I Do

Chapter 13

I risk a glance at Harry, who's captivated with the girl. He chuckles amusedly while she flutters her eyelashes. Well, two can play that game, dear.

Without a second thought, I saunter over to Niall, who's still watching me and looking slightly alarmed.

Zayn and Hallie are gazing at me, open-mouthed, as I approach Niall, swaying my hips from side-to-side. He hesitates before waving them away, and they scurry off.

"So, Niall," I say coyly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

-Hallie-

Everything was going fine up until now. I've been lounging on this couch throughout the party, as I'm not exactly a 'party girl'. It's always been an unofficial law that Arabella and I attend parties together. If I'm trapped in an awful conversation, Arabella comes swooping in to save me. If a creepy guy is hitting on her, I invent an excuse that forces him to leave. It's just, well, what we do. That is, until she started getting all sorts of delicious privileges, like being invited to top-notch celebrity parties with Harry, and didn't feel the need to drag me along. So, if it weren’t for the boys, I’d have spent this entire celebration alone.

Still, this party has gone surprisingly well. Niall persuaded this random girl, Monique, to go flirt with Harry as a 'joke' and she happily complied. Ar was furious, sulking in the corner, when suddenly she got a strange spark in her eyes and came waltzing towards us.

I'm about to abort the mission when it strikes me- she isn't here to complain to me, she's here to make Harry jealous. With Niall. Oh my God.

Immediately, Zayn and I flee, scrambling to get our iPhones. "Hold on," I demand, gripping his arm. "Harry might be okay with some strange guy, but Niall?" I cringe, picturing Harry's reaction at being betrayed by one of his best mates.

Zayn takes a heavy breath, apprehensiveness glowing in his dark eyes. "Clearly that's a risk he's willing to take. Besides, he can explain that she made an advance on him and I can back him up."

"But... it's Niall, after all. Won't it look like she's just talking to him as a friend? How will we make it look like she's actually, you know, hitting on him?"

He looks at me darkly. "I have a feeling we won't have to try too hard."

I chew my lip but willingly crouch down, bracing myself and aiming my phone in their direction.

-Arabella-

"You know, we really don't talk enough," I murmur with a radiant smile, flitting my eyes towards Harry. He's still oblivious to my disappearance, which is infuriating. If my fiancé vanished at a party, I'd be searching everywhere for him. Or, well, at least I'd notice that he wasn't by my side.

Looking slightly hesitant, (oh, he's shy) Niall grins and replies, "I know."

"You were wonderful tonight, you know," I say sweetly, biting the edge of my lip with a smirk.

"Thanks." He seems vaguely surprised. "How's... dealing with all these people?"

I giggle, batting my eyes and glancing seductively to the side. "Interesting. I haven't gotten a break all night. They come blab into my ear every second and I have to entertain them."

"It's exhausting, isn't it?" He flicks his brilliant blue eyes across the room, but I keep my gaze firmly locked on him.

I sigh. "Unbelievably. This engagement is wearing me out."

"Ah, well, Harry's thrilled," he mentions, glancing over at Harry, who's still paying no attention. Time to move things up a notch.

I gently settle my hand on his shoulder so my ring sparkles in the corner of his eye. "Of course, I'm terribly excited." If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be half this cautious, but Niall and Harry are best friends. The last thing I need is him confessing that I seemed interested in him. Once Harry comes over, I'll claim we were just talking, and that was all. It's not as if I have the slightest affection for Niall.

"Yeah, we all are," he agrees, glancing down at my hand.

I lean in and softly drawl into his ear, "But who knows? It might be strange, being a married woman, not having a chance to be with anyone else." I wink so quickly it's almost imperceptible and smirk.

A look of discomfort registers on Niall's face and he darts his eyes away, frowning anxiously. Realizing that I completely misread this situation, I swiftly draw my hand back and shoot a dazzling smile at him, praying that it might at least be distracting. This was a massive mistake.

-Hallie-

Ar rips her hand off Niall's shoulder with a nervous smile, but it's too late. I've already snapped loads of pictures, as has Zayn, and almost all of them show her for her true, backstabbing self.

"This one," Zayn declares, selecting a sharp shot of Arabella, the diamond on her finger glimmering, whispering into Niall's ear as he awkwardly glances away with distaste. Excellent. "If the media can turn two stars brushing hands into an affair, who knows what could happen with this?"

"Now what?" I question anxiously, my eyes locked on Ara as she struts away from Niall. He looks pleased, grinning slightly as his eyes scan the room for us.

"Tomorrow, this goes on Twitter. We'll post it during our flight out, from a fake Twitter account, obviously. It's going to be brilliant." He narrows his eyes deviously.

I turn back towards Harry, whose mop of curls shimmer under the flashing lights. His bright green eyes meet mine and a dashing smile plays on his pink lips, clueless that what I'm doing could change everything for him. For one brief second, my heart soars, and I feel beautiful, even in comparison to Ara. Suddenly, Arabella appears, gripping Harry's wrist and tearing his gaze from mine.

That's okay, though. She might as well enjoy him while she still can.

For the first time all night, I let the tension leak out of my muscles. No regret, no guilt, no sense of fear, just overall relief. Finally, a successful mission. One step closer to ending this wedding once and for all.

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So, the chapter. Surprised? :) Next up will be... THE PLAN, STEP 3. And people's reactions. Hehe.

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CHAPTERS UNTIL HARRY-HALLIE MOMENT: 3

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