Harley and I were fashionably late for the bridal shower.

It was at the Sunset Gardens and it looked like Jess had booked the whole place including the restaurant because there wasn't a single person who wasn't dressed in white, which was the dress code for the bridal shower. Even the staff were wearing white, placing platters of food on the large banquet table that ran the length of the wall. Against the wall was a large white platform with the words 'Jess' Bridal Shower' in large golden letters. There were only savoury snacks on that table.

Harley and I walked outside to where all the chatter was. There was another long table in a massive gazebo that was decorated with white fabric, flowers and balloons. On that table were the sweet foods. Cakes, biscuits, a way too-large chocolate fountain and so much more. There was a large sign hanging from the roof of the gazebo that read 'From Miss to Mrs' in large gold letters. A staff member walked past us with a tray of macarons, heading for the table in the gazebo, when Harley suddenly snagged one.

We spotted Jess outside and made our way to her. There was so much greenery. The grass was perfectly trimmed as were the hedges which were cut to look like different shapes, animals and flowers. The flowers were fully bloomed and burst with colour, bringing the garden to life. There was even a cocktail truck and a photo booth under a beautiful beech tree.

"Hey Jess," Harley and I greeted.

"Jinx," Harley said in a whisper to me. "You owe me a chocolate."

"Hi!" Jess greeted us cheerily, hugging us both. "So glad you could make it."

"As are we," Harley said, but her eyes were on the snack table in the gazebo.

"Happy, erm, Bridal Shower," I said, handing her a gift bag.

I hadn't known what to get her. It wasn't easy gifting someone who was ten times—if not more—richer than you. I had settled on getting her champagne, scented candles, a journal and a mug that read, "officially his Mrs." It was harder than I thought to buy the mug, but it had a better inscription than the others. One had the words, "To do list: ☑️My husband." That particular mug made me burst into laughter and I immediately sent a picture to Elliot.

He responded seconds later with skull and laughing emojis and a text that read:

"How am I possibly supposed to respond to a message like that?"

I responded by texting: "You just don't," and laughing emojis of my own.

Jess took the gift bag and placed it on the gift table with several much larger gifts. She then introduced us to her surprisingly friendly friends. And might I just say, they also all looked like models. Harley and I socialised for a bit before she suddenly tugged on my dress—or should I say her dress. I didn't have any dresses, and I was fine wearing white jeans and a white top but Aunt Mary insisted I wore a dress. Hers were a bit too big on me but Harley happened to have one that was too long on her, a gift from an aunt who didn't know her size. It was a white, high-low lace dress. I refused to wear heels but paired the dress with sneakers and it matched perfectly. The dress had short sleeves and it was backless but it was comfortable enough that I planned on not giving it back to Harley. I had hurriedly left the house before Elliot came back from an errand, feeling jittery at the thought of him seeing me in the dress. After the bridal shower, I planned on putting on a large hoodie to cover up the dress for when we went back home.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"Snack table. Now," she said desperately. We had been caught up in talking to people and couldn't find openings to leave. But this was our opening.

Without waiting another second we stepped away from the small group of ladies and made a beeline for the snack table. As inconspicuously as possible, I tasted one of everything, coating it with chocolate from the fountain before popping it into my mouth.

Harley followed suit.

Everything from chocolates to biscuits, and mini doughnuts to cakes. We were definitely going to have a stomach ache by the end of the day, but such was the fate of chocolate lovers.

"Alright everyone, huddle up!" Jess announced. Harley and I glanced at each other before grabbing one more snack and huddling up with everyone else. "We are going to be playing a game now!" The ladies cheered and Jess continued. "It's called 'Guess The Age!"

She made a show of dramatically pulling a white cloth to reveal a wooden board. On the top was a heading with the words "Bride and Groom," and below that were images pinned to the board.

"These images are pictures of me and Elliot growing up. As you can see we get older as the numbers go up," she moved her hand over the images as in illustration. "The first image is of me as a baby, then Elliot, then me, then Elliot and so on as we grow up. Your goal is to guess our age on each image, and the one with the most correct guesses wins a prize."

She continued talking, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. I was looking at the pictures, particularly Elliot. He was a pretty ugly baby. That thought made me chuckle and when the ladies looked back at me I apologised but I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I was so going to tease him about this later. He had been chubby, which was cute, but his facial features completely changed as he grew. He looked like such a nerd with braces and glasses in some of the pictures. It was cute, I had to admit, but puberty definitely did him well over the years.

Suddenly, someone handed me a card with boxes labelled one to twenty. I focused on Jess again. "You write your age guesses in the respective boxes and when you're done, bring it to me for marking. Good luck!"

The ladies huddled closer to the board to get a better look at the pictures. I considered copying Harley with answers concerning Elliot. She was his sister so she would probably know how old he was in each picture. But I decided it would be much more entertaining to look closely at his pictures and take a guess for myself.

I managed to get close enough to get a good look and wrote down my answers. When I was done I took a picture of the board, for memory's sake of course, and so I could laugh at Elliot about it later.

I handed my card to Jess, as did the other ladies and then we all dispersed, waiting as Jess went over the answers and marked each card. Harley and I went inside to have a taste of the savoury snacks, and might I just say that I could not stop eating the samoosas. But then when I spotted the sushi table—yes, there was a whole table designated to seafood—in the corner, I could not get enough of the prawns.

Finally, Jess called us back to announce the results.

"Drumroll please," Jess said and we all started hitting our thighs. "The lady with the most correct guesses is Zara!"

I had not been expecting that. I mean, most of these ladies probably grew up with Jess and yet I had gotten the most guesses?

"I didn't know what to get as a first prize since some ladies like different things so I just settled on gifting a $200 check, so you can spend it on whatever you want," Jess told me nonchalantly before handing me a literal $200 check.

I genuinely didn't know what to say. How were you supposed to thank someone for giving you that much money? A simple "thank you" could not possibly suffice.

But I still found myself saying, "thank you," and I made a mental note to attend as many bridal showers of rich people as I possibly could in this lifetime.

"And now, you drink to celebrate!" Jess cheered just as a lady walked back from the cocktail truck with a large glass in hand.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," I declined politely. "I wasn't planning on drinking."

"It's a ritual," Jess told me. "You win something at any of my parties, you drink to celebrate."

"But I—"

"Drink! Drink! Drink!" Jess started chanting, and then all the other ladies joined in.

I denied further, but they weren't backing down so I just chugged down the liquid. It was sweet in my mouth, but it burned slightly as it travelled down my throat.

When I handed the glass back the ladies clapped for me. I only smiled at them and went on a search for water. I didn't know how much alcohol was in that drink and I had no intention of getting drunk.

****

We played a total of 7 games and I won 4 of them, and with those 4 games I won the check, a one-year spa voucher, a bottle of champagne—which I recognised as the one I had spotted in the store when I was looking for a gift for Jess but found too expensive so grabbed the cheaper one—and what looked to be a very expensive jewellery set. Along with those gifts, I also had to chug down more drinks to 'celebrate,' as Jess called it.

After downing the fourth drink, it was only when one of the ladies caught my arm that I realised I was swaying.

"Jess, how much alcohol was in these drinks?" The lady holding my arm asked.

"Not much," Jess said innocently before taking my other arm from Harley to support me instead. "Here, I'll help you."

Jess and her friend led me to the gazebo and after seeing I was going to miss the chair if I sat down on my own they helped me sit down.

"You've got soft hands," I told Jess' friend, who only smiled at me.

"I'll go get you some water," she offered, but Jess caught her arm before she could, stopping her.

"No, I'll take care of her, you go have fun," Jess said.

"This is your bridal shower Jess, you're the one who should be having fun."

"Yeah, but this is my fault," she admitted, referring to me being drunk. "I'll feel a lot better if I take care of her."

"You sure?" Her friend asked.

"I'm sure. But if you want to do me a favour, could you keep Harley company?" Jess asked her friend. "I don't want her to feel uncomfortable or anything, and there's no need for her to hang around drunk Zara."

Her friend smiled, "I can do that," and then she left.

"That was nice of you," I slurred.

Jess looked at me then, but the concern I had seen earlier was completely gone, or was I just imagining the way her upper lip curled? "I need you to tell me something, Zara."

I blinked, confused at her sudden change in tone and behaviour. "What about that water?"

"I'll only get you water if you answer my question." Jess looked around her before leaning closer to me and quietly asking, "what's your relationship with Elliot?"

I blinked, taken aback. "My relationship with Elliot?"

"Are you really his cousin?"

No. The word almost slipped past my lips but I managed to hold it in.

"Are you two related?" Jess prodded.

"Why are you asking me this?" I answered her question with a question, and I doubted I looked as serious as I felt.

"I've always been suspicious of you, but then I overheard you yesterday," she told me. "You and Harley."

"I thought I saw someone. So it was you?" I asked then smiled. "Detective Zara has solved the mysterious red fabric case."

"Zara," Jess hissed, then looked around her cautiously. "Tell me now, are you and Elliot cousins?"

"Secret," I said and covered my mouth with both my hands.

I couldn't tell her. I wouldn't tell her. I—

"Wait a minute," I spoke, realising something. "Did you make me drunk so that you could get the truth out of me?"

"Maybe," Jess said, but the wicked grin playing on her lips told me she had. "So, are you related to Elliot?"

She was getting impatient now, I could tell, but I repeated, "secret," and covered my mouth again.

"Secret?" Jess asked then smiled out of the blue. It was creepy. "What secret are you trying to keep?"

"The one I can't tell you."

"And why can't you tell me?"

"Because Elliot should," I found myself saying, raising my voice to show my seriousness. "If you're going to find out from anyone that Elliot and I aren't cousins, it's Elliot."

I crossed my arms, satisfied with my argument. And then my words caught up to me and I covered my mouth and swore. Why oh why did I not keep my mouth shut?

Jess' smile slowly curved into a sneer and she glared at me, asking slowly, "and you have feelings for Elliot, don't you?"

I didn't remove my hands from my mouth but she must have read something on my expression because the next thing I knew she pulled out her phone and roughly dialled a number.

"Elliot," she said into the phone, her voice clipped. "Come to the Sunset Gardens. Now, please," she ordered, and there was a short silence before she repeated, "please." Another silence and then she groaned and gripped her phone tighter, "Zara needs you," she basically growled with a pointed glance in my direction.

She took a deep breath suddenly and slowly lowered the phone from her ear, her wild eyes not leaving mine and I felt so vulnerable all of a sudden. Suddenly, she screamed, shooting out of her chair and slamming her phone to the ground. That got everyone's attention but Jess didn't seem to care. I could feel her death glare on me but I only looked at the shattered phone on the ground. That phone must have cost hundreds and she'd just broken it without a second thought, but I guessed people like her could easily replace expensive gadgets like that. I guessed people like her didn't feel guilty about drugging others rather than discussing like civilised people. I guessed people like her didn't mind grabbing another person's hair in public.

Because that was exactly what she did.

Before I knew it, she had my hair fisted in her hands. I screamed at the pain of my hair being tugged, and I tried to defend myself but my legs refused to keep me on my feet, so when two ladies ran into the gazebo and held Jess back, I stumbled to the ground and Harley ran to kneel beside me.

"Are you okay?" She asked, gently smoothing my hair out of my face.

"You bitch!" Jess screamed. "You want to steal my fiancé you promiscuous bitch!"

I cringed at that, but despite all the several insults I could have shot back at her, I decided to be smart and said, "watch your language. There's a 14-year-old here."

That only made her rage more.

"And for the record," I said, careful not to slur my words. "I didn't do anything with Elliot, because I respected you enough not to, and because neither of us is the kind of person who does things like that."

"Oh please," Jess laughed. "Quit trying to act honourable now."

"I'm not trying to do anything." There was nothing I wanted more than to stand up and level her glare. I had a whole three inches on her, after all. But I feared my legs wouldn't be able to support me so I stayed on the ground.

Before Jess could say anything else Elliot appeared, running into the garden but then he immediately paused as he took in the scene. Me, undoubtedly drunk on the floor of the gazebo and Jess, being held by two of her friends.

"What's going on here?" He asked, and I had never heard him sound so serious before. He walked toward us and slowly looked in Jess' direction. "What is going on?" He cocked his brow this time, a silent accusation.

I mean, it wasn't hard to see who was in the wrong here. I was on the ground, she was being held back. It was pretty obvious.

Jess removed herself from her friends' grip and strode towards Elliot. I was half concerned she was going to slap him but she did something much, much worse. Something that gnawed at my insides and made me want to tug at her hair until it all fell out. She kissed him. And she made sure to look at me as she did it.

I could mark the surprise in Elliot's posture and on his face, but before he could push her away and ask what was going on, she pulled back and said, "I know she's not your cousin."

Elliot somehow managed to stiffen more. "Jess..."

"She's not your cousin. All this time I thought you were related, all this time when I saw you laughing together, when she cried in your arms, when you spent hours together, I thought you had a great relationship with your cousin, but no, she's not your cousin." Jess laughed humourlessly, "I should have figured it out sooner. The signs were always there, especially the way she used to look away when I got close to you. It wasn't out of discomfort like I thought, but out of jealousy."

Jess looked at me before placing a hand on Elliot's chest, and I wished she was physically fighting me right now, because this hurt much, much more. It was like she was marking her territory, claiming that Elliot was hers and not mine, and I hated the fact that I couldn't hide the emotion on my face because she scoffed, shaking her head, clearly reading me.

"What did you do to her?" Elliot demanded, removing her hand from his chest.

"I gave her alcohol so she could tell the truth, then I shoved her and pulled at her hair," Jess confessed like it was normal for people to do things like that.

Elliot looked at me then, and I looked away. I looked away because I couldn't stand the intensity of his gaze. I looked away because I hated the way my heart pounded despite the situation. I looked away because Elliot would never have eyes for someone like me when he had someone like Jess. And that hurt.

"I want her gone," Jess demanded suddenly. "Out of your house."

"What?" Elliot asked, slowly turning his head to look at her.

"And I don't want her at our wedding," she sneered. "And do you want to know why? Because she's not only not your cousin, but she has feelings for you, and that makes it much worse."

Elliot's jaw visibly tensed, and he slowly looked in my direction, and I prayed I managed to keep my face as impassive as I thought I was. He blinked and his brows scrunched as he looked and looked and looked at me. Did he not know? Did he seriously not know that I thought of him as more than just a fake cousin?

"It was so obvious," Jess groaned, irritated with herself. "I was only blinded because I thought you were cousins, but she thinks of you as more. Isn't that so Zara?"

I lowered my eyes then, so tempted to chicken out. I could lie and say she was wrong, run away from my feelings and maybe regret it for the rest of my life. Or I could tell the truth, be rejected, and maybe regret it for the rest of my life. Yeah, this wasn't looking good for me.

Closure. The word echoed in my head and I took a deep breath. I needed closure.

I took another breath and then met Elliot's gaze. I looked straight into those brown eyes of his, and even though he was a distance away I still felt like I was sinking into them. His eyes were like quicksand, pulling me down to the depths of him.

"Yes," I confessed.

"You... you have feelings for me?" Elliot asked, his lips parting and his brows coming together once more.

"I do," I told him, realising now just how painfully oblivious he was. All this time, had he truly not known the effect he had on me?

"Since when?"

I took another breath. "Since the beginning."

He took a step back from Jess and stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. "Since the beginning," he echoed. "The beach?"

"The beach," I confirmed, and I remembered the exact moment I realised it wasn't a simple attraction toward Elliot that I felt.

I had been just about to look for something to cure my hangover when I bumped into him at the elevator, holding a plastic bag with just what I needed, a cure for my hangover. He tried not to take all the credit by saying he'd used Reed's credit card, but he still went all the way to the shops to get the remedies we needed.

But the time I realised I had officially developed real and deep feelings for him was at the party when he punched Jonah and took a few good punches himself for me. He had done that all for me.

And since then, everything just went downhill. My mind may have forgotten him after the accident, but my heart hadn't. And every little thing he did for me only made my feelings grow stronger and stronger and before I knew it, I was too far gone.

There was no escaping what I felt, no matter how hard I tried. My heart belonged to him now, and he could either accept it or break it in half.

He was the only guy I had ever run towards, rather than run away from.

And there was nothing I wanted more than for him to run towards me.