Chapter hundred and six

Dallas

It's been days since I had a mental breakdown in front of Oliver and he had comforted me. I hadn't meant to start blabbing about my insecurities like that but when I started, I couldn't stop myself. I was glad I didn't. I still hadn't made a decision about what to do now, but I felt so much better after talking to him.

After Oliver informed me of his aunt's wedding and that the reception would be held in the house, I spent days mentally preparing myself to receive Oliver's family, while also assisting the event planner. It was finally the D-Day.

The reception wasn't bound to start until late in the afternoon after the church wedding. To be honest, I hadn't expected the wedding to be so grand. Oliver had said it was just a small gathering for family. The amount of preparations didn't imply that.

Heather and I had helped the event planner decorate the banquet hall . Although we didn't get invited to the church wedding, we were invited to the reception. It was impossible not to when we live there.

I hadn't bothered more about it when even Oliver wasn't attending the church wedding. I wasn't obnoxious enough to think it was because of me. He seem to have something important to attend to. Neither his aunt nor mother had objected to his absence so I was certain it had to do with business.

Regina had made a point to avoid me each time she came to the mansion. I wasn't particularly looking forward to talking to her either. Suzy wasn't a very perfect human either, but she was less obnoxious than her sister. She managed to throw a few smiles and greetings each time I came across her. It wasn't hard to believe that she had been the one to keep the family together after the patriarch's death.

“Oh my goodness,” Heather squealed. I spun in her direction to see her strolling into the room. “You look absolutely stunning. The dress really brings out the color of your eyes. It looks so perfect.”

I flashed her an appreciative smile. The dress was a green, floor length, satin gown. It had an embroided long sleeve and a v-shaped back. It had a front slit that stopped mid thigh. It was truly stunning and I loved it.

Oliver had gotten it for me right after I presented him with the cufflinks I got him. It'd been silly but I couldn't refrain from getting him a gift after he'd gotten me so much. I had felt ridiculous about the cufflinks at first but the feeling had quickly disappeared when I saw that he was wearing them this morning.

A smile ghosted my lips as the memory flashed across my mind. I pressed my lips into a thin line when I noticed Heather staring at me, a smirk dancing on her lips.

“Pretty sure you were thinking about your prince charming just now.” She strode further towards me, her shimmery black dress reflected the light.

“No, I wasn't.” I denied and tried to schooled my face into neutrality.

“Yeah you were.” She teased. “OMG, you should see how red you are right now.” She chuckled.

When she wasn't been quiet or mysterious, Heather was just as torturous as Lisa. You'd think the two of them were twins. It doesn't help that they constantly gang up to tease the hell out of me.

“I'm not red. And we should get going. We'll be late.” I snapped, my tone sharper than I intended.

“It's not like we'll be missed.” She shrugged.

True. But I had an inkling feeling that she was dragging her feet on going downstairs because of a certain blond man. I've seen how they'd avoided each other in the past few days. Whatever feud was between them wasn't a small one.

“But we still need to go. The guests had started arriving almost an hour now.” And we've dragged out feet for far too long.

I didn't say the last sentence but it must have been obvious in my eyes because she gave a long sigh.

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “But please don't tell me you're going downstairs with your hair like that.”

I had finally decided to let my hair down after contemplating different styles. It didn't feel right to pack it into my usual ponytail. It was a wedding party not a club. But packing it into a bun had deemed stressful than I thought it would be, so down it was.

“I couldn't decide what to do with it.” I sighed.

“You shouldn't leave it down like that. And although you look absolutely gorgeous, your make up needs touch up. You need a bolder lip gloss.”

I arched an eyebrow, suddenly getting a feeling that I wouldn't like the changes Heather suggested. A wide grin from her was the confirmation I needed.
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A few minutes later, I strolled towards the banquet hall with Heather. Surprisingly, I hadn't objected to the few touch ups Heather had done to my clothing and make up. It took a single look in the mirror when she was done for me to applaud her. I had looked spectacular.

She had packed my hair into a loose bun, a few curly strands fell on my face, giving my face a round shape, and secured it with several pins. I agreed with her. It was so much better than letting it down. It also gave an exquisite view of my bare back.

For my make up, she used dark eye liners, added some masacara to my eyelashes, and a darker shade of red lipgloss.

I had asked her how she learnt about make up so much but she had shrugged the question off, giving only a vague response that it was a mere survival skill she'd picked up.

I didn't have the time to question her more as we entered the banquet hall. But she was really good. Half the guests seem to agree with me as several heads turned towards us as we made our way in.

It was far too easy to spot Oliver. Standing in an isolated part of the hall near the drinks, his gaze bored into me more than the other. As soon as our eyes met, a smile spread on his lips and he raised his glass. A silent promise.

I was fairly certain that it didn't contain alcohol. The only time I'd seen him drink was on my birthday during the ‘never have I ever’ game. That had been only a few shots.

He stood up and was about approaching me when someone intercepted him. The look Oliver gave the poor man was deadly. I wouldn't want that look directed on me.

“Okay, I can totally see that you're smitten by the love of your life but we need to start moving now. We're standing at the entrance.” Heather said quickly.

If it wasn't obvious before, it is now. My friend wasn't a fan of the spotlight. And from the way the gazes of some of the guests shifted from admiration to something else, I wasn't sure I'm particularly thrilled to be in this spotlight.

I had been so lost staring at Oliver that I didn't even pay attention to where I was.

Heather and I walked away from the entrance. I admired how graceful our walk had been despite the earlier embarrassment.

We stood near the bar and grabbed a drink each. I kept an eye on Oliver while politely turning down men who offered to dance with me. I could feel him growing impatient with each passing second. He looked like he'd walk away from the man, or worse, snap the man's neck if he doesn't finish the conversation soon.

“So you have any idea what we're supposed to do at this place? Aside pry off arrogant, spoilt douchebags, of course.” Heather lifted her glass to her lips.

I let out a chuckle.

“How do you know they're all arrogant douchebags? There might be some nice people among them.”

“Well, they're certainly not among all the men that has asked us to dance. They wore their arrogance like an impenetrable armor.” She scoffed.

I chuckled slightly.
“Just dance and have fun. It's a wedding.”

“I'm yet to find a suitable dance partner” she sighed.

I was about to point out to her that there's a certain blond who hadn't stopped gawking at her ever since we walked in, but was suddenly cut short by the sudden whispers and scornful looks, especially from the ladies standing close to us. They were staring at the entrance.

Heather and I turned followed their line of sight to see who caused the uproar. But I already knew who it was before I even turned.

“Oh hell, no.” she let out a displeased groan. “I know it's a family gathering and shit but why the hell does she have to be here right now?”

Jenna walked in with her mother and father in tow. They moved seamlessly through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries till they got to where Suzy and her newly wedded husband were sitting.

I tore my gaze away and forced a chuckle.
“I think you just answered your own question.”

“I know but couldn't she have arrived after we left or, you know, just a little bit later.” Heather half snarled in Jenna's direction.

It'd only taken the few days Jenna stayed at the mansion for her to make an enemy of Heather. Partly because, Jenna was usually a condescending bitch to everyone and treated servants even lowly. And also because, Heather was my friend.

“I don't think she can afford to be late.” Not when she's putting so much effort in getting Oliver to notice her.

The rest of the words burn in my throat but I washed it down with the glass of wine in my hand. I turned my gaze away and tried to focus on something else.

“And why is she walking towards us with that eerie smile?”

I turned swiftly to where Jenna was standing just few seconds ago. Sure enough, she was trudging towards us, a smirk plastered on her face.

I was certain of something. Whatever it is she wants to say, I didn't want to hear it.