The following day, Nathaniel and Julia held a rehearsal dinner, which they turned to a full day event for only their family members and closest friends. My Father and I haven't spoken at all despite what's happened, and Dominic forced me to promise not to open my big mouth about what I told him, although the fact he told me those things made unexpected speculations in my head - I haven't told him about it.
Instead, I went off to tell Hamish when I was finally free from the meet and greets with Dominic's family, and it was hard and very uncomfortable for us considering we announced we were over and done with, and yet, there we were like nothing happened. His own Mother called it, 'the impulsive decision that wasn't thought through very carefully by two babbling idiots who were meant to be lawyers'.
Yep.
So, I excused myself and met Hamish by the bar, where he ever-so-casually leaned on and sipped bourbon in the afternoon.
"Your Dad gave it to me when Nathaniel's brother handed him one, and even though I don't like bourbon, it's kind of grown on me," He weakly chuckled through he explanation and took another sip. "So, Annie what's up?"
"Is it possible-" I bit my lower lip and I certainly wasn't sure that my speculations about Dominic would make any sense at all. It did in my head though. I needed a second opinion, and Hamish was heck of a lot more honest than Erika, who often agreed with me when I needed her very important opinion the most. I brushed strands of my hair to behind both ears, getting a bit nervous as my toes curled inside the crème colored heels, I really wanted to blurt it all out in one word vomit like I did when I confessed to Dominic about what happened.
Why couldn't I do it?
Ugh, I couldn't say it at all.
"What's possible?" Both his eyebrows were raised as he looked at me with the utmost confusion.
"Well, you know, if this fails?" I certainly couldn't say it. Even that sentence left it wide open to the imagination - more like - fill in the blanks for Hamish.
"Oh geez. We've been through this over and over." He groaned.
"Maybe-"
"Come on, Annie, live a little and let the ride take it's course. We already planned and set up everything from plan A to Z. Okay?" He continued as he grasped my shoulders and spun me around to face the chatting crowd of 50 or so. He leaned closer to my ear, the strong bourbon stench filled my nose as he whispered, "Just relax, okay? Let it all go. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably nothing, just made up imaginary obstacles."
"No, what if I realized-"
"Shh, Annie."
"Ugh-"
"Shh!" He covered my mouth and whispered a lot quieter than before. "Listen, whatever you're thinking, delete it. It's probably just your nerves, alright?"
He was probably right. Maybe all the speculations and what not were made from the fact that I'm probably nervous about the whole situation. I mean, there's not much to consider from just words from Dominic's mouth, there's no physical evidence like what we have of Janina's murder, plus, we still have the tape recordings from Nathaniel's office all those months ago.
Remind me to review them.
"Fine, but can I at least tell you?"
In defeat, Hamish turned me back around, his grip still at my shoulders and gave me a nod to signal an okay, his lips pursed and gaze looked at me in disbelief.
I took a deep breath, blinking briefly, my lips parted slowly and I said, "I think my Dad isn't actually helping us, he's trying to sway us because I think Dominic is-"
"Dominic is... What?"
We both turned and saw Dominic, arms crossed and looking a bit annoyed. I then turned to inspect the situation at how Hamish and I stood, okay, so maybe how close we were standing and how he's holding me, I supposed the situation could be easily misjudged. I mean, I did tell my fiancé that his competition and I had sex. I quickly brushed the other man's hands off of my shoulder as soon as I realized Dominic's expression turn sour.
"Finish that sentence, Annie," He grunted.
"D-Dominic is getting too involved, when, you know, you're not supposed to be getting involved in this." I coughed, clearing my throat and trying not to make it obvious that I was lying.
But Dominic's sigh and roll of eyes showed how well he knew me. He read me like a child's ABC book.
I shifted my gaze back and forth between Dominic and Hamish, my fiancé expressed his disbelief at my failed attempt to lie while my colleague looked unimpressed as he lifted his bourbon glass.
"Cheers," He sarcastically mumbled and finished the remaining liquor, slamming the glass back down on the counter. "I'll catch you later, alright?" He gave me a pat on the side of my arm and walked away.
"Really, Annie? That was the best you could do?" Dominic scoffed.
"It is partially true," I whined as he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. Dominic whisked me away from the bar, it would've been nice to grab a nice glass of liquor to calm my nerves, and it didn't help that I needed to mingle with Nathaniel for the sake of it. I still had one more job to do before we could lock him away, but I hadn't thought of how.
"W-Where are we going?" I was nervous. Like really.
"We have to go meet the blushing Bride and Groom before the proper meal starts as there is an arranged photo shoot. I assumed that you already knew?"
"No, need I remind you that I am only your plus one?"
Dominic pulled me closer and teased, "You'll be my plus one forever, maybe plus two in a year or two?"
"You're not going to stop with the baby talk, are you?" I asked as elbowed him lightly at his side and giggled. He's only picked it up this morning, and he wouldn't shut up about it all day - sneakily reminding or dropping obvious hints in front of his family.
I guess it was the cause of Julia's baby bump? Who knows?
We reunited with the couple who looked more stressed out and exhausted than they should actually be, yet bravely, they wore very plastic smiles on their dolled up faces. In honesty, if Julia was a blond like the other women in Nathaniel's life, she and her 62 year old soon-to-husband would look like Barbie and Ken right now - except it'd probably be Ken's Father. They were so dolled up that it looked so obvious that they hired someone to hide away the truth.
"I'm surprised they look sane after yesterday," Dominic muttered under his breath as we both wore similar - yet not as plastic - smiles on our faces, we greeted the couple and did the whole photo shoot thing near the wedding cake that they already had on display.
Apparently, that's one of two.
Their 300 or so guests surely can't finish two cakes, let alone that one five tier cake behind us. Though you'd expect it since they did call the build up to their pending nuptials the 'wedding extravaganza'.
Ridiculous, I know.
But as I participated and watched Dominic pose in the photo shoot with the other entourage for the wedding, I couldn't resist to smile as I imagined myself in that role of a bride with the groom right next to me. I don't know how it began, but images flashed through my head, visioning my own wedding with Dominic. I hadn't experienced that sort of vision before, the images were so vivid that it felt real. My heart began to beat at full speed in excitement of the day that I get to experience something like what Julia must be going through - although the idea of the whole 'one week wedding extravaganza' is definitely over the top and not going to be part of it. Nonetheless, I became totally engulfed in my own little fantasy of my own wedding that I began to drift off, especially since the shoot for Nathaniel's side of the family came to an end and I sat unladylike on one of the wooden seats and stared off into the distance.
Until-
"What the hell?"
Everyone's ears perked up, heads turned and faced towards where everyone last saw Nathaniel and Julia standing so tall and proud, though their forms slumped and looked uneasy as though arriving on cue, Fiona Walsh stood opposite the couple with the second degree cousin Walsh relative she found herself married too. No signs of her three children, but she stood more proud of her second husband more than she did when she first married into the Walsh family through Nathaniel. The discomfort on his face made his eyes go red and veiny, his cheeks tinted to a flustered pink as he frowned and scorned.
You should see how heavily he breathed to make his nose flare so rapidly.
I slightly smirked, I caught a glimpse of Hamish on the other side of the crowd, he raised a glass towards me and nodded with the same smirk plastered on his face. We both watched as the trap we placed played a scene for itself.
"Darling, what is going on?" Julia questioned as her wrinkled her nose in disgust, considering she had the first ever Mrs Nathaniel Walsh standing before her must've been incredibly uncomfortable. She placed a hand at her grown belly, rubbing at it as though she boasted to be the first of many to be able to bear him a child - probably not having a single clue about Janina's place in Nathaniel's life.
"I have no idea, my love, but I could have sworn they weren't invited," The man scoffed and snorted at the presence of his fellow relative and ex-wife.
"Exactly what I thought."
Fiona shook her head and lifted an invitation that everyone in that room received, she waved it in front of her as her husband explained, "Well, apologies then, my dear cousin, if we weren't welcome, but it seems like my Parents will not be attending the ceremony due to delays from their trip from Europe, but since they said they'd come, they sent my wife and I here instead."
"Very, well, uncomfortable," The blond woman linked on his arm sighed. They played it so perfectly.
Of course everything said were all lies.
Partially.
The truth was, they really weren't invited to the event. Instead, the invitation sent to Nathaniel's Aunt and Uncle never made it to them as we asked Fiona to intercept the mail and convince her husband about what he just said, surprisingly, it turned out better than we all expected as the Aunt and Uncle were not so fond of Nathaniel's many weddings and were out of the country for the next month.
"Should we do this photo thing or what, Nathaniel?" Fiona's husband and the man's cousin snorted, he overpowered the whole conversation, despite being completely in the dark about his role.
For a banker, he sure was bossy.
Nathaniel frowned and hissed, but Julia pulled at him and beckoned to the photographer to do her job. Oh how fake their smiles were, the discomfort they all must be feeling, and you could really see the tension - everyone could.
Even my dear Dominic, who kept his arm wrapped around my waist gripped slightly tighter, and when I peeked at his face, he looked troubled yet curious. I forgot he watched the scene unfold through the point of view of someone who knew nothing about it. Dominic's innocence hit me, he looked so conflicted that I felt the guilt hit inside me, I don't know why, but I had the urge to hug him and cover him from watching his Uncle be humiliated in front of the very people he showed power over. I supposed that even if they weren't close anymore and after what Dominic's been through with Nathaniel, a part of him still felt the pain.
"Dominic," I called him, slightly tugging at his arm to get him to face me. Those pretty hazel eyes were breathtaking. "Do you want to go get some fresh air?"
He only nodded. Poor guy.
I led him outside to the kiss of the sun and fresh air, along the way, whispers could be heard - and were hard to avoid - about Nathaniel's lack of power and show of cowering in the corner, and I rushed on in fear that Dominic may snap and say something reckless. If he snapped, our plans would really fail.
"Annie-" He stopped me and whipped me around, his palm at the back of my head while the other placed firmly on one cheek of my bottom, our bodies pressed - and just like the movies - he leaned me slightly backwards and kissed me like a damsel in distress.
Breathtaking.
My whole body felt so... So... Hot.
"W-What was th-that for?" I stammered my words as soon as we parted.
"We need to get out of here."
"W- Now?" I wanted to see the rest of our plan play on.
"Baby-" He sternly spoke.
It meant I couldn't.
I sighed and nodded, letting him lead me away from the area, my head still faced the building and I was slightly disappointed, but my fiancé needed me.
Ugh.
♚
"What is going on here, Nathaniel!" Julia nearly yelled at the top of her lungs as soon as she and her fiancé stepped into the kitchen area, her face distraught and her palms pressed on her rounded belly to comfort the distressed and kicking child inside of her. "First, that strange and bloodied up material that drove you to a mental breakdown yesterday, then this morning, you were already smelling like whiskey, and now, Fiona?"
Nathaniel, the troubled 62 year old, leaned against the wall, his fingers rubbed at his temples as his 'best friend' stood beside him for comfort. He groaned as he mumbled, "I know your daughter is doing this, Adrian."
"How so?" Adrian played coy.
"Your daughter is up to something, I just know it."
Julia flailed her arms as a frustrated growl escaped her. "What is your obsession with your nephew's fiancée? Do you like her or something?" She whined.
"No, she is nothing to me-"
"My nephew is so ungrateful, he doesn't know a thing about women and only bothers to stick it only to one. I want to teach him a lesson and fuck little Lawler one night before I get tied down-" Nathaniel's voice filled and echoed through the kitchen, and the man looked absolutely pale. "-If I could do that, I'd also be able to put Adrian in his place, that good for nothing thinks he's the top of the chain these days-"
Adrian blankly stared, he knew what went on and he's heard the recording already with Hamish when the small device was recovered, and even though he hated everything that was said between Nathaniel and Judge Cole, he swallowed his own pride and watched as his 'best friend' crumbled before him. Julia was the first to walk out, she marched and pushed the white door open to see their family and closest friends staring right at her with their mouths wide open in shock.
It was embarrassing.
Her eyes began to water as she ran away without another word, her Mother chased after her as well as her Sister. Nathaniel didn't bother to move, he frowned and only saw the angry faces staring right back at him. Only his eyes shifted, the shadow filled covered the hazel tone to darkness as he glared at the silver-haired man standing smugly nearby, and he watched as the man turned away and walked out on him - letting him see the angry guests peek right at him through the swings of the white doors.
Once the silence filled the kitchen, he realized what would come next if the entire conversation played out through those speakers, he knew he said something he truly regretted.
"Fuck!" Nathaniel growled and yelled at the top of his lungs and began to kick, scream, punch and throw anything near him.
He's lost it.
He didn't know how Marianne did it, but he knew that she held very crucial evidence that will make him fall from the top of the ladder. However, he's not going to go down without a fight.
Oh, no, no.