Chapter 14 A Bit Of A Chaos
Catherine didn't speak right away. She looked like she was trying to piece together the world's most tragic disaster—me 'moving on', and with Derek's brother of all people.
Quite cinematic.
"Well..." She finally said, her voice clipped. "I suppose everyone gets their happy ending eventually."
That didn't sound like a blessing.
But I forced out a small smile. "Guess so."
Ryker didn't say another word—typical— but his hand found the small of my back, protective and annoyingly soothing.
"Enjoy the party." Her gaze lingered a bit too long before she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. My back stiffened, the tension still there.
The emcee entered the stage and tapped on the mic. Everyone began to take their seats.
Ryker pulled me to the reserved spot close to a pillar, where not much attention was directed to. From that point, I could see everything on the stage.
Ryker pulled out his phone, thumbs flying across the screen. His brows furrowed, jaw clenched, like he was mentally judging everyone.
He looked rather displeased. Maybe it had something to do with this sudden ceremony or something else entirely.
"You want to say something?" He asked, without looking at me.
"You think Catherine hates me now?" I muttered. Not sure why I wanted his input on matters.
"She always did. You just didn't notice." He replied smoothly, staring at his phone screen.
I shot him a glance. "She doesn't hate me. And your talent for emotional support is truly unmatched though. Impressively horrible."
"You never said you needed comforting."
I looked over the crowd, just in time to see Catherine looking at us. At me.
She was sitting with Mr Holland on the far end of the hall. Her face was blank, but I could sense the underlying meaning behind that look. A look that said ' I'm disappointed.'
Or maybe I was thinking too much.
I averted my gaze, my eyes sliding to Ryker again.
"She cared about me when I was still married to her son."
"Of course. And that's the reason she's happy to be your step-sister's mother-in-law now." He replied, sarcastically.
I opened my mouth to speak, but silence won.
What could I say?
It hurt when I thought about It. She used to be on my side, but now, she was all dressed up, looking like she was ready to welcome Annie into the family.
Just then, the stars of the night showed up.
My eyes quickly found him. The man of the event. Derek Holland.
The man who still had a way of making my heart go unsteady.
I felt something crack inside of me as I watched him hug Annie to his chest.
The jealousy I felt didn't knock, it just walked right in and made itself at home.
Derek looked happy.
He was happy without me.
My eyes remained locked on him, and everything else seemed to have faded. The music dulled. The chattering and laughter faded into the wind and everyone else disappeared from my vision. Including the man sitting next to me.
Derek sat with Annie on the stage, wearing matching white outfits like a power couple.
She kept tugging her hair behind her ear. Anything to make sure that shiny basketball on her finger was seen. It was a disgusting show of wealth.
'Stop being bitter, Vanessa.'
'Be happy for them.'
How?
My thoughts swirled in various directions, causing a sudden headache. My heart ached, disappointment rushing in.
I had thought about this scene so many times since Ryker told me about the family dinner.
Hope—the stubborn, clingy fool—showed up uninvited again, dragging delusion by the hand. Dragging along a part of me that wished to see Derek look miserable, longing and maybe even whisper my name instead of Annie's like a plot twist.
I imagined that he would grab the mic and say Annie blackmailed him into marrying her.
But that wasn't the case.
I've never seen such an intoxicating smile on Derek's face before. He was beaming at the guests, chuckling and laughing. Like he was making the best decision of his life by getting married to Annie.
The emcee cracked a joke I didn't want to know and everyone roared in laughter.
At that point, I was too clouded by envy and bitterness that nothing else seemed to matter.
"Can you make your infatuation a little less obvious?"
My thoughts went offline instantly.
I blinked, forcing my eyes away from Derek. "What?"
Ryker was staring at me, wearing the most annoyed expression anyone could muster.
"Next time you want to mentally undress someone, let me know. I'll give you privacy."
Right. I was sitting next to a judgemental Ryker who only knows how to be Ryker-ish.
I didn't respond. My curiosity pulled me back to Derek. I squinted my eyes at him, scrunching my face.
"Do you think Derek is happy with her?" My brows joined slightly in a small frown. "I mean, what do they even talk about? Skydiving while tempting the grim reaper? Spa routines? You think Derek would love that? "
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Ryker shake his head, sighed and focused on his phone again.
I'll just take that as a 'No, I don't think so.'
Eventually, time passed and the event was in full swing. A man who introduced himself as Jeremiah began to give his speech.
He kept slurring, obviously drunk to stupor. He swirled slightly, holding the mic like it was his lifeline
I barely focused on his speech. My eyes were on my target for tonight, wanting to catch any expression that would give out his disapproval for this wedding. Just a sign that he didn't want Annie or the wedding. Anything.
But my attention was pulled back in when Jeremiah said. "Now listen everyone," he said, pointing a finger at the crowd, "I've known Derek since we were both little idiots with snot in our noses."
Laughter followed.
That made sense, he was Derek's childhood friend.
One I didn't know about.
He grinned. "And if there's one thing I know about that man, it's that he's stubborn. Really stubborn. But—" he raised a hand dramatically, "when he loves, he loves hard. So when life threw him a curveball and he ended up with someone else..."
I stiffened.
Jeremiah nodded, as if remembering some sad, heroic story.
"...even though, deep down, Derek's heart had always belonged to that one woman."
A few people in the audience started murmuring. Some threw small glances at me. Some nodded like they agreed. Like they understood.
I blinked slowly, trying to process his words. Where was he going with this?
He took a breath. "He had to marry someone else because of... you know, to avoid a scandal. It was a bit of chaos."
He chuckled like everything was some fairy tale. "But true love, they say, always finds its way back." He turned to the couple on stage. "And now, finally, Derek and Annie get the ending they deserved. And today is their official engagement party."
The crowd clapped, some even stood up to cheer.
Every word he said hit like cold water down my back. My fingers gripped the edge of my seat, trying to steady my breathing.
Someone else?
A bit of chaos?
That's what he called it?
Jeremiah continued, "So let's raise a toast to the real deal. To soulmates who didn't give up. To Annie, who waited and to Derek who fought his way back to her."
Cheers erupted as they started clicking their glasses.
I just sat there, frozen.
It was like the air got vacuumed out of the room. Maybe not for everyone, but for me. And no one noticed—except Ryker.
He always did.