Chapter 5

“I cannot believe you, Jennifer.” Cameron glared at his younger sister.

“It’s not a big deal.” His sister rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a big deal! Are you crazy? Imagine my surprise when I found out from Brook that you were getting married. I didn’t even know you were dating someone, let alone getting married. And the worst part is, I found this from my niece instead of my very own sister.” He exclaimed.

“Well, what did you expect me to say when you called me the first time after so many years? Hey brother, you know I have a boyfriend. You don’t know that guy because when I met him, you were busy screwing your good-for-nothing girlfriend, especially when you finally came to your senses and tried to mend our relationship. I was hesitant to tell you because I was just waiting for the moment for you to disappear again. But fortuDevonly, you proved us all wrong.” Jennifer crossed her arms and grunted loudly.

“That would have been better than nothing.” Both of them were shooting daggers at each other.

“What’s going on here?” Marissa showed her presence in Ronny and Jenny’s backyard. To her surprise, she found Cameron and her best friend ready to kill each other.

Cameron, however, was not expecting Marissa to be here.

“What are you doing here?” He frowned at her.

“Cameron! Don’t be so rude,” Jenny exclaimed exasperatedly. “She is mine and Ronny’s best friend. So, of course, I am going to invite her to the celebration of my engagement.”

“Risa, ignore these two and have popcorn with us. You didn’t miss much. The fun have only just began” Caleb, Olivia’s husband, grabbed her hand and dragged her to where everyone was enjoying the show.

“We are not entertaining you people.” Cameron and Jenny said in unison.

“Sure, you are not.” Olivia rolled her eyes.

“Dude, it’s not that big of a deal that you didn’t know about us from the start. At least you know that now; that’s more important.” Ronny tried to butt in.

“Don’t you dare talk in the middle of this?” Cameron pointed out, glaring at his younger sister fiancé.

“He is family, Cameron. He is my future husband and your future brother-in-law. Talk to him nicely.” Jenny shot daggers at him.

“Why should I? You didn’t even give me an opportunity to scare him and give him the famous brother speech.”

“Who is stopping you now? Go ahead. Give him your speech or hit him. I don’t care. As long as you are going to be part of my happiness, it’s fine.” Jenny pouted.

“You have got to be kidding me. Seriously, Jenny! I am your fiancé. You cannot just sell me out to your brother.” Ronny said with an annoyed look on his face.

The whole scenario made Marissa laugh. The scene in front of her was way too amusing.

“You find my misery amusing?” Ronny asked his best friend.

“Everyone finds your misery amusing, Ronny.” Marissa poked her tongue out.

“Marissa, you only tell me. If you suddenly find out through someone else that your best friend is getting married, let alone having a girlfriend, what will you do?” Cameron asked her, which took her by surprise, but nonetheless, she replied to him.

“I will disown him as my friend.” She shrugged.

“I rest my case.” Cameron smugly told them.

“Seriously, Risa, that’s what I get for being your best friend for such a long time?” Ronny asked her, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, what kind of friend would you be if you didn’t tell your best friend about your marriage?” She retorted back.

Ronny was about to answer back when Olivia interrupted her.

“Let me guess, the same way you felt when he actually did the very same thing with us?”

This made both Marissa and Cameron flinch.

“You are right. I am sorry, Jenny.” He apologized to her because, in reality, he didn’t have any right to create such a fuss when he was no better than his younger sister in this situation. At least she wanted him at the wedding.

Jenny, though, could feel Cameron, so she immediately engulfed him in her hug.

“I am also sorry, But know that I love you, bro.”

“I love you too. But I am definitely going to talk to your future husband.” He gave a look to Ronny.

Finally! After clearing this mess, everyone was sitting in the backyard, having a good meal and chatting with each other.

“Does Jason knows about them?” Cameron asked Olivia who pursed her life before responding him.

“He actually does. I was not exactly happy that she chose to tell him before me.”

“That is because he is the eldest.” Jenny defended.

“Just by two minutes.” Olivia, however, scowled.

“Livy, he is still the eldest so he deserved to know first. Plus, he doesn’t stay in Pelican like us. He stays in Rosewood so it was only right he knew it before any of you.” Jenny explained.

“You and your logic can never be par with me.” Olivia rolled her eyes but neither Cameron nor she took an offence. Jason did lived in Rosewood with his wife Stella at their childhood home which was quite a drive from Pelican and they both missed their elder brother too much.

Cameron should have really confided in him when he was in fix instead of coming to his own conclusion and compelling Marissa to leave him in worst way ever.

Marissa, however, was sipping her drink when Caleb’s out of the blue question caught her off guard, causing her to choke.

“Marissa, who was your first boyfriend?”

“Yes, you never mentioned to us about your past love life. In fact, we know nothing about it except that you are a divorcee. You didn’t even tell us the name of your ex-husband.” Olivia said, which made both Cameron and Marissa nervous.

It surprised Cameron that Marissa didn’t tell anyone about it. If she had, then he would have been dead by his sisters and his soon-to-be brother-in-law. Even Jason would have been seriously disappointed in him.

“It’s in the past. So, it doesn’t matter.” She replied, trying to avoid the topic.

“Come on, Marissa. At least tell us his name. Anything about him.” Jenny insisted.

“My first boyfriend’s name was Ben. You could call us high school sweethearts. You know the ones that people think will end up together, get married, and have kids.” She gave a small smile.

“So, what happened between you two?” Caleb asked her curiously.

Ronny was about to interrupt, but she touched his hand in assurance. After so much support from all her friends, telling them about a small part of her life was the right thing to do.

“I broke it off with him after five years. My mother and father didn’t want me to associate myself with Ben. I never told them about us, but somehow, in the end, they found out and told me to break it off with him. And me being me, to please my parents, I did exactly what they asked me to.”

“That’s harsh,” Jenny told her.

“Yes, five years is a long time. Do you still love him?” Olivia asked her curiously.

“Nope. Initially, it was difficult, but with time, things got easier. In fact, two years ago, I met Ben and had a friendly talk with him. Got a closure. And I am glad that he married Jasmine. They even have a very adorable kid. His wife is super sweet. Don’t really care about our past.”

“Wow. I would have been shattered if that happened to me.” Olivia mentioned.

“It was not that difficult.” Marissa gave her a tight smile.

“Liar,” Ronny murmured, which earned him a nudge from his best friend.

Ronny was present with her when Marissa found out about her ex-lover, and she was beyond shattered. After what his best friend had been through, finding out that Ben was happily married to Jasmine had broken her completely, but somehow, she found all the pieces and pasted them back together.

Initially, yes, Marissa was heartbroken, but now she is in a good place. Ben has been a big part of her life and always will be. She was really happy that both of them had no other feelings except for friendship and respect towards each other.

Her life, which she has now, is something which she wouldn’t trade except for Cameron. Unlike the other two times, she expected him here, knowing that Brook was his niece, making Jenny and Olivia his sisters. Though she knows that Cameron is part of her past, which is unknown to others present in this room, it doesn’t affect her much now. She is nothing to him, and he has no control over her life, so she doesn’t care about him being here with her.

Cameron was mostly quiet when Marissa talked to others about Ben. It took him a flashback to when he threw spiteful words at her.

Flashback...

‘You know, Marissa, you wouldn’t understand me and my position. You have never been in love. If you knew about love, you would know that you did nothing but destroy my life by stepping into it. I really hope that one day when you fall in love, it will be snatched away from you to understand how and what I feel.’

Flashback end...

What Cameron didn’t know was that she was already suffering from one.

“I should get going now. I will see you guys soon. Congrats again on your engagement, Ronny and Jenny.” Marissa brought Cameron back from his flashback.

“I can drop you if you want,” Cameron told her. He felt a sudden urge to be close to her. It had to be his guilty conscious.

“No, it’s okay.” Marissa declined politely.

“It’s really not a problem. We stay on the same premises.” He told her.

“You guys do?” Caleb asked him with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Marissa answered dismissively.

“That’s great. Now we have more reason to drop in your places.” Jenny told them excitedly.

“Really, Jenny?” Cameron asked her sarcastically. “You know what, please don’t answer. I had enough of you for a day. Come on, Marissa, I will drop you off at home.”

“Cameron, it’s not needed. I have a car. I can manage just fine,” She said firmly. “Anyway, thanks for the offer.”

Then she greeted them goodbye and left leaving Cameron behind.

“So, you wanted to drop her, huh?” Olivia nudged her baby brother.

“It’s nothing like that. It would have been more convenient.”

No one said anything to him after that.

After a few minutes, even Cameron left for his apartment. Marissa had consumed all his thoughts all the way home, which has been happening a lot lately.