The wedding took place on the terazza of Bellagio hotel, overlooking the gargantuan fountains and surrounding Tuscan landscape which took to flighting song and spectacle as Ruth and Steve were joined in matrimony.

Raymond's mum cried the entire ceremony, her husband comforting her as she watched her little girl taken away from her.

Dressed in a red sleeveless gown and pointy stilettos, Jasmine had tears in her eyes and a wide smile on her face as the new couple kissed. It was magical and romantic and her heart swelled with joy and hope.
But where does her hope lies, she thought.

Jasmine still couldn't believe that Raymond had kissed her last night. She'd told herself it was a dream but as she saw Raymond in the morning, dressed in a velvet paisley suit in black and gold, looking breath taking, her nerves began throwing off sparks and her stomach swooped up and like a drunken sparrow.

All she knew was that nothing felt right. She couldn't sleep well last night as she kept replaying the kiss in her head. When Raymond had dashed out of the room after the kiss, he had gone to the bar and fixed himself a glass of Scotch. Drunk and tired, he carried his heavy feet to one of the guest rooms where he slept off.

They haven't spoken a word but they kept stealing glances at each other.
After pictures were taken with the couples, they had the reception in the Monet ballroom with 450 guests.

The ballroom had stained-glass windows, chandeliers, beautiful architectural details and an elegant Champagne color palette.
The tables were decorated with silk sky blue table cloths, silverwares, bouquet of white roses and pheonies, champagne glasses, champagne and gourmet chocolates.
There was a band, DJ set up, the dance floor,everything was spectacular.

The band performed as Ruth and Steve had their first dance with the crowd cheering and applauding them.

Jasmine sat down at her table, glancing around as she took a sip of her wine. Raymond had left her with Bright and Kelly as he followed his parents, greeting friends and business partners.

His brother sat back with his wife by his side not bothering to engage in any lengthy conversation with other guests.
Michael was a lawyer and a quiet type. As the first son, everyone expected him to follow their fathers path but he chose his own career.
His father was disappointed and everyone knew but he never hated Michael for his decision.

The foods were served and everyone ate, talking and laughing as the DJ entertained them with good music.

Michael and his wife excused themselves and left the table to meet some friends. Minutes later, Bright and Kelly went to the dance floor.
Sipping her wine quietly, Jasmine felt uncomfortable with the awkward silence between her and Raymond.

"You look beautiful." Those were the soft words that finally came out from Raymond's lips.

A pink shade coloured her cheeks and she looked at him. "Thank you." She smiled.

"Jasmine." Her name tasted sweet, rolling off the tip of his tongue as he took her hand into his.

She shivered under his touch as he held her hand, images of his hand in her hair and his wet lips on hers flashed back to her. She looked at his hand that held hers and then at his face, and she had a discomforting suspicion that he had read her thoughts far too accurately.

"I was thinking." He curled his fingers over hers, "maybe we could have a talk once we get back to the house,"
he said, holding his gaze.

Her nerves tingled as she knew what he wanted to talk about.
Her mind quickly raced with questions that were unsettling.
She knew he wanted to talk about the kiss but she thought, what if he regretted it? What if he doesn't want her to work for him again? But what if he liked it and maybe, just maybe he wanted more.

She couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed the kiss. She could still feel his lips lingering on hers. But she didn't know what the kiss meant. It was fierce, mixed with so much emotions and unexplained feelings. She felt confused.

"Jasmine." His voice snapped her out from her thoughts.

She gave him a smile."Of course."

He let out a soft sigh and smiled. "Thanks."

Holding her hand, he sat there without saying a word as he gazed at her, drinking in her beauty and enchanting scent.

Jasmine's phone rang, she pulled her hand away and checked her phone.
Christain was calling.

"I'll be right back." She told him as she got up and left to answer the call.

Raymond sat there with a smile on his face as he watched her leave. He picked up his glass and took a sip of his drink. Just as he placed the glass gently on the table, a deep voice called his name.

Instantly, his smile disappeared as fear gripped him.
'That voice!'

Raymond flinched inside. "It can't be!" He turned slowly to confirm his suspicion and when he saw the man, his heart skipped a beat and his eyes went wide in shock.

"Drew!" Raymond couldn't recognize his own voice as he stared at the man before him.

The man was dressed in a black suit with floral pattern, white shirt and silk red tie. He had a strong - featured face and his long hair was styled and loosed to his shoulders.

"It's been a while." The man said in a cool tone, putting a hand in his pocket.

Raymond swallowed the dryness in his throat as he stood up slowly to meet the man's height.
"Drew!"

The man who haunted him in his nightmare, the man who was once his best friend years ago, the man who hated him and broke their friendship was staring right back at him.
Raymond couldn't believe it!

They kept their eyes locked on each other without uttering a word. The atmosphere was tense and anyone who noticed them could sense the hatred and pain hovering between both men.

"Andrew?"

They both turned their attention to a shocked Jasmine. Phone in hand, eyes wide and jaw dropped, Jasmine was left speechless and in shock.
She couldn't believe it.
Her green-eyed lover was right before her eyes.

"Jasmine?" Andrew was stunned.
His tone was filled with uncertainty and disbelief.

Raymond was confused, looking at both of them with a frown on his face.

'They know each other?'

"What...what are you doing here?" Jasmine stammered, walking closer to them.

"I should be asking you the same question," Andrew said.
He looked surprised and confused as he stared at Jasmine.
When he had called Jasmine few days ago, he wanted to ask her to be his date to Ruth's wedding but Jasmine kept ignoring his calls.

"You know him?" Raymond arched his brows at Jasmine,a confused expression on his face.

Jasmine looked at Raymond and let out a deep sigh. "Yes." Her voice was low. "He's Andrew. The man I told you about the other day."

"What?" Raymond was bewildered.
The man that hurt Jasmine and broke her heart was his old friend?
Nothing was making sense.

"Okay, what's going on?"Andrew asked Jasmine as he gave her a curious glance. "Do you know this man?" He pointed at Raymond.

"Yes. He's.. he's umm." Jasmine hesitated, pursing her lips into a thin line as she looked at Raymond.

"She's my girlfriend," Raymond said to Andrew.

"What!" Andrew let out a wry laugh.
"You're joking right?"

"He's my boyfriend." Jasmine said quickly and grabbed Raymond's arm.
Raymond smiled ruefully at Andrew, pulling Jasmine by the waist close to him as he made sure to let Andrew know that Jasmine was his.

Seeing how close they were, Andrew clenched his jaw. "You're joking. There's no way you're dating him Jasmine." His voice sounded cold and ragged.

"I don't care about what you think Andrew. Raymond is my boyfriend and that's all you need to know."
Jasmine shot at him.

Raymond's heart leaped with excitement as he heard those words from her. Even though they weren't dating, it felt good to hear her claim that he belonged to her.

Andrew shook his head slowly,a look of disappointment on his face.
He said nothing. Putting a hand in his pocket and giving Raymond a hateful glare, he walked away.

Jasmine let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she placed a hand over her chest.

The light pressure of Raymond's hands closed over her shoulders. He turned Jasmine to face him. His brown eyes were warm as they searched her blue eyes.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

Jasmine cleared her throat lightly and gave him a nod. "Yeah I'm okay. I'm just surprised he's here. How is he even here?"

Raymond let out a deep sigh, knowing he couldn't lie to her. "Andrew is a family friend. We were best friends years back." His reply was very soft.

"You both were friends?" Jasmine asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Look, I need to go talk to my mom. I'll be right back." He assured her.

"Okay."

He gave her a smile and then walked over to his parents table.

Jasmine sighed deeply as she sat, placing her phone on the table and grabbed her glass and emptied the content inside.

************
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Raymond had pulled his mum and Ruth away from their table and took them outside the ballroom.

"You fucking invited him!" Raymond exploded as they were outside.

Ruth and his mum was confused by his sudden outburst as they stared at each other.

"Son, what's going on?" His mum asked softly and tried to touch his arm but he pushed her hand away.

"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" Raymond asked in an angry tone.

"Who are you talking about?" His mum was confused as she looked at Ruth who shrugged her shoulders, not having a clue to whom Raymond was referring to.

Raymond exhaled sharply, raking a hand in his geled hair. "Andrew mum, that's who I'm talking about.

"Oh." His mum mouthed quietly and let out a sigh.
Ruth folded her arms and looked away quickly from Raymond's gaze.

His gaze sharpened. "Ruth."
Raymond only called her name whenever he was angry with her.

"Don't look at me like that. It was mum's idea to invite him." Ruth grumbled, raising the blame on their mother.

"Raymond I'm sorry okay. I'm sorry for inviting him and didn't tell you." His mum said softly, placing a hand on Raymond's shoulder.

He didn't push her hand away. Instead, he put his hands in his trouser pocket and looked away from his mother's face. His expression hard.

"We invited him but he said he couldn't make it. He even sent Ruth her wedding gifts last week. I swear, I didn't know he would eventually come today." His mum explained.

Raymond exhaled deeply and turned to look at her. "But why would you invite him mum? You know he can't stand to be in the same room with me." His voice was calm.

His mum let out a long sigh as she let go of his shoulder. "I know. But he has been a part of the family and it was only right he was present for your sisters wedding." She said softly.

"Mum's right Raymond. As much as I advised her not to invite Andrew knowing you would be coming, he's still part of this family. " Ruth said.

Raymond glared at Ruth. "Can you just listen to yourself. What was the point of bringing him over when you know it'll only bring back painful memories when I see him."

Ruth sighed, rubbing her forehead lightly as she said nothing. They had been at this for years. Whenever they would try to invite Andrew over for a family ceremony, they would decide against it. Knowing fully well that Raymond won't be pleased with their decision.
But this time, his mum had had enough. She had sent the invitation with the hope that the two men would amend their broken friendship.

"Raymond," his mum said calmly,
"The reason why I invited Andrew over is for you boys to reconcile. It's really disappointing that after all these years, you still haven't grown up to realize that it's time to let go. You and Andrew are going to talk and bring an end to whatever conflict that's going on."

"There's nothing to talk about mum," Raymond said dryly, a determined look on his face.

"Well, you have tonight to think about something to talk about."
With a sigh, his mum shook her head sadly and walked back inside.

"She's right Raymond."Ruth gave his arm a light pat.

It filled Ruth with sadness to see the way his mouth tightened.

"She's not," he said in a growl.

Perceiving that his hand was half-raised as if he were on the brink of pushing her away, Ruth gave him a warm smile and walked away.

So we met Andrew again. I know you guys are confused about the relationship Raymond has with Andrew. But as the story unfolds, you'll see how it's all connected to Ella. (The woman in Raymond's dreams)

Anyways, don't forget to share your thoughts with me.
Love you (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤