CHAPTER TWO

          

           The reception of her wedding was bustling. The guests were in every corner of the place, talking, drinking, eating and having fun. With her husband out of sight, Crystal strolled around, welcoming the guests that she recognized. After a while, her friends circled her, with wine glasses in their hands.

          "One of us is now a Mrs... Who will be next?" Martha asked, with a giggle.

          "Well, none of us caught the bouquet," Trisha said.

          Martha scoffed. "I really don't believe in that catching the bouquet stuff. Besides, between the both of us, you are the one with a boyfriend. You guys have been dating for three years, isn't it time he puts a ring on that finger? It's beginning to wrinkle."

          Crystal covered her mouth and laughed softly. She was glad that she had her friends with her, at least she had a real reason to laugh and enjoy her wedding.

          "So, are you ready for your wedding night?" Trisha asked, and wiggled her arched eyebrows.

          At her words, Crystal paled. She had never thought about her wedding night with her husband, and for the fact that she was not sexually attracted to him or even attracted to him at all, she did not know how she was going to go about fooling him into believing she was not ready to do anything with him.

          Crystal sighed and shook her head, then plastered a wry smile on her face.

          "Aww, she's blushing. Don't worry, I heard that James is good in bed," Martha said with a giggle.

          I doubt it... The only person I am sure is so good in bed is at my wedding, several feet away from me, Crystal said in her head and looked across the place. She spotted Cyrus in a gathering of women his age, they were all giggly and touching his arms and chest, which sent a pang of jealousy straight through her body.

          As if he had sensed her, Cyrus made eye contact with her and sent her a wave. He said something to the girls, then started heading towards her. Crystal stood straight and subconsciously touched her blonde locks. She looked at her friends and noticed they were engrossed with something on their phones. Crystal walked away from them and headed towards Cyrus.

          Crystal stopped as soon as he did, and she gulped. He towered over her, making her seem small. She reached his chest and something about tall men attracted her, and turned her on. Sadly, she was the same height as James, her husband.

          "Hello, Mrs. Noah," Cyrus said, and she inhaled sharply at the way he regarded her. It made her clench her hands.

          "Hi, Cyrus. How are you?" She asked, and he smiled, showing off his dazzling white teeth.

          "I'm good. I'm so happy that my uncle finally married the woman of his dreams. He could not stop talking about you ever since you two got together," Cyrus said, and she chuckled through her teeth.

           Woman of his dreams, indeed, Crystal mentally replied.

           She opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off when James popped up beside Cyrus.

          "Hey, buddy," James said, patting his nephew on his back. "Are you enjoying the wedding?"

          "Hey, James. Yes, I am. Congratulations once again. I'm really happy for you.

          James came closer to her, and brought her into his arms. She smiled and inwardly became sad when James pulled her away from Cyrus.

          

†††

          Crystal paced around the grand bedroom she was going to be sharing with her husband. Her thoughts were everywhere, wondering how she was going to spend the night with James when she wasn't fully invested in it all.

          After a while, she stopped and sat down on the large bed, then picked up her phone. She scrolled through, surfing online. She flicked her gaze at the top of the screen when a notification popped up— Cyrus was live. She smiled and quickly switched to her burner account, then joined his live video. He was at a club with some of his cousins and other family members, having fun at the top of their lungs. Crystal swallowed hard when she saw how he was having fun, shirtless and dancing with them.

          "I wish I was there with them," she said wistfully, and sighed. A pang of pain and jealousy filled her body when a woman in a skimpy outfit began dancing against his body. Her big ass rubbing against his crotch. She became angry when she saw him pull her close and she quickly checked the comments. His fans were hyping him up, supporting his dance and telling him what to do with the stranger dancing with him.

          Being fed up, she left the live video and threw her phone aside. She covered her face and calmed her heavy breathing.

          The sound of the door opening got her attention, making her raise her head up. James stepped in with a bouquet of red roses and a golden bottle of champagne.

          "Hey, baby. Did you miss me?" James asked as he approached her. He stopped in front of her and placed a kiss on her lips.

          "Hey, James. Where were you?" She asked, not wanting him to notice her current mood.

         "Went out to get you these... I hope you're ready for tonight's fun?"

          Crystal quickly stood up and chuckled nervously. She noted the confusion on his face, then she cleared her throat.

          "Uh... Why don't you relax. I just want to take a shower and I'll be right with you," Crystal said, and dashed into the bathroom. She locked the door and exhaled.

          She crossed the bathroom and opened the cupboards. She picked up a pill bottle and brought it close to her chest.

          "This is the only way that I can escape from this. I honestly can't do this with him tonight or ever. I gave him the excuse of us waiting until we got married and now we are, I'm not about to succumb to anything sexual with him," she said, and smiled. "I need to somehow give him these sleeping pills. Once he takes them, he'll be knocked out throughout the night and at least till tomorrow midday. I'm sorry, James, but I have to do this."