Wedding Galore

“The wedding is coming up in two days. A brief church service with only a few people in attendance.

After the wedding, Alejandro will return to work for the company while we look for a way to recover the stolen equipment,” Antonio announced as no one reacted.

They appeared to be opposed, except for Alejandro, who was facing a jail term.

_____

Another day has arrived.

The sun shone brightly, and the cool breeze kept it warm. The plants' leaves are covered with dewdrops.

Mary slammed the alarm button with her left hand. She had no intention of waking. Even though it is her wedding, she does not feel like it.

She would never have imagined a day like this in her life.

In the blink of an eye, she is forced to give up her career for the eternal bondage of a so-called marriage.

The record label texted her a thousand times, and she never responded.

"It is almost 8:30 a.m., Mary. You will be late for your wedding.

I am sure you would rather not make a bad impression, right?” Alejandro screamed from the living room as he waited to walk his daughter down the aisle.

The wedding lives rent-free in his head. Despite not being a coffee drinker, the thought of it kept him up last night.

Mary arrived a few minutes later, sporting a long face and her stunning wedding gown.

"Stop worrying, my love.

What is that dejected expression?

Your wedding is taking place.”

He embraces and encourages Mary, saying, “You should be the happiest person in this room.”

"I am feeling different. I cannot believe I am getting married. What do I look like? Is it awkward, strange, or absurd?” She questioned her dad.

"You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen.

When your husband sees you, he will undoubtedly be licking his lips sensuously.” Alejandro expressed his regret for causing Mary any stress, while also praising her dress.

“You can now despise me. However, I want to reassure you that it will pass. Give it some time. We would like to attend your wedding, if that is okay with you.” Alejandro insisted as they left and took a taxi to the wedding location.

While driving to church, Mary spotted something strange and alerted her father. “Look behind you, Dad. I believe a strange car is following us.”

“Are they assailants? What should we do at this point? I am terrified.”

She freaked out and tightly clutched her father's shirt, saying, “I do not want to die.”

“Remain composed as I talk to the cabbie. Would you mind going another way?” Alejandro begged the cabbie.

“We are being followed by a strange vehicle,” and he immediately complied.

Luckily for them, the odd car stopped following them.

"Fuck! We have lost them. What made them get away from us? I had assumed that this was already planned.

Mama Chloe would be furious with us. We lost them, even though she asked us to capture them alive.

How can we receive our money back?” Following Mary and Alejandro's survival of the scare, one of the alleged kidnappers moaned.

"The mission was unsuccessful. Now, what should we do? One of them was asked.

“We are powerless to do anything.

I suppose we need to give her a call right now.” One of the gang leaders proposed that she should be informed.

"Are you a moron?

After boasting of a flawless job?

No, this is unacceptable to me. Let us figure out how to defeat the target.” Then one of them suggested.

"Are you going to show me how to accomplish this? You have to follow my instructions because I fucking brought you into this game.”

The leader yelled, “Anyone who disagrees with me should signify,”

He aimed a gun at everyone, but nobody answered.

They all scowled and pursed their lips.

"Well done! “I guess it is all settled then,” he said, lowering the gun and calling Chloe to explain how they had failed.

"You have ruined my perfect plan. How did you permit this to occur? I assumed you were professionals. Now you have messed up everything.

You bloodthirsty thugs. I have always known you to be a major disappointment.

How do I get my sweet revenge?”

Chloe yelled over the phone.

Despite her failure on the first attempt, she refused to give up and vowed to exact revenge on Mary and everyone who had hurt her.

___

Despite escaping the kidnapping, Alejandro and Mary arrived on time and found Antonio talking to a man.

"Please do not tell anyone about this.

“I do not want anything to ruin this perfect day for us,” Alejandro pleaded with his daughter, who nodded in agreement.

Antonio briefly introduced himself as they approached.

"Hello, Mary.” Do you know that Hilton has a younger brother? He had a question for Mary.

“Kid brother?”

Mary nodded confusedly.

“I do not think so.”

“I can understand if he has not told you yet. He is right here. Meet Romeo, my second son and Hilton's younger brother. He now lives in a different flat.

He would serve as Hilton's best man. You two should start getting along.” Antonio left following the brief introduction.

"Romeo? Is that your name? How exactly are you related to Hilton?

What exactly are you doing here, jerk? You did not tell me you had a brother.” Mary questioned as her heart rate increased.

“Oh, you never asked. You left without saying goodbye. I looked everywhere but could not find you.” Romeo explained.

"Somehow, I knew I would find you one day.

“I have been waiting for this moment all my life,” he exclaimed, attempting to hug Mary, but she objected and pushed him away.

“What exactly are you doing? Are you aware that we are in a public place? Everyone is keeping an eye on things.

Today, I am marrying your elder brother. That is enough reason for you to get rid of any lingering thoughts in your head,” she warned.

"That is quite impressive! I have never seen you this active before. You were drunk when we first met.

It is good to see you in a different mode.” Romeo mocked Mary and mimicked her drunken state.

“Enough with this. Stop mocking my situation.

We both know I was intoxicated.” Mary silenced Romeo with an upraised arm. She was sick and tired of hearing about her one-night stand.

It was a regrettable moment, and she did not want to think about it again.

“Can we pretend the sex did not happen? Can we pretend we never met? I do not want anything to derail my marriage.” She begged in a low tone.

“Aww! You must have a lot of love for my brother. He is very fortunate.” He impersonated Mary.

"This is no joke. I am serious about it. Please keep this little secret between us." She would not give up.

"What is the secret you two are discussing?” A deep voice spoke from a distance.

They looked back and saw Hilton approaching them with a frown.

_______

“Hello, my good friend. It is good to see you again. I can tell you are excited about your son's marriage. Best wishes to you. I am relieved that your son is no longer on the market.

Soon you will be a grandfather.” Mr. MacLeish greeted Antonio and shook hands to exchange pleasantries.

Antonio and MacLeish have been friends for years. Their friendship began in college and continued until they lost contact after graduation.

They did not reunite until recently, when MacLeish arrived at Antonio's company to form a business partnership.

He was completely unaware that Antonio owned the company. Since then, they have had each other's backs and promised not to be separated any longer.

When Antonio told MacLeish that Hilton was getting married, he was overjoyed and hoped that his twin boys, Mark and Mathew, would one day follow in Hilton's footsteps.

“I appreciate you coming. Believe me, I do not take this for granted.

I even thought you would not accept my invitation, but I am glad you did.” Antonio expressed his heartfelt gratitude to his friend. MacLeish was his only true friend.

Antonio had no idea what would happen if MacLeish had not shown up.

He would have been alone, with nobody to talk to. It means a lot to him to see MacLeish at the wedding.

He does not have to worry about his first son marrying someone from the lower classes, like Mary.

"What exactly are you saying?

You are my best friend. I will not miss your party for anything in the world, and guess what?

I had to cancel a few appointments just to be here, which shows you how serious I am about this.

I was away from the country for a business summit when you texted me about your son's wedding. I had to fly back into the country a few days ago, so I will not be missing this. MacLeish revealed.

"What did you do for me?" What about the business? We should have just talked on the phone.

"I believe that would compensate for your absence," Antonio said. He felt bad about making MacLeish give up his business arrangements.