Rachel's POVThe morning of a best friend’s wedding is every girl’s nightmare. From making sure the right cake you ordered had been delivered to making sure the wedding flowers were hydrangeas and not Lillies to ensuring that all the bridesmaids were dressed in the same stupid outfit the bride picked out to giving a shoulder to the bride while she has her final meltdown (whilst making sure it wasn’t ruining her make-up) - everything seemed like the perfect recipe for a disaster.It’s perhaps the price you pay to keep your best friend in your life.But luckily for me, I had a husband and an assault to thank for keeping me out of my bridesmaid’s duties. From skipping last night’s bachelor’s party to helping me dress for the wedding in the morning, Alan made sure no action of his caused me any inconvenience.I was once again beginning to feel like the twelve-year-old girl my father used to boss around, except that this time it was my husband, and I was more than qualified to pick my own
Rachel's POV“I’m sorry for being difficult,” I mumbled and cupped his cheek in my hands. “You were just looking out for me and I blew it out of proportion. Forgive me?”In response, he twisted his head within my palms and placed tender kisses on one of them. Since I’ve been nervous since the morning, my hands evidently showed signs of perspiration but Alan didn’t quite seem to mind it.“You’re forgiven. But you need to forgive me too. I lied when I said I didn’t want to be your dad. I definitely want to be.”My face grimaced so much that I wondered if this was the first time I cringed so hard, “Oh, my god. Alan, please!”His hearty laughter filled the space inside our room and hearing it somewhat smoothed my expression, “Sorry, darling, I couldn’t help it.”Rolling my eyes, I pushed my feet against him, “Enough with your nonsense, help me buckle these up please.”Still shaking from his fit of laughter, he simply leaned back down so his one leg was kneeling and the other lay flat on i
Alan's POVI hated that I couldn’t tell her how much I loved her. I hated that I couldn’t tell her that I never meant anything when I joked about our marriage to her. I hated that she couldn’t trust me even now. And I bloody hated that I loved her but she didn’t love me back.I couldn’t understand what was expected of me to do that could ensure her trust in me. I wondered if she will ever find it in herself to forgive me for what I did. While she assured me more than enough times that she no longer held any grudge toward me for how I deceived her and put her in an impossible situation with regards to our marriage, I wasn’t entirely sure it wasn’t coming in the way of her judgement regarding me.She was very predictable like that. It didn’t need a genius to figure out how she worked. Any hint of a red flag looked glaringly apparent to her because that was all she looked for everywhere. A sign that everybody was wearing a mask, meaning, she had nobody she could trust fully without break
Alan's POV“You okay?” I felt her voice pull me back into reality, and I suddenly realised that I was looking blankly ahead of myself in deep thought.“Yes,” I nodded, but that tone didn’t sound convincing even for me.“Are you upset with me?” Her question made me acknowledge her troubled expression. Within a myriad of them, I recognised a sense of guilt amongst her emotions. She was perhaps feeling accountable for my sour mood.Essentially, she was responsible for it but not in the way she believed. I was upset with the parts of her that were purely driven by sub-conscious thought, something she had no control over. I was ready to believe that she had no idea of it either.“No, I’ve just been thinking about work.” I lied and tried my best at it. She did not deserve to feel guilty about something she couldn’t help.“The dinner with Douglas' family?” She asked, upset. “Don’t worry about it now, yeah? We’re here to celebrate and that’s what we’re supposed to do. I know for a fact that w
Rachel's POVI realised that the playful banter he was using as a shield to protect the real question was doing a very awful job, for I could see right through him. Gone were his light aura and the playful gleam in his eyes and it was carefully replaced with longing and hope.His patience for hearing my answer was driving my own heartbeat into an abnormal pace and I worried that if I didn't give him a reply soon enough, I would set it free from the agony by blurting out the three words I had been holding back. "I'd still choose to keep you around."A wave of relief flooded through his face, as though he already knew he answer but was still taken aback by hearing it out loud, "Would you, really?""Yes." I nodded with a smile, "And I'm guessing you would too if you had a choice."With a tender smile, he tenderly placed his fingertips over my cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind my ears, "Well, I did have a choice and I chose you."By this point, I realised that I stopped breathing.
Alan’s POV"How many fingers are these?" I saw Rachel's worried face through her two fingers. She looked intolerably adorable when she was concerned about me and it motivated me to mess around further."Three." I lied just to catch her face fall."No, they were two." She said in agony and face-palmed. "You are a lost cause."Emilia's tipsy laughter boomed behind her as she offered a comforting hand to soothe her shoulders, "Relax, Rach, he's just messing around."Rachel's worried expression turned to an accusing one when she looked back at me and raised her eyebrows in question.Giving her a lazy shrug, I admitted truthfully, "I couldn't resist. You're so adorable when you're mad that I might just eat you.""You are definitely drunk out of your mind. We're going to call it a night.""But we just started having fun!" Henry, the enthusiastic groom protested."You just started. But it's time for us to go to bed." Rachel said in a strict tone. And then, she looked at me like how an annoye
Alan's POV Her phrasing brought a smile onto my face and I let myself enjoy the thought of it, "You sound very sure." "Because I am." "Does this mean you're beginning to trust me?" I asked her playfully. I was obviously joking and trying to pull her leg when I said that but I was taken aback by her prompt answer. "Yes." She nodded her head against my shoulder. But before I could consider whether I misread her, she removed all my doubts by continuing further, "See, that's the problem with my head you know. Or the way I'm built. I cannot fully say that I trust or don't trust someone. There's a sense of doubt always lingering in the background. The way I've lived - I never tried to lean onto someone for support. I've always taught myself to manage on my own. So this, what we are sharing right now, is a completely new experience for me. I needed some time to warm up to that idea and I'm guessing I've come to terms with it recently." "Wow. I was definitely not expecting our conversatio
Rachel’s POV"Mom practices minimalism like it's her religion." She continued. "In striking contrast to me.""Well, I don't always agree with the more the merrier." April shrugged casually, "Sometimes less is more.""We have some common ground there." I winked and sent her a grin."Where is Douglas? Won't he be joining us tonight?" Alan asked from beside me as a protective arm came around and rested on the small of my back."He had to leave to tend to some urgent matter just a few minutes ago. He warned me that he might miss the dinner." April clearly seemed upset about me where as I had just relieved the hugest sigh of my life. Inward, though."That's alright. We can make up for it some other time right?" I suggested although I'd rather not have to see that man's face again."Of course, yes." she said. "Please sit down. Linda, dear, will you get us some wine?"Once seated, I watched as the maid brought four wine glasses on a tray along with two bottles of wine. Once she'd reached me,