save Hero, please, I need to find my husband so we can get the fuck out of here, I think my feet are about to fall off." Mercy says, with a kiss to my cheek before she disappears.

I walk over with all the confidence in the world, my plan is pretty simple, I don't share. I was never good at it and I don't have any plan to share Hero with any other woman. I'm a few steps away when I see her grab his arm, obnoxiously laughing at something and I feel bile rise in my throat when I hear that familiar laugh. It's impossible though right? But then I see the all too familiar tattoo on the back of her right leg, the one I saw thrown over Dylan's shoulder when I walked in on them fucking in my bed and I wonder how God could be so cruel to one woman.

"Letti, you're laughing like a fucking psychopath." I hear Hero say when I step next to him and if my vision wasn't already so blurred with anger it would've gone completely out with rage. Scarlett is Letti. Scarlett is fucking Letti. Of fucking course she is. Of course she's the cousin Hero fucked. I blind back tears just in time for Hero to throw his arm around me and for the devil herself to finally look my way.

"Baby this is..."

"Scarlett." I say with as much venom as I possibly can.

"Josephine Langford." She says in that sickly sweet voice of hers. The one that always sounded fake as hell to me, the one that Dylan said sounded like angels singing. "Tonight just got so much more fun."