Chapter 2

Josie and William's wedding trended locally. However, I was the one who had booked the hotel and picked the day, and every thread on her wedding dress had been sewn by my mother.

I never expected the reason for her to postpone the wedding was to have it with William first. I stopped scrolling through news of their wedding and returned home to pack my luggage.

My father, Hank Carter, called me around noontime. "Sam, didn't you change the date for your wedding?"

Something about his voice did not sound right, and I asked right away. "Where are you, Dad?"

"I'm at the hotel. They called me just now to inform me that they have used up most of the alcohol we sent over, and they wanted to know if they should serve up the remaining drinks."

He paused. "I thought your wedding was postponed and wondered why the hotel was serving all the wine we brought over, so I stopped by to have a look."

I grabbed my keys and headed out right away. "Leave the hotel first, Dad. I'm coming over to pick you up."

Before I was done talking, I heard the wedding emcee speaking through the phone. "The groom may now kiss the bride!"

The applause and whistles covered my father's voice, and he changed our call into a video call. His hands were shaking while holding the phone, which was pointed right at the stage.

William had lifted Josie's veil and had his hand on the back of her neck. She lifted her face and closed her eyes, allowing William to kiss her on the lips. Everyone below the stage was applauding.

"Kiss her again!"

"Don't be shy!"

Josie and William did not shy away from each other. It was only when Josie turned red in the face and pushed him away gently that they finally separated, but William still had his hand around her waist.

Below the stage, Maude patted Arthur's arm while smiling. Meanwhile, William's parents were also applauding. Both families sat together happily as they watched their children getting married.

My father's voice was trembling so badly as he stood outside the venue door and said, "I… Isn't Josie supposed to be marrying you?"

The huge screen on the stage lit up to play clips of behind-the-scenes moments of the wedding. The first part showed Josie sitting on William's lap as she helped him put on his tie with her head lowered.

"All right. We've got it," said the photographer.

However, Josie did not stand up. Her hands were still on William's shoulders as they turned to look at the picture taken by the photographer.

The next clip showed William hugging her from behind, wrapping her in his arms. She laughed and slapped his hand off. "Let go. They're not taking pictures of us anymore."

"Don't be shy. There's no one here."

Josie covered her mouth and giggled before burying her face in his shoulder.

The timestamp in the corner showed that the clip was taken on 3rd August. That meant they had taken the wedding pictures two months ago.

Maude was suddenly heard speaking through the phone. "Hank, what are you doing here? Josie told us this is just something arranged to cheer up an elderly woman, and it's not our place to stop her. Since you're here, come join us at the table. They're serving the food soon."

However, my father did not accept the offer. "So, all of you are aware of what's going on?"

Arthur came over and glanced at my father's phone. "The children know what they're doing, Hank. You shouldn't be involved with their business. It's all just a show. It doesn't hurt for them to kiss."

It took quite a while for my father to finally say something. "This wasn't what you said when my wife was hospitalized. When she wanted them to get married, all she wanted was to see them being an official married couple, and didn't even ask for a grand wedding, but you said it shouldn't be rushed. Why is it that when the groom has changed, you're all right with organizing a pretend wedding?"

Maude's smile faltered. "Your wife is already gone. Is it necessary for you to bring her up now?"

The camera slowly pointed down at a row of bottles. "What about all this bourbon? Are you using them to cheer up that elderly lady too?"

I recognized those bottles. My parents brewed them the year I was born and called them the Red Label Reserve. My mother never opened them, even until the day she died.

Now, every bottle was opened, and everyone drinking from those bottles was wishing happiness to Josie and William on their wedding day.

Arthur reached out for a bottle. "It's just a few bottles of bourbon. Just let me know how much they are, and I'll get William to pay them back to you."

My father moved forward to grab the bottles in his arms. "It doesn't matter how much you're paying for them. I'm not giving them to you. They're not for your consumption. I'm taking them back with me."

His phone started shaking vigorously.

"How can you move all this bourbon away when dinner is about to start? You're here to ruin this wedding, aren't you?!"

"Put those bottles down! All the guests are staring at us!"

"Stop embarrassing yourself here, Hank!"

A muffled thud was heard, and his phone smashed to the ground. I yelled out for my father several times, but no one answered.

By the time I arrived at the hotel, my father was already lying on the ground outside the wedding venue. His hand clutched at his chest, and his forehead was covered with sweat. Josie was still in her wedding dress as she stood next to him.

"Do you really need to create such a big fuss today, Hank?"

I glanced up at Josie but said nothing to her. "Come on, Dad. I'm not going to get married anymore. We'll give up the bourbon too. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Behind me, I heard William suddenly laughing. "Sam's still trying to put on a brave front, Josie. I wonder how long it will take for him to apologize to you this time."