Damien entered the lounge that served as a waiting area for the dining room in search of Neil. They found one another. “Damien, over here. April will be following, I assume?” He asked after the server took Damien’s drink request.
“Yes, she insisted on resting and changing for dinner. She promised to meet us for dinner.” He said as he accepted his drink and sat down across from Neil.
“Good, then I’ll ask, after that incident in the tearoom. What is your plan, Damien? You’ve Caro worried. How does April work into them?” Neil asked his friend. He despised it. The stakes were high. Damien was his friend, but April was Carolyn’s. Need I be concerned about any confrontations?
“No, not yet. But I can’t make any guarantees. You saw what he did. Neil, I should have him removed. Arrested for assault if she’ll allow it. I’ve resisted finding him and having a chat. But that’s because your wedding events start in mere hours, and he shouldn’t be a part of them.” Damien grimaced after taking too big a sip of his drink. He let the alcohol burn his throat as it went down.
“Please my friend, try to avoid any violence with David, for Caro. If you can’t do it for April.” Neil said. His request is as much between friends as gentlemen. What he hadn’t expected was the look in Damien’s eyes shift and telegraph through his body. It’s subtle, but Neil knew his friend better than anyone.
“What do you mean can’t do it for April? Nothing’s being done for April.” Damien halted what he said then, but Neil suspected he’d heard from Carolyn at least some of April’s situation.
Neil turned to Damien and blinked at his angry reaction. This wasn’t what he’d expected from his friend. “I’m sorry Damien. I didn’t know you felt like that.” He’d forgotten about Damien’s old interest in April, before the incident in the tearoom.
“Neither did I. Not until I saw the state of her arm. Such treatment of someone you vowed to cherish, Neil? Who would do that?
“David Moore, it seems. But how did I never know my best friend was interested in my fiancé’s business partner? Don’t you think that’s something you’d mention to me?”
“I don’t know. Opportunity never arose; she wed another. By then it was too late. Following that, it appeared we never attended the same event together. If I was, then we were in different rooms.” Neil watched Damien do something he’d not done in years. The man pouted into his drink, unhappy with his thoughts of April and the years that he’d missed.
“Are you still interested in her?” The answer was obvious to Neil. He looked at Damien and could see his reaction. Damien never acted differently with women. Now Neil understood why he didn’t. Damien had fallen for April years ago and hadn’t realized it. Her uniqueness made him fall for her at first sight.
Neil pretended to scratch an itch on his nose to hide his smile. This was a fine mess his friend was in. Even if it’s not a laughing matter.
“I don’t know.” Damien said as he pondered his thoughts and the ripples the ice made in his drink. “Yes, maybe. I think so.” He looked up and studied the ornate ceiling tiles as he continued to come up with a plan that didn’t include murdering David Moore.
“You think so.” Neil asked him. Before he gave him a rueful smile. “God, you’ve got it bad. She’s married to a creep. Prioritize addressing that issue before moving on to anything else. Remember, she’s struggled with a reputation worse less than a beggar’s. You’ll have to deal with fools and idiots.”
“I plan to. Don’t worry and he’s making it easy to lose him. Dealing with haters and their toxic comments is something I approach similarly to my other endeavours. They won’t know what hit them.”
They received the signal that the dining room was ready to seat everyone for dinner. Damien received a text from the wedding planner, asking the wedding party to attend a dinner to plan tomorrow’s events and rehearsal.
The wedding guests and the wedding party members filtered into the hotel’s dining rooms. The wedding party kept the smaller dining room for themselves, while the guests enjoyed themselves in the larger dining rooms.
Damien was assisting Carolyn’s mother to her seat when April entered the intimate dining room. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Carolyn, why is she here?” Beatrice Roy asked her daughter in a furious whisper. Her eye narrowed as she looked from April to Carolyn.
“Mother, please be kind. Remember you’re not the one who’s paying the bill, I am. I can invite whomever I like. April is my business partner and best friend. I want her as my bridesmaid.” Carolyn asked her mother. No, she felt she pleaded with her mother not to start something in front of Neil and his parents. But her mother ignored appeared to her pleas.
“Isn’t she married to that Moore fellow? Where is he? I don’t see him. You could have invited him and made it worth our suffering her presence.” Beatrice clung to the old families’ wealth beliefs. Carolyn knew she’d never change this part of her mother. Beatrice would never see April for the business savvy entrepreneur she was. Carolyn represented their brand with her face.
“David Moore’s attending and claiming to be April’s plus one. However, he’s not on the guest list and April does not have a plus one. David’s a party crasher, Mother. I’m confident you will turn it into a redeeming quality.” Carolyn knew she was relying on the Bridezilla title too much. She was using it to ensure her mother understood she was a married woman and no longer under her thumb.
“Carolyn Roy, how dare you be rude like this?” In a snippy manner, Beatrice questioned Carolyn about teaching her to put on such a public exhibition. While she ignored April’s presence as if she wasn’t there.
Many blamed April for problems she didn’t cause. It’s hurt her reputation. At least the wine was decent. From Carolyn’s rebellious behaviour to poor colour choices. If it doesn’t fit within Beatrice’s idea of the perfect wedding, that is incorrect and it’s a form a corrupting influence. The corrupting influence has a name, April Moore.
“Mother, I’m the bride. That’s my right. Welcome to my party.”
April hadn’t greeted her hosts or sat down at her seat yet. But she’d started a scandal by entering a room. “Good evening, everyone. I hope I’ve not started anything by walking into a room. Can I assist you, Carolyn, in fixing this?”
“You can leave.” Beatrice demanded in a sharp voice.
“No, April. You know how my mother is. Just sit and relax. My mother will have to take a pill and relax also. She’s being rude for no reason at all. I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Stone. Sometimes my mother forgets herself.”
“Carolyn, it’s not our place to say anything on the matter. But for the sake of peace. Let’s step back, relax, and try to have a pleasant time. We are here for Neil and Carolyn to help them celebrate their coming wedding.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stone.”
“Where is your husband April?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him since we arrived.”
“Aren’t you concerned?”
“It’s not unusual for Mr. Moore. He loves to find his entertainments without me.”
“Oh, I see. That doesn’t bother you?”
“It has served its purpose and allowed me to enjoy more honest entertainment and develop our business without his interference. I won’t complain just now.”
“Mrs. Roy, I like you. You know that, right?”
“I like you too, Damien. I always have.”
“Good. Then please I want to give you a piece of advice no one else has. Currently, avoid involvement with established family matters. Don’t take sides. Wealth will change hands, and you won’t need to worry about anything. Others will, however, let them succeed or fail independently.”
“Damien. What are you saying? What do you know?”
“I am saying nothing else.”
“What do you mean you must be seen in the photos with April, David? That makes no sense.” Chloe couldn’t believe him. He stood and left her there with everyone watched. He insisted he should sit with April, his ex-wife, at the Wedding Breakfast of her best friend. Because he changed the rules of their marriage so he would gain control of April’s company. Chloe didn’t like David anywhere near April or his interest in watching her. Damien and Neil stood to protest his presence. “Shut up, Chloe, I want her business. So, I’m involved, look it’s easier if I know the business and the owners.” David said in a soft whisper to Chloe inches from her ear before he’d left her. “Now, be an obedient girl. Go sit down, we’re on a timeline.” He didn’t want everyone blaming him for ruining the day. They’re at the wedding reception and David’s actions were no better. Chloe watched David as if he’d betrayed her. Her mouth hung open and her nose wrinkled. Befo
Chloe stayed out of Damien’s sight. She didn’t want to give April a way to prove to him she’d threatened or attacked her. She didn’t deserve to be here or, for that matter, exist. Why did she get everything given to her? Her family lost everything in one deal after another. No matter what they did. If they followed the law. Chloe didn’t know if they ever tried to follow the law. If they did, it wasn’t in her lifetime. She didn’t care about that. What she cared about was how they treated her. She’s a revenue stream, but she didn’t dare expect to share any benefit from the family, and her family wanted more from her. Now, they wanted her to get her claws on David’s money. Why David? There’re better men with superior portfolios available. She didn’t understand this. But she’d do this. Chloe hadn’t seen where they’d gone when the lights returned. The lights failed, and the chaos returned. She’d left David sitting in a chair complaining into a g
“I didn’t. David disliked this circus. He dragged me to Las Vegas. His family pressured me to sign his pre-nuptial agreement in a hotel room. He thought he’d protected his finances leaving anything I made during our marriage available to him. I uploaded photos of the agreement to my lawyer and my grandfather’s legal staff, who read them. They told me to sign it. David wrote the prenuptial that we kept everything divided. Before and during our marriage. If we split up, the only scenarios where we benefit from the other person are infidelity, children, or a fatal accident involving the partner. My grandfather threatened if I said anything to David before his death about my inheritance, he’d ensure the inheritance rules change. He saw David and his family for the greedy fools they are. I was an immature idiot. I wanted the vineyard and protected it.” April said this to Damien. Her grandfather wanted her to find an influential family, who could protect her, t
Hours later, they’d half of the elevators and emergency lights. Something that didn’t seem so bad within the suites or within the corridors. Elevators moved slower, and the lighting was dimmer. Landscape gardeners cleaned up the damage by the storm. “Well?” Damien asked Luke as soon as he stepped from the elevator. Luke hadn’t been able to ask how he was feeling. Or how April was. “How did this happen again?” “Someone set up a trigger, if this elevator activated and rose up toward your suite, it tripped a power surge which damaged something with the delivery system of electricity to the hotel. On a horrible note, the contract we have for the electrical maintenance can’t provide anyone for repairs until tomorrow.” “Will our repair contract cover this?” Damien said. He snapped at Luke, closed his eyes behind his right hand, and sighed. “Sorry, in time for the wedding, please.” “Right then.” Luke said in response
“They're aware of our presence; they'll reach us soon. Damien said to April. “Luke answered my call and is on top of everything.” “What do you mean on top of everything? What’s happening?” April wasn’t expecting this. She hadn’t expected a second outage so soon, but now Damien confirmed the situation was not an accident. “Someone tampered with the delivery of the electricity from the generators. I doubt their method; this isn't the only elevator affected. It’s the entire building again. Luke is on it again and we’re on the list.” Damien said to April. He frowned. “I question their method; buried cables precede the main structures. They will quickly identify the issue and restore the electricity promptly. He appeared unhappy. Now, this incident taught April understood to understand how powerlessness anyone could be. “I guess that’s the best we can expect. Your guests are more important right now. It would look bad if you took
April didn’t run from Chloe, not with the lights on. Chloe's actions were visible to onlookers. April found herself stuck with no time to create a scenario or narrative to embarrass her. She couldn't quickly discredit April without raising questions about her own motives and presence. Chloe couldn't create false situations to blame on herself. April entered the lobby from the corridor and wrapped her robe closer around her. The lighting appeared so bright now after the dark. The soft sounds of people, music, and machines now appeared louder than before. She sighed because it’s over and she could find everyone else and ensure they’re okay. Then she’d retreat to her suite and hide. At least, that’s what April thought she’d do. That’s not what happened. April stepped toward the front desk and Damien’s voice came from behind her. “April, where were you? I told you to stay in the lobby or the lounge.” His words told everyone he’s annoyed, and Ap