Matthew counted on his fingers as he held them out, “You have a lot of people to keep you company. You have Tammy, Uncle Jasper, and Isabella. But, my daddy only has me.”
Anna felt very guilty after hearing his words. After thinking for a while, she clenched her fist and said, “But your daddy has your grandmother, Uncle Ryan, and your great-grandfather with him. I only have you and Tammy.”
Matthew shook his head and said, “Great-grandpa and daddy are always fighting. My grandmother and Daddy don’t talk much, and Uncle Ryan is going to America soon, too. Daddy doesn’t know how to take care of me. But I know he loves me very much.”
At that point, Anna realized that no matter what, Matthew was still closer to Wayne. Although she wished Matthew could leave with her, she felt it was inappropriate. So, she chose to respect Matthew and let him make the decision himself.
At the end of the month, Peace and Karl held their wedding. It was a little hurried, but Karl was eager to finish it as soon as possible. He was so taken aback by the accident that had happened just before Anna and Wayne’s wedding that he decided to hold the wedding immediately.
Their wedding took place at a suburban resort. Many people attended the wedding and the entire resort was packed with luxury cars parked inside.
Peace was delayed by an accident when she left home in the morning, so they arrived at the venue a little later than expected. And it made the entire process appear rushed. As a result, they cut right to the chase and started with the most important ceremonies: the ring exchange and the bouquet toss.
On a rose-covered stage, the girls waited for the bouquet. Peace tossed the pure white bouquet into the air, her back to the audience. The bouquet formed a beautiful arc in the air and hit Anna, who was just coming off the stage.
Then the crowd applauded. Mona shouted, “Anna, I heard that the person who caught the bouquet should get married within three months. Otherwise, they will not be able to marry for the rest of their lives.”
The crowd burst out laughing. Then Anna walked to the stage and said to Peace, “Why don’t you throw it again? I can’t take this bouquet.”
“Why? You’re worried no one will marry you?”
With that, Peace took the bouquet and tucked it into Anna’s arms. After looking around the room, she took the microphone, took Anna’s arm in one hand, and said to the audience, “This is my best friend, Anna, and I’m sure many of you know her. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met. She did, as you can see, catch my bouquet. If she does not get married within three months, it is said she will be unable to marry for the rest of her life. So I’d like to ask a question for her. Does anyone want to date her now that she is single?”
Many people began to say, “Sign me up,” as soon as she finished.
Anna was stunning and elegant; many of the room’s men had already noticed her. Everyone became more enthusiastic. Meanwhile, Anna lowered her head in embarrassment and dashed off stage, not even waiting for Peace to finish her words.
As soon as she left the crowd, Anna asked the waitress who was passing by, “Hello, can you tell me where the restroom is?”
“Over there.”
Anna immediately went to the restroom. She felt resigned as she looked at her flushed face in the mirror. She had just taken out her lipstick to fix her makeup when she heard a loud ‘bang’ from the bathroom stall behind her.
Having turned around, Anna was startled when seeing a cell phone fall out from under the bathroom stall. However, the person inside didn’t move at all.
“Hello, you dropped your phone,” she said as she put her lipstick away, picked up the phone, and knocked on the door.
The person was still silent. Anna was about to knock again when she noticed the door had been left unlocked. When she looked through the door, she saw a man in a black suit on the floor, with a strong smell of alcohol. She opened the door to look inside and recognized Wayne right away.
Anna then took him to the hotel room. After a while, the waiter arrived and placed a bottle of water on the table, saying, “This is the warm water you asked for, Miss. I left the chaser on the table outside. Do you need it brought here to you?”
“No, thank you.”
The waiter looked at the person on the bed and said, “You’re welcome. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks, bye.”
After the waiter left, Anna wet a towel in the sink and rested it on Wayne’s forehead. She knew Wayne had been drinking too much. That explained why he, the best man, hadn’t shown up at the wedding. She thought it was because he deliberately avoided her, but then she realized she was overthinking it.
“You’re a terrible drinker. Why are you drinking so much when everyone else is sober?” Anna mumbled. She took another towel and gently wiped his hands.
Wayne was very drunk, and he suddenly grunted, “Anna…”
Anna stopped and listened to him.
He said, “Don’t ever come back…”
***
Wayne awoke late in the afternoon. He felt a headache. As he moved a little, the towel on his forehead rolled off the pillow.
“Mr. Wright,” said a waitress as she approached and stood in the doorway.
Wayne sat up and touched his forehead. All he remembered was following Karl to the resort after getting drunk. He went to the bathroom when he felt pain in his stomach. And he had no idea what had happened after that.
“Why am I here?” Wayne asked in confusion.
“You fell down in the bathroom and the maitre d’ brought you to the room. You’ve been sleeping all afternoon.”
Wayne looked at his watch and noticed that it was past six o’clock. He had indeed slept the entire afternoon. Frowning, he asked, “Where have the bride and groom gone?”
“They left for their honeymoon immediately after the wedding was over at about three o’clock in the afternoon. Their plane should be taking off at this point.”
Wayne nodded thoughtfully. He noticed a bouquet of flowers at the nightstand as he lifted the covers and got out of bed. “Who else accompanied me besides the maitre d’?” he asked.
After a brief pause, the waiter said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure about that. The maitre d’ told me to come here to look after you because a lady had found you.”
Wayne frowned and didn’t ask any more questions. He thought he might be dreaming because it would be too much of a coincidence if it was really Anna who found him.
As he was leaving the resort, he got a call from Karl.
“You’re awake? I thought you won’t answer the phone till tomorrow!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Peace and I are about to board the plane. I just realized I forgot to tell you something. Before she left, Anna asked me to tell you that she had sent Matthew to your grandfather’s house. She suggested you pick him up whenever you have time.”
“What? She’s not going to take Matthew away?”
“No. Anna said that Matthew wishes to live with you, and she respects his decision.”
“When is she leaving?” Wayne asked.
“Tonight.”
“What?!” Wayne froze.
“She has completed the adoption process for the little girl. And she had already booked a flight this morning. I was about to tell you this, but Anna said she wanted to talk to you herself. Didn’t she say something to you this afternoon?”
“This afternoon? Who caught the bouquet at the wedding today?”
“That’s her. Why?”
“What time does her plane leave?”
“Eight o’clock.”
The airport radio had already reminded passengers to board the plane, so Karl hung up the phone.
Wayne tightened his grip on the phone and urged Gabe, who was driving, “Drive faster.”
He assumed he’d had a dream about Anna this afternoon. He fantasized about her scent, smile, and beautiful body. However, he didn’t expect Anna to forgive him for everything he’d done to hurt her after everything he’d been through. He couldn’t forgive himself, even if she was willing to forgive him.
There was already a gap between them, and he couldn’t fix it no matter what. Wayne still needed some time to consider what he needed and could offer her. But she was ready to go before he could think it through.
Time is so cruel to everyone, he thought to himself.
At 7:30 p.m, Wayne arrived at the airport terminal. Then Wayne dashed out of the car and toward the airport. He was on time because the flight to New York didn’t leave for another half hour.
Gabe followed Wayne there and booked their tickets for that flight. They got on the plane and got into VIP class. Though the crew stopped him as he entered the VIP cabin, he was going to look for Anna no matter what.
“Sir, the plane is about to take off. You can’t go over…”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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