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2026-04-25 22:11:13
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DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 106
The reception felt like something out of a movie I would have sworn I’d never care about, not until I found myself standing in the middle of it with a glass in my hand and my attention nowhere near the laughter, the music, or the speeches going on around me. The church ceremony earlier that morning had been… beautiful. There wasn’t another word for it. Everything from the flowers lining the aisle to the way Julia had looked walking down it had felt almost unreal. I had caught myself smiling more times than I could count, and somewhere in the middle of it, my attention had drifted to Joan. I hadn’t meant for it to, but it did anyway. And I could have sworn I saw her discreetly wipe at her eyes at one point, like she didn’t want anyone to notice. The image stuck with me longer than the vows themselves. I made a quiet mental note to tell Victor about it. He would have liked that. Or at least pretended not to, in his usual way.Now, at the reception, the energy had shifted into something
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 105
The next morning did not come gently.It came with sound.Not soft, polite sounds like the distant hum of conversation or the clinking of cutlery from breakfast downstairs. No. It came loud, abrupt, and entirely inconsiderate of the fact that some people had gone to bed far too late and woken up far too early the day before. It came in the form of voices, footsteps, doors opening and closing down the hallway, and somewhere, unmistakably, laughter that felt just a little too bright for the hour.My eyes fluttered open slowly, reluctantly, my body heavy beneath the sheets as if sleep still had a firm grip on me and refused to let go. For a moment, I simply stared at the ceiling, unmoving, trying to gather myself and figure out where I was, because waking up somewhere unfamiliar always came with that brief, disorienting pause. Then it settled in. Miami. The hotel. The wedding.Brandon.That thought alone was enough to make my awareness sharpen, my gaze shifting slightly to the side witho
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 104
The rehearsal dinner started the way everything in Julia’s world seemed to start, which was with urgency disguised as enthusiasm.I had expected something structured, maybe even slightly formal. Instead, I found myself standing in the middle of a shifting crowd of relatives, event planners, and family friends, all being guided into a ballroom that had already been transformed into something soft and overly intentional. Flowers everywhere. Warm lighting that made everything look slightly unreal. Chairs arranged in a way that suggested more thought had gone into aesthetics than actual comfort.Brandon stayed close to me as we moved inside, not in a way that felt deliberate enough for anyone else to notice, but close enough that I noticed it.I did not say anything about it.Julia was everywhere at once. One moment she was correcting a seating chart, the next she was laughing with someone near the entrance, then suddenly she was beside me again, taking the card from my hand like she had
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 103
The next morning started faster than I expected it to.There was already movement in the hotel when I stepped out of the room, the kind of organized chaos that came with wedding preparations. Voices echoed faintly down the hallway, doors opening and closing, footsteps that never seemed to settle. I paused for a moment, adjusting to it, then slowly made my way toward the main area where breakfast had been arranged for the family.Brandon was already there.Of course he was.He sat at one of the longer tables, a cup in hand, speaking with someone I recognized from yesterday but could not immediately place. He looked calmer than he had any right to be after the night before, like nothing about bonfires, root beer, or late-night quiet conversations had followed him into the morning.His gaze lifted before I could fully decide whether to approach or retreat.It landed on me and stayed there.I hesitated for a fraction of a second too long before walking over.“Morning,” I said when I reach
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 102
~~Joan~~We had walked for a few minutes in a comfortable silence, the kind that didn’t feel forced but still made me overly aware of everything around us. The night air was cooler here, carrying the faint smell of salt from the beach nearby, and the sound of distant laughter pulled my attention before I even saw where it was coming from.When we turned the corner, I saw it.A group of people had gathered around a bonfire on the sand, the flames flickering high enough to cast moving shadows across their faces. Music played softly from a speaker somewhere in the circle, mixing with laughter and the occasional shout. It looked… easy. Unstructured. Alive in a way I wasn’t used to stepping into.Brandon stopped beside me, his gaze landing on the fire before shifting to me. “Have you ever been in one before?” he asked.I shook my head immediately. “No.”That seemed to be enough for him.“Come on,” he said, already stepping forward.I followed him on instinct, only realizing a second later
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 101
~~Brandon~~The lobby had slowly begun to fill up after Madden left, the quiet that had settled between Joan and me dissolving into something warmer, something louder, as more of my relatives trickled in one after the other. It started with a couple of cousins, then a few more, then friends of Julia’s fiancé who had already begun to feel like family by default, and before long, the space around us had turned into a loose circle of conversation and laughter. I leaned back into the couch, one arm draped over the backrest, watching it all unfold with a familiarity that should have grounded me completely, yet my attention kept drifting elsewhere, settling on Joan more often than not.She was seated just across from me at first, her posture composed, her hands resting lightly in her lap as she listened to one of Piper’s animated stories. There was a brief moment where I could see the hesitation in her, that subtle pause before she responded, like she was weighing every word before letting
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 043
I hesitated to answer, looking at Brandon. He also looked unsure. Victor had told us what we needed to know, yes, but because he was who he was, I was certain he'd left out some things he hadn't wanted us to know. The doctor looked between us, then chuckled lightly. "I'll take it he didn't?"What
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 042
By the time I pulled into the driveway, the sky had begun to soften into evening.Kai had gotten quiet during the drive, no doubt the sugar wearing off, and exhaustion from the day starting to seep in. I'd purposely let him have more ice cream than he should've had on a weekday for that reason. I
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 035
~~Joan~~The drive home felt longer than usual.Kai sat quietly in the backseat, his small hands folded around the straps of his backpack. Normally, he would have been talking—about school, about whatever game he’d played during recess, about the newest drawing or papercraft he’d made.Today, he wa
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 034
~~Dean~~I hadn’t planned on visiting the school that afternoon.The proprietor, Adrian, had called earlier that morning, sounding unusually enthusiastic about something he wanted to show me. He owned the place now, and ever since I’d invested in it, he seemed to think I had a personal interest in
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