Unlike the wedding that was limited to close friends and family, the reception hall was full of people. Blair changed her white wedding gown to a floor length red mermaid dress which hugged her hourglass figure with perfection till her thighs, after which it fell to her legs like a waterfall, with spaghetti strap sleeves and V neck. Her hair was free from the bun, her makeup was the same, except her plump lips that were coated red, similar to her dress.
Calvin also changed out of his tuxedo and bow tie to a three piece dark red, velvet suit to match her dress. His hair was gelled and styled upwards which gave him a fatal look. But it wasn't her husband Blair was paying attention to. Her chocolaty eyes were searching for a certain dark eyed, pale skinned person admist of them greeting the guests.
"Congratulations Blair, Mr. Cartier."
There he was. Looking as handsome as ever in his formal suit. She gave him a shy smile, Biting the inside of her cheek. Raiden and Jessica greeted them.
"This is Raiden Kingston, my boss and his sister and my friend Jessica Kingston." Blair introduced.
"Mr. Cartier, congratulations on your wedding. From now on, you are my brother in law. Please look after my best friend here." Jessica said, gesturing both of her hands towards Blair.
Calvin let out a deep chuckle. "Don't worry, Ms. Kingston, I will certainly take very good care of my wife." He assured, giving Blair a sweet smile. She didn't know how to respond so she just smiled back with a nod.
Raiden's eyes went down towards Calvin's hand which rested firmly at Blair's small waist. He clenched his fist and pressed his lips together before quickly moving his gaze back to their faces. But he wasn't quick enough to escape Calvin's observing eyes.
Calvin used his arm to pull Blair a little closer, just to see Raiden's reaction. After watching his shifting face, Calvin smirked inwardly, confirming his suspicions.
'So it's a boss employee love story huh? Cute.'
"Ladies and gentlemen, now I would like to request our new couple to show us a sweet dance." Jackie's voice boomed in the microphone and the hall erupted in claps and cheers.
Calvin kept wearing a smile while they got in position for dancing. One of his hands stayed on her waist while the other intervened their fingers. Her hand felt so small against his. She placed her free hand over his velvet suit as they swayed with the soft, romantic music.
With their proximity, he could easily smell her sweet lavender scent. She stared at his eyes, they looked more gorgeous, closed up. For some reason they didn't feel awkward.
All that time, the smile never left his face.
"Mr. Cartier?" She finally spoke up in a small voice, unable to take it anymore. He hummed in response, staring right back at her.
"No offense but can you stop smiling, it's getting creepy."
Calvin's thoughts stopped for a moment. He just got married and the first thing his wife says to him is that his smile is creepy. Weirdly, he found it funny. He leaned in to whisper in her ears,
"You should smile too, Mrs. Cartier, everyone is watching."
She looked around to see multiple pairs of eyes on them. There were whisperings like 'Oh such a cute couple', 'Their kids would have superior genes', 'Its just another business marriage' and much more.
She looked back at him and stretched her lips into an awkward grin. He nodded his head in approval, still holding that smile. And with that they continued to dance.
Blair shared a dance with all the Cartier men. Albert insisted her to call him 'dad' to which she gladly agreed.
Out of the remaining three Cartier brothers, Denver was the mature and understanding one, Elvis was shy and quite but also witty and sarcastic. Lastly, James was funny and friendly who also had a way with words.
James shared some of Calvin's secrets with her. His exact words were, "Calvin loves eating, it's his hobby. Though he tries to act tough, he actually cried while watching the Titanic. In short, he's like a big teddy bear," he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "even though he looks like Annabelle."
It was the time to leave. They walked towards where their families were standing and greeted everyone. Miguel hugged Blair quietly and let out a few tears.
He took Calvin's hand in his and said, "Please look after my little girl."
"You don't have to worry at all, uncle. Blair is now my responsibility."
She didn't know if he was being genuine or was he just that good at acting but his words made her feel a little flutter in her chest.
She looked at him and smiled greatfully. They made eye contact, he smiled back.
"If he causes any trouble, just tell me okay?" Albert said patting Calvin's back due to which he playfully rolled his eyes.
"I'll keep that in mind, dad."
With everyone's well wishes, they went on their way towards his house. The car ride could be summed up in one word, which is 'awkward'. She kept staring out of the window, same as him. No one said anything.
"I'm Blair." She didn't know what came up to her to suddenly burst out those words.
"I know." He chuckled amusingly.
Of course he would know. That was such a stupid move. She mentally scolded herself. 'I should have just kept quiet ugh!'
"I am Calvin." He said after a while, giving her that creepy grin once again. She really thought he was doing it on purpose to freak her out.
"I know that too."
After that, silence. Pin drop silence. Until Blair spoke again, "your family," she broke the silence. "they are really sweet." She meant it. In a short period of time she had gotten close with them. Being an only child, she never knew the joy of having a big family. She was touched by how they accepted her with open arms.
He nodded and smiled fondly. "They really are. Every month we have family dinners, we have a great time together. You will love it too." He smiled at her. But this time it wasn't creepy or playful. It was a genuine, honey filled smile.
She found it cute how endearingly he talked about his family. Afterall, women love a family man.
The ride continued in silence. But now, it wasn't awkward anymore. Though they kept quiet, it was a comfortable silence. Something that she enjoyed. He had broken the stereotype she held for him.
Maybe, this would not be as bad as she thought.
"Why is she calling me at this time?" Calvin wondered when he saw Jessica's name flash on the caller ID. Getting a call from her was already unusual, and on top of it, in middle of the day? He assumed it must be something important. Without wasting any more time, he tapped the green icon and placed the phone near his ear."Get inside!" He flinched when her voice blasted from the other side."Jessica? What is going on?" He inquired. He was pretty sure she was not talking to him. Did she call him by mistake? There were some weird noises from the other side. Muffled sounds, grunts, some commotion. His curiosity rose. Instead of questioning her any further, he kept quiet, putting his attention on what was happening on the call."You like to play, don't you?" It was a man's voice. Gruff and stern. However, that voice did not sound familiar to Calvin. And he did not sound like someone civil with Jessica. Before he could assume anything more, another feminine voice spoke."Stop! You want me,
Jessica watched intently as Dr. Hill put some disinfectant on a ball of cotton, held it up with a suture scissor and dabbed it on Stephanie’s chest. Jessica helped by pulling her shirt further, near her shoulder, to give the doctor better access to the wound. Stephanie was still like a statue. Surprisingly, the sting was very minimal, much less than the previous time. She remembered the last time she got her wound cleaned. It burned so much, she felt like someone had inserted a flaming rod inside her. She shook her head, wanting to forget that horrible memory, it was one of the main reason why she did not want to visit the hospital. “Does it hut too much?” Jessica inquired with a whisper, noticing the girl’s stiff expression. “Not at all.” She whispered back, putting the former at ease. Just the thought of getting shot sounded terrifying to her. On top of it, the pain that comes with its treatment, the idea made all hairs on her body stand up. In her eyes, she found incredibly brav
"I am just being paranoid." Raiden stated to himself. He gulped down a glass of water, wishing it will come his restless heart. Jessica had texted him saying that they had reached the hospital. 'They would be home in no time. It is not a big deal.' That's what he was trying to convince himself. However, his instinct told him something was not right. He glanced at his watch. The case would resume in half an hour. He had to get his mind off everything else and go through his points once again. Blair had already immersed herself in revising each and every document before they had to face the jury.For time being, everything was going in their favor. They just had to stay consistent and he would walk out of the courtroom with another victory by his name."Mr. Kingston? You seem distracted." Blair observed her boss's lost behavior. It was unusual of him, not paying attention on his work. "Should I get you a coffee?" She asked. "That is no need for that." He waved his hand to dismiss her
"Do you really like my brother?" It would be a lie if Stephanie said she did not expect it. Jessica was like that, nosy and straightforward. At least in Stephanie's eyes. She reminisced the conversation she had with Raiden that same morning."Dr Hill can't come today, so we have to go to the hospital." He informed, keeping his eyes downcasted. Things had been awkward between them since the day he indirected rejected her. In all honesty, she missed him. His face, his voice, his smile, his shabby cooking which she always ate without any complains. She would feel so overwhelmed by his efforts that his bland food did not bother her. She was happy, just by looking at him. His mere presence bought her unexplainable joy.However, now things were not the same as before. The person who provided her comfort, was acting like a complete stranger. And it was all her fault. She was convinced that it was a huge mistake on her side to confess his her feelings when she knew she would get rejected. 'Bu
We should always obey our elders. They know the best. Elders are never wrong. All these things are embodied in our heads since our childhood. We should never expect them to apologize, even when they are in the wrong. That's what we are taught. But, is it always true? In that room, Blair encountered to completely different type of adults."I am so sorry, my dear." Miguel apologized with regretful eyes as Martha stood in the back, keeping her lips zipped and holding on her usual, 'I am disgusted' expression. "All this time, I only thought about myself. How did I became so selfish? I never tried to understand how you must feel. Family is supposed to have each other's back in difficult times, but I left you alone when you needed my support the most. I'm sorry, Blair." He asked for her forgiveness with downcasted eyes.His heart was full of regret. He softly clutched her palm, showing her a grim smile. "It doesn't matter to me. Even if we don't share the same blood, you are still my li
"I really have no idea." Aaron chuckled when Blair gave him a questioning stare. As per Miguel's wish, her and Calvin visited the Andrews mansion. They found Aaron and Mr Park in the living room. However, the older couple was nowhere to be seen. She wondered what could be the reason behind the invitation."They were fighting again. Dad's health is getting worse." Aaron spoke up, out of the blue. Mister Park nodded his head in agreement."Mr Andrews is looking into divorce lawyers." He revealed. "At first I thought it was not that bad because they were attending marriage counseling. But now, things doesn't look that good.""Dad is planning to get a divorce!? Why didn't you tell me?" Aaron exclaimed, feeling disappointed. If he had known everything from the beginning, he could have tried to solve it."I didn't want to hide it from you, but your father asked me not to involve you. I am sorry." The older man apologized.My parents are considering divorce, for fuc- God's sake! How can I not