Page 48 of Oblivion
I had never met his future wife. We hadn’t exactly been in touch over the years, but as I looked at her, in her long, princess dress, she looked absolutely brilliant. The veil hid her face, but the smile she wore was clearly visible through the white lace.
And she only had eyes for him.
While everyone watched the bride, I turned around and looked at Nico. The love shining through his eyes, the sheer happiness wrapped around him, was almost too much to look at. It felt wrong seeing this moment between them, as if it was something that should’ve been private.
No matter how much I hated weddings, deep inside of me, I hoped that I would get to live long enough to have someone look at me like Nico was at Alessia.
Like she was his entire world.
14
OPHELIA
The party wasin a full swing and I couldn’t wait to go home.
The bride was happy, dancing with her family, with Nico, and I felt like a sore thumb, sticking out in a crowd that didn’t really want me there. They were all watching, waiting to see what the great Baba Yaga would do, as if it was some sort of exhibition.
I just couldn’t wait for all of this to be over.
Cillian was God knows where, with Chiara probably. Cole and Addison danced in their little, dark corner, oblivious to the world, and I kept chugging vodka as if it was water, praying for the numbness to take over.
I didn’t think that being surrounded with so much happiness would affect me this way, but here I was, in the middle of the most beautiful event I had ever attended, miserable because my heart stayed back in Santa Monica, crying for the man who hated me.
I was pathetic, that’s what I was. A pathetic, sad girl, who broke her own promise to herself. I vowed never to fall in love again. I vowed that after Kieran, I would never allow myself to experience such a weakness. Instead of focusing on the job and dragging Cole and Nico to some quiet corner to discuss everything that needed to be done, I sat here at this round fucking table, miserable as fuck.
No wonder the other guests who knew who I was, observed me as if I were going to snap any moment now.
I tightened my hold on the tall glass filled with vodka and chugged the rest of it down, wiping my lips with a napkin as soon as I slammed the glass down on the table.
Suffocating.
I was fucking suffocating, and I couldn’t sit here anymore.
The need to get out of this room, out of this reception, was as strong as ever. Getting up was not such a good idea, and neither was having six glasses of vodka. I swayed on my feet, grabbing the backrest of the chair to steady myself.
My teeth were tingling, my tongue numb, and I could feel the darkness coming in fast, taking over my body.
“Shit,” I mumbled, swallowing slowly, as if that could sober me up.
These heels weren’t made for walking while intoxicated, but I didn’t have the strength to bend down and take them off.
Scanning the crowd, I prayed I would be able to catch Cillian, but the idiot disappeared as soon as the food was served. That was more than an hour ago. Wherever he went, it better be good, because I was going to punch him in his pretty face as soon as I saw him.
Pressing a hand to my throat, I could feel the droplets of sweat gathered on my skin. I knew it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room, but with the fact that my body and my soul hated large crowds. Especially when I felt like a wild animal in a cage.
This dress wasn’t me.
This makeup wasn’t me.
These pretenses, where I plaster that happy smile on my face, were not me.
“Ophelia?” someone said from behind me. Rolling my eyes, I turned around, expecting to see one of the other wives or girlfriends standing there, but when I managed to swivel around, holding that fucking chair, it was the last person I would expect to see.
Mainly because I knew that Nico would rather cut his own kidney out than let his pretty wife anywhere near me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, taking a step forward, her hand outstretched toward me. But I couldn’t bear a human touch right now. Couldn’t bear to have someone care for me because I was seconds away from falling apart.
And I didn’t want to fall apart. Not here. Not in front of these people.
