“Wow, Elian, congratulations on your wedding!”
“This is so shocking.
Anyway, congratulations.
I’m so happy for you.”
“Mr Hawthorne is so good to you.”
I sat in the private room, watching with a smile on my face as people walked in and out.
Each of them extended their well-wishes and left.
Then, the door opened again.
Sébastien walked in.
Clad in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo, he couldn’t have looked more handsome.
His deep grey eyes softened into something I’d never seen before.
Bright smile.
Bright eyes.
He looked every bit like a happy husband.
“Wife,” He called.
“Hm?
Husband.” My smile bloomed.
My chest felt full.
Sébastien reached out.
He held my hand and helped me up from my seat.
“Come with me.
Everyone’s waiting.”
“Alright.” I couldn’t wait any longer.
“This is like a dream.
I can’t believe my son is getting married so soon.”
Old Sterling’s voice sounded from the entrance of the room.
The melancholy in his voice was heavy enough to drown a person.
My eyes involuntarily reddened.
“Let’s go get married, hubby.”
“Hm.”
We left the room.
My sight suddenly blurred.
The wedding pictures were all on the grand corridor’s floor.
Countless.
All taken with a bright smile.
My expression crumbled.
The smile morphed into panic.
“No.
No!!”
“Wife, what’s it?
Are you okay?”
“No!!!”
My eyes snapped open.
Chest heaving.
Sweat dampened my forehead.
My body involuntarily trembled.
My room…
I hadn’t left my room.
Nausea gripped my chest.
I jumped out of the bed and rushed toward the bathroom.
Bending over in the toilet bowl, I threw up everything I could.
The faces.
The smiles.
The words.
They all felt so real.
I pressed a hand to my chest and coughed even harder, releasing more things from my belly until all that remained was sticky liquid.
My stomach twisted.
What a nightmare.
I involuntarily shivered.
Eyes closed, I rested against the bathroom’s cold wall.
The nightmare couldn’t be any scarier.
What exactly was that?
A marriage?
Hell no.
That must be due to stress.
I hugged my arms to my chest, swiftly cleaned up the bathroom, and returned to my room.
My body wouldn’t stop shaking.
Marriage…
It could never happen.
Not in this life.
Yes, it really couldn’t happen.
I covered myself up and tried to sleep again.
Yet, the fear lingered.
My lips tightened painfully.
I forcefully closed my eyes, ready for a deep sleep…
Why had Sébastien been the one beside me?
I squeezed my eyes shut.
No.
It was only a dream.
A ridiculous, impossible dream.
A knock.
My heavy eyes fluttered, slowly opening.
“Come in.” My voice was low.
Nasal.
The door opened.
Noah stepped in.
My eyes darted to my phone.
I checked the time.
Past 8 in the morning.
Oh, I had fallen asleep again after that terrible nightmare.
I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes.
My head ached.
My nose also felt uncomfortable.
“Good morning, Elian.”
“Hm.
Good morning.”
I rolled, sleeping on my side.
Noah’s footsteps rang out until they came extremely close.
Something cold touched my forehead.
I flinched.
I didn’t pull away.
“You’re burning, Elian.” Worried.
“No.
My chest burns.
My nose.
My throat.” Everything felt uncomfortable.
It must have been that nightmare.
How could someone have such a terrible dream?
“Come.
Let’s check your temperature.
I think you’re down with a fever.”
I waved a hand lazily.
“No.
I only need to get something off my mind.”
“What?”
My eyes opened.
“Something extremely bizarre.”
Noah’s eyes widened.
“A nightmare?”
“You know me best.” I reached out a hand.
“Help me up.”
Noah held my hand, gently lifting me from the bed.
“Scary?”
“Couldn’t be scarier.”
I stepped down from the bed.
My legs felt heavy on the ground.
“Let’s go out.
To the movies.
Park.
Anywhere.”
No more clubbing.
But anywhere else was fine, too.
I only needed to get whatever that dream was off my mind.
It couldn’t continue staying there.
It might kill me instead.
Noah’s hold tightened briefly.
Something was wrong.
I looked into his eyes.
“What happened?”
He turned away.
“Noah.” My voice grew lower.
Noah’s hold tightened again.
“We can’t step out, Elian.”
“What?
My dad locked me in?”
Didn’t we talk properly last night?
“No.
It’s the reporters.”
My eyes widened.
“The reporters?”
“Yes.” Noah nodded.
“They’d been lurking around the area since the news broke out.
Going out now is inadvisable.”
Damn it.
It couldn’t get any worse.
“Hasn’t Sébastien cleared the air yet?” What exactly was he planning?
His wedding was only a few days away, and the world kept pushing us into the same frame.
Wasn’t he anxious?
What if he annoyed Karl even more?
I involuntarily touched my cheek…
‘This isn’t my business anymore.’
I only hoped Karl would see that and understand I had nothing to do with his partner.
“Let’s do something else then.
Party alone?
Whatever.
I just need to stop remembering that.”
A smile curved on Noah’s handsome face.
“Alright.
Come with me.”
He led me toward the door.
“Wait.”
Noah did.
I released my hand and walked toward the bathroom.
“A quick brushing and bath.”
My mouth felt weird, probably from throwing up.
I quickly brushed my teeth, just as promised.
Then, a short shower.
A proper bath could wait.
I returned with a bathrobe wrapped around my body.
Noah sat in bed, eyes lowered, his phone in his hands.
His brows were a little creased, seemingly reading something unpleasant on his phone.
The news.
I didn’t need to check.
I shook my head lightly.
Those people need to know that things could never be the way they were portraying them to be.
No wonder I had such a bizarre nightmare.
I changed into a white shirt and white shorts.
Hair roughly fixed, I approached Noah, who was still on his phone.
“Let’s go.”
Noah reached out, taking my hand, and we left the room together.
“Do you want to party?
I can call Lucien and others over.”
“No.” I shook my head.
“I don’t want to see them right now.” Not after what they did to me.
They were my friends.
Yet they found it so comfortable ratting me out to my parents and Noah.
In a way, they were the cause of the slap I got yesterday, and I wouldn’t forgive them so easily.
“Let’s party alone.
You and I.
We could play really loud music.”
My eyes slowly lit up.
“We could also drag Old Sterling and my mother to join us.”
He had said so much in the dream that he had to be punished, too.
Noah’s lips twitched.
A smile formed in his eyes.
“Alright.”
“Hm.”