"Judging on how nervous I was at the beginning of the day; the day went well." Ash commented beside me. The wedding was over, Frederick Bilimoria was officially now married for the fourth time. Most of the guest went home after dinner, and a few close family and friends stayed behind to celebrate it, and no matter how awkward I might feel to be here after only a few families stayed behind, Alex insisted on my staying, he could have anyone drop me off, but he did not. We spent most of the evening and dine together, but he completely disappeared from sight after dinner, he told me to wait for him at my seat and it had been hour since he said that. "Don't you think Alex took terribly long? What is he doing? Should I call him?" I asked Ash, probably for the tenth time now, "No, and no Andrea, relax, maybe he met some relatives on the way, he will be here soon."
"I can't figure out how you can be so cool right now? Don't you feel anything?"
"Why should I feel anything?" She asked, "This is strictly family celebration time now, we don't have any permission to be even here now." I stated as she gave me a funny look, "You're dating a Bilimoria, aren't you? That should be permission enough."
I could not believe she could joke at a moment like this, I gave her a sharp look, "What?" She demanded, "Look I'm sorry Ann, but Simon told me to relax and promised me that this is going to be the night we're going to remember forever." She smiled showing her teeth, I could only guess she was actually happy to be here and that she didn't feel any slightest stress that I did, "I trust Simon, so I'm relaxing here waiting to know what the night would unfold." She said sipping her drink.
"Every night is a night they are going to remember forever if the boys have a drink." I hissed, annoyed. "Damn Ann, relax yourself." She put her drink in my hand, "Here drink this, it will calm you, I promise, in fact it will make you feel wonderful."
"Ash, I'm not drinking, you're probably kind of drunk now." I rejected the drink as she pouted at me, "You're so solemn, you should try to have more fun."
"I can't have fun when I'm tense!" I admitted, "Why in the world are you tense right now?"
"I don't know!" I raised my voice a bit which made her to still her tongue, I cleared my throat and tried to persuade her not to have any more drink when I heard Alex's voice loud and clear.
I quickly turned around and immediately spotted him at the stage, where the bride and the bridegroom were sitting, along with the musicians.
"I congratulate my uncle for getting married to his..." He paused for a brief second and went on, "Well, fourth love of his life." The whole crowed laughed at his last statement, but his uncle didn't look exactly pleased.
"What is he doing?" Ash whispered to me, "I have no idea." I answered hastily. For reasons I didn't know, the heart inside my chest beat exceptionally fast.
"I'm a selfish creature, and for the sake of my own feelings, care not how I may be wounding yours uncle, I know it's your wedding day but can I have the lights over here, please?" He asked as the lights shone at him and me?
My head just said no multiple times in all the language I know, I need to get out of this situation, this was not how the night's supposed to end, no, no, no. Can I teleport myself right now? To anywhere, anywhere would be a better place than here right now. I felt Ash's tight grip on my arm, "An-nn..." Her shaking voice told me she was afraid of what would happen just like I was. What was I supposed to do? There were still so many things I want to do with Alex, so many foods I want to taste with him, so many places I want to visit with him, so many nights I want to spend with him, and so many mornings I want to wake up with him, this couldn't be happening right now.
I should have stood my ground, I should have never gone to this wedding in the first place, but it was too late, everything was too late. Alex was at the stage, happier than I have ever seen him to be, and every eye were staring at me.
"I can't conceive an angel more beautiful than you, You're the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes upon and beheld..." He slowly walked down from the stage, there was many whispers and phone camera flashes but my whole body went numb, I couldn't feel anything, I slowly stood up as he walked towards me, I felt like my whole body gave up and there wasn't any damn thing inside my body that help me to breath, I didn't even know if I was still breathing.
"Every day with you is heaven for me, Andrea Devona," His eyes locked at me, and I felt like I was choke at my throat, this was not how it was supposed to be. I didn't have any energy left in me, I wanted to shout NO! NO! NO! so loud that the whole world may hear it, but not a single word could leave my mouth. His gaze went away from me again as he looked around, "Everyone here may not know," All the murmurs and whispers were around us like a tsunami, drowning me with every air. "I have but one heart, and it's not even mine. Can you think of a man poorer than who isn't even the owner of his own heart?" Tons of different answers were given, but Alex continued, "Bet you cannot, but I can." He stated with intrepidity as a deeper shade of hauteur overspread his features, "Even though I'm not the owner of my own heart, I'm the most blessed man in the planet since my heart belongs to this beautiful woman standing in front of me tonight." His gaze came back at me, if there was anything I could do to just faint at the moment, I'd happily and hastily do it.
"And I'm asking you Miss Devona..." He knelt down, no, no, no please get back up, tears started forming in my eyes, there was nothing I wanted to do at the moment than to make Alex happy, and shouted Yes before he even asks me the question.
"Will you make me the happiest man in this world?" He opens the ring box on his hand and offered it to me, the loud shouts and cheers around us felt like an earthquake. I looked at the ring, it was a marquis with doubled halo, the diamond was shining as bright as Alex's love for me was. I couldn't fathom with mere words how much I wanted to say yes, how much I wanted to make him the happiest man in the planet.
"Alex-x" The agitation and tears which the questions he asked me occasioned, brought on a headache, "I..." I couldn't hold on the tears on my eyes any longer and it fell, Alex quickly rose up to his feet and wipe off my tears, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" There was nothing I want more than to put the smile he had on his face seconds ago back to him, "Alex, we need to talk." It took all the cell in my whole body to find the courage to say it, I felt as if I was a person who got hit by a car and was fighting between life and death, "There's something I need to tell you." I gulped my saliva. The worries on his face was almost punishment enough for me, this was way harder than I'd ever contemplated.
"I- There's-" I was completely overtaking by a rather unexpected loud laugh from somewhere in the crowd. All the heads look around to find where the laugh came from, and without a single doubt, I knew exactly who that laugh belong to. Gerald Perine.
He clothed himself in a red suit, and wore a sunglass even though the sun has already gone hours ago. My legs felt weaker as he approached me and Alex.
No, no, no, no this was not supposed to happen. I couldn't think anything straight I felt like my heart was going to fly out from my own chest as if it needs to rid itself from me.
"Why such a long face, dear old friend? Don't you miss me?" Gerald laughed at Alex as he took his glasses off. I tried to read Alex's face but there was nothing but anger, his expression reminded me of a cage animal. "Why are you looking at me like you want to carve my face with a knife?" Gerald asked, "Oh wait, no, you already did that." He declared.
Now I know, the scar on Gerald's face was done by Alex, and to go that far even for Alex, they might really hate each other, and oh just as I put the pieces together, everything turned out so much worse. I knew right from the beginning that Alex and Gerald were enemies but their hatred may be so much more than I could ever imagine. "You have 5 seconds to get out of here unharmed or I'll throw you out myself." Alex spitted the words on his face. I had never seen him talk to anyone with so much hatred as he did to Gerald.
"Not so fast, old friend, I'm actually here on your concern." Gerald carried on, but the impatient Simon tried to get rid of him, "Your 5 seconds is gone!" Just as Simon tried to grab Gerald, he took out a piece of paper from his suit.
NO! NO! NO! NO!
Simon halted, looking at Gerald with a confused mixed with anger expression, "I can see you're curious about this." Gerald stated smiling, oh his smile made me feel gross deep inside. "Ann...." I can hear Ashlynn's low whispered voice from behind me.
"Should we tell him what this is, Andrea?" Gerald looked at me. Now every eye had befallen upon me once again, and now all the eyes felt like a threat to me, "What? Do you know Perine?" Alex's confusion was clear as a bright blue sky on a hot summer day, "I-" I was cut off by Gerald, "Oh yes, Devona and I are good friends, aren't we partner?" Gerald addressed me.
"What is the meaning of this?" Alex demanded. Now for the first time in my life, I was scared; not because I was afraid Alex was going to hurt me, but because I was going to. His astonishment was obvious, he looked at me with an expression of incredulity.
"Alex, I can explain." I started but again I was cut off by Gerald, "Oh I'll do the explanation. It's simple, here is your payback for destroying me Alexander!" Now the disgusting Gerald was back on the picture, his expression was nothing but all negative things, resentment, wraith, anger, hatred. He threw the contract at him, "You destroyed me, and now I destroy your heart!"
"Your beloved Andrea, your darling Andrea, your sweetheart Andrea, oh I almost sympathise you myself, but sympathy is too high a reward to feel for someone like you. You remember when you left me in that rathole to die alone? Now see how I ruin your heart, you see? Everything you thought you had with Andrea?"
"Stop it Gerald!" I shouted, but it was of no use, "Every love you thought you shared with Andrea, every moment you created with Andrea, it was all fake, it was all my doing!"
Alex moved his eyes from the contract and at me, all I could do was shook my head, I was too weak to say anything, I felt like my tongue was cut off from me, "Is this true?"
"What more proof do you need Alexander? The damn contract is in front of you, you lost!"
"You shut your fucking mouth bastard!" Levi intervened and tried to punch Gerald when Alex's sudden voice stopped him, I thought we all lost one second of breath as he shouted. My whole body trembled, it was the first time Alex ever raised his voice at me and it hurts like hell, but maybe he didn't want to shout at me, and maybe that was why he closed his eyes for the brief second that he raised his voice. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature, "Is this true?" He asked me again and this time his voice was demanding, "Yes or no?" He looked like the villain I always believed him to be when we first met.
Tears were now streaming down from my eyes, I wanted more than anything in the world to say no, and amidst all the anger and the pain, I could read it in Alex's eyes that he hoped I would say no too, that I would deny that any of this was true.
"Yy-ees, but let me ex-" Before I could finish what I was saying, Alex kicked the table as soon as my mouth forms a yes and he stormed off like an angered bull. "Alex, wait, wait!" I tried to run after him but my legs gave up as if my heart couldn't process all the things that just happened and all the living spirits in my body left the second Alex stormed away from me, I continued to stare at his figure walking away from me as Simon and Levi ran after him, I wanted to explain how I actually did fall in love with him and how much I had always wanted to tell him the truth and that he was never supposed to found out this way but there was nothing I could do as I found myself falling onto the ground sobbing. I wanted to run to him, to tell him how miserably in love I was with him, but my legs felt like jelly, as if all the strength had been sucked out from them. I felt Ash's embrace as I weep uncontrollably.