The wedding

LARRY’S POV

“Larry?” My sister, Sasha, called again, louder this time. There was something in her voice now— it sounded like confusion… and something very close to panic. “Larry, seriously, have you seen him? He’s not in his room. No one knows where he is.”

Guilt slammed into me so hard I nearly choked on it.

My eyes darted back to Rowan, and I realized that he was still asleep despite the noise.

Meanwhile, I was seconds away from passing out.

“Sorry, Sasha, I—I don’t know!” I quickly called back. “I haven’t seen him since… last night.” The lie came out so fast that my stomach twisted.

There was a long pause on the other side of the door.

“…That’s weird,” Sasha said finally. “Today is our wedding, Larry. He wouldn’t just disappear like that. Rowan wouldn’t do that to me.”

Her words and confidence in him felt like a knife sinking deeper into my chest, but I shoved the feeling away.

I swallowed hard, dragging the sheets higher up my body as if they could somehow hide my shame and guilt.

“Don’t worry, sis, I’m sure he’s around somewhere,” I forced out. “Maybe he just… went on an early jog or something.”

I desperately prayed for her to believe that.

There was another long pause, then, “Yeah… you’re probably right.” But she didn’t sound convinced.

She sounded disappointed and scared, and that made me feel a thousand times worse.

“I’ll—I’ll get dressed and help you look for him,” I added quickly, desperate to end the conversation. “Don’t worry, okay, sis? I’ll find him.”

“…Okay,” she said slowly. “If you see him, please tell him to call me. Everyone’s asking for him.”

My chest tightened.

“I will.”

A few seconds passed before I heard her footsteps retreating down the hall. Only when they completely faded did I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

I turned to see that Rowan was still asleep and completely unbothered.

My jaw tightened as I stared at him with horror crawling up my spine.

How the hell did this happen?

How was Rowan?… My sister’s fiancé—Rowan, The-bane-of-my-existence-Rowan

The-one man-I-hated-more-than-anyone-on-this-planet-Rowan. How the hell had he spent the night in my bed on the night before his wedding?!

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, but he was still there.

His broad chest was slowly rising and falling as he peacefully slept, with his dark lashes resting on those sculpted cheekbones that had every girl I knew swooning over him left and right.

No matter how much I hated the asshole, I couldn’t deny that he was a devastatingly handsome man, and that fact always made my blood boil.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

This had to be a nightmare. A messed-up, stress-induced, alcohol-fueled hallucination created by my brain as yet another punishment from the universe.

I dragged a hand over my face, trying to figure a way out of this mess.

Okay. Think, Larry. Think.

How did your sister’s future husband end up in your bed?

At first, my brain offered me nothing but static and fragments—then I recalled blurry scenes, lots of noise, laughter, music, and…a party.

Yeah.

There had been a party yesterday, it was the rehearsal dinner.

Everyone had been celebrating the upcoming wedding as if it were the best day of their lives.

Everyone except me.

I remembered sitting at the far end of the backyard, nursing a strong drink, trying to pretend I didn’t exist.

Trying to pretend I wasn’t watching Rowan kiss my giggling sister every five minutes.

He had his hands on her waist as he whispered things that made her blush and swoon like she had won some kind of husband lottery.

It all disgusted me. Absolutely disgusted me, but not because I wanted Rowan.

Hell, no! Fuck that guy!

It disgusted me because I wanted my sister to see that Rowan was not the perfect Prince Charming who could do no wrong like she believed.

No, Rowan was a fucking liar, a sadistic bully, and a walking red flag hiding under all his good looks and pretentious charm.

But unfortunately, I was the only person on earth who knew that.

Everyone else loved Rowan— They talked about him as if he were a god who had descended from the heavens.

They had all been deceived by the package he was carrying.

Rowan had striking dark looks, well-chiseled muscles, effortless charm, and a dazzling smile that made most people melt.

People like my sister. People who didn’t know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of his cruelty like I had.

That was when I started drinking. And I was drinking a lot! A lot, way more than I knew I could handle.

I could remember gripping my bottle and thinking: ‘As soon as this wedding is over, I’m gone.

I would take the first flight out of this country, even to a different continent if need be.’

Anything to get away from him!

I couldn’t stand seeing Rowan anymore. I couldn’t bear to watch him marry my sweet, loving, but naïve sister.

Besides, I knew he’d be thrilled to see me leave because we have both passionately hated each other for over 3 years, and there was no pretending otherwise.

So how did we end up here? There had to be a logical explanation for this.

Maybe I came back to my room to sleep the alcohol off, maybe he followed me to mess with me as usual. And maybe we both innocently passed out in my bed.

That had to be it! That was the only explanation possible

I took a deep breath and turned to him.

“Rowan,” I hissed, but he didn't respond.

I smacked his shoulder hard. “Rowan, wake up! You’re going to be late for your own wedding, you idiot.”

Rowan finally groaned and opened his eyes. For a second, he just stared at me. Then a dazzling smile spread across his face.

And before I could react, he leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

“Morning,” he murmured.

I gasped and shoved him so hard he nearly rolled off the bed.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I whisper-yelled.

He stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing.

“Wow,” Rowan said. “I didn’t realize you’d be this shy after last night.”

I gaped at him in shock. “After… after what?” my voice croaked.

The laughter instantly died, and he frowned.