Dear everyone, we all know I haven’t updated this story in a while. It’s been two years actually, haha. I’ve reread this story and I have seen SO many mistakes and plot holes and nothing really makes sense in this but I still don’t want to leave this unfinished so here I am, re-attempting to finish it. Please hold in the mistakes, I’m still a little fuzzy on this story as a whole.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Recap: Yasmine was trying on the bridesmaid dress for Aaron and Lily’s wedding when suddenly someone gasses her and she wakes up in a cellar. The people who kidnapped her introduced themselves as the Wells. Aaron Wells is her ex that she seems to be having resurfacing feelings for and Lily is her sister that Yasmine’s father’s been hiding for years. She used to be with James but she unexpectedly catches James and Lily together and breaks up with him. She has evidence but she doesn’t know if she should tell Aaron. All the while, she is suffering from brain cancer and refuses to take any treatments because she’s going to die anyways, right?

Lily Porter ran her hands over her white wedding dress.

            This was it. Her big wedding day was here…finally. She had ended up picking a dress over a gown. Gowns were so old-fashioned and way more harder to handle than a dress. She particularly liked her dress because she had made it specially customized for her wants. It was a little pricy, but it was her wedding so who cares?

       “Darling,” her mother said she walked into the room. She was wearing pearls and a beige dress. Everything about her was tailed to perfection, just like her daughter. “It’s time.”

        Lily nodded, grabbed her bouquet and looked at herself one last time in front of the full-view mirror before she walked into the hallway of the Richardson hotel. They were holding their wedding in the Gala Room. In the hallway, all her bridesmaids were lined up in their puffy, pink dresses and hairs all styled in the same low bun. Lily smiled.

            “Wait,” she said, “where’s Yasmine?”

            Yasmine was the ex-girlfriend of her fiance, Aaron Wells. Lily didn’t particularly like her and saw Yasmine as a foxy vixen trying to steal her man. She had properly warned Yasmine if she did anything to jeopardize their love, she wouldn’t back off. To make sure Aaron didn’t suspect anything and to wake Yasmine up, Lily handpicked her to be one of her bridesmaids. It was genius really.

            “Don’t know,” replied one of the girls. “We haven’t seen her at all, actually. I heard she went to go get the dress yesterday but I never heard from her herself.”

            Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. “I swear she’s trying to ruin this.”

            “Would you like me to call her?”

            “Yes,” Lily said impatiently. Nobody would notice one missing bridesmaid but this was her wedding and everything had to be perfect. No mistakes allowed.

            The girl reached into her pink dress and pulled out her cell phone from her breast. She pressed the phone to her ear for several moments without response and then tried again. After three attempts that lead straight to voicemail, she said, “Yasmine’s not responding.”

            Lily frowned and was about to say a lot more except her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Lily, you need to go now.” Her mother looked at the bridesmaid. “Let’s get this show on the road, ladies.”

            Yasmine not being there was itching at Lily but she didn’t want to fuss over someone unimportant as her so she nodded and gripped her bouquet hard. The bridesmaids marched in perfect sync in front of her, practicing how they’d walk down the aisle. Lily focused on the 1,2,3 rhythm in her steps instead of her missing bridesmaid.

            Downstairs, everyone was already seated in the Gala Room and the double doors that lead to the room were shut. The flower girl was waiting—some distant cousin from Lily’s mother’s side of the family—but she was young and cute so she’d do for the flower girl part. Besides the flower girl, there was a man standing next to the doors. Lily had no idea who he was.

            “Ah, hello,” the man spoke. He extended his hand. “Hello, I’m John Richardson. I’m the owner of this hotel and I just wanted to congratulate you myself and thank you for choosing Richardson for your wedding and reception.”

            Lily smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you so much, Mr. Richardson.”

            “Well,” the man replied, “I have some business to take care of. Please enjoy yourselves. Free hour long bar on us for the reception!”

            “What a generous offer,” Lily’s mother chimed. “Thank you, sir.”

            Nodding and smiling, the owner left as his phone rang. He looked like a busy person but it was good to see that some big people still had feelings and appreciated their customers.

        Lily grinned as she stepped in front of the double doors, which would open in a couple of seconds. Her bridesmaids all stepped in front of her in order, each carrying a small basket of flowers themselves in case the flower girl didn’t fulfill her job. They were all chattering in a whisper and hushed tone as they watched the clock tick down.

        The door opened with a screech.

        Joana, the pianist, started playing The Wedding March and Lily took a deep breath. Everyone was turned facing towards where she was and she caught a few glimpses of Aaron standing at the altar, her future husband.

        Slowly, the girls walked down the aisle and gently threw petals of roses down the path for the bride to walk on. Lily took careful steps, using all the rehearsals to help. Her mother stayed by Lily as they walked side by side, since her father had died many years ago and could not walk his daughter down the aisle. If only Lily knew that her real father still was very much alive and also the father of the girl she despised.

        “You clean up well,” Lily whispered to Aaron in a jokingly manner as she took his hand at the altar. Her bridesmaids lined up on the side and all stared with hearts in their eyes. Lily enjoyed the attention.

            “Thanks,” Aaron whispered and smiled a little.

            The double doors closed and Aaron scanned the room. There was no going back after this. He saw familiar faces in the crowd—friends from college, high school, family, James, but no where did he see Yasmine. He tried to ignore his burning curiosity because he was getting married for Pete’s sake and he was worrying about another girl. But Aaron ignored the priest’s rambling and scanned the room again but she just wasn’t there.

            Lily looked at him with sad eyes. She knew who he was looking for and it wasn’t her. Deep down, she did love him—she did. No matter how she tried though, Yasmine had this upper hand in Aaron’s heart.

            “Do you, Aaron Wells, take Lilianna Porter, as your future lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and health, till death do you apart?”

            Aaron turned back to the priest, eyes a little wide and a little scared. This was the end of anything with Yasmine and a new life with Lily. It was serious from now on. No games, no going back. If he said yes, he would have to take on his responsibility as a husband and dutifully do his job at Lily’s side.

        And then he hesitated. When was getting married to someone you love a chore?

        The crowd all waited and Lily tried shaking him out of his thoughts. As he thought, it was creating a long silence—hesitation at his own wedding. “I,” Aaron began, “I, I—”

        The doors slammed open and hit the wall with a crack.

        Aaron almost breathed a sigh of relief and turned. It was Yasmine, it was going to be Yasmine standing there asking for him back and that it was all a mistake and that she loved him, and Aaron would go for her. He would take off the stupid tie and the stupid suit and run. He’d take her in his arms and they’d cry and everyone would watch in awe and understand. Just like the movies.

            Except that it wasn’t Yasmine unfortunately. Suddenly, big hands clawed at Aaron’s collar. Yasmine’s father stood there, holding Aaron Wells by the collar and shouting, “Where is my daughter? Where is my daughter, you sick fuck?”

            “Mr. Hamilton,” Aaron breathed as he struggled for air.

            Everyone gasped and some rushed out of their seats. Lily stared in horror as Aaron’s mother came up to Yasmine’s father. She tried to pry his arms off her son at his wedding.

            “Stop it,” she said. “He doesn’t know.”  

            “Don’t try stopping me, Jeanine! Where is my daughter?”

            “I’m sorry, but we really don’t know what you’re talking about, Rob.”

            He let go of Aaron, who took deep breaths to breathe right, and turned to Jeanine. Rob pointed a finger at her, “Don’t fuck with me. Where is she? The last place she went to was Muxington and I know that’s where your little critters stay.”

            Jeanine gasped. “Muxington?”

            “Yeah, what about it?”

            “I’m afraid we haven’t kept in touch with,” Jeanine leaned in and whispered, “the gang for some while. The Wells there haven’t really been up to date and they probably still think Yasmine is with Aaron and/or they don’t know you haven’t retired yet.”

            Aaron, who calmed down, took steps towards the opposing parents. “What the hell is going on?” He tried to keep his voice a whisper but everyone was watching.

            Jeanine backed up. “You’re not ready yet, son.”

            “Like hell I’m not, Mom. I think I deserve to know what’s going on,” he demanded. “For god’s sake, look around. If it’s big enough to ruin my wedding, I deserve an answer.”

            She put a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down but he only felt even more enraged. Jeanine debated her options. She would eventually have to tell her son the blood that ran in the family and how it connected to Yasmine’s current disappearance. She could lose her son by telling him, but also by not.

            Tears brimming his mother’s eyes, Aaron watched as his mother spoke and spoke, but he couldn’t feel anything or comprehend anything.

            When she was done, he backed up a little and staggered. Aaron pressed a hand to his head. All this time, all this fucking time, Yasmine had done it for him. She had broken them up for him. She had reasons—of course she did. How did he ever doubt her? It was his parents keeping this secret. He was in his twenties, and they’d just told him. He was angry and disgusted but he was more worried. Where was Yasmine?

            “Where is she,” Aaron whispered.

            “Honey, you can’t leave—”

            “Where the fuck is she?” Aaron screamed.

            His mom took a step back and everyone at the wedding watched in shocked silence. Lily knew what was going to happen and she knew Aaron wasn’t going to be coming back to her arms tonight. She dropped her bouquet but all eyes were on Aaron. This was probably the first time in his life he had swore at his mother, or opposed his parents for that matter. It hurt him, but what he’d just learned burned him inside out.

            “She’s probably at the headquarters in the woods near Muxington Square,” Jeanine responded, looking down.

            “God,” Aaron ran hands through his hair and walked around, “we even have a fucking headquarters?”

            “Aaron—”

            “Don’t.”

            “Aaron please—”

            “I’m leaving,” he responded. His hands reached for the stupid tie and yanked it off his neck. He hopped off the altar and shrugged out of his jacket, which he threw on the aisle as he left in just a black vest and white-collar shirt.

            The guests and Aaron’s mother stunningly watched. The groom had just left and the bride was on the bridge of breaking. Not to mention this whole talk of gangs and what not. People began whispering and leaving.

            “I’m going after him,” Yasmine’s father said to Aaron’s mother, patting her shoulder. “You fix this.” She nodded, her face solemn. Jeanine looked broken and hurt. “Hey, don’t worry. He’ll come back. I know from experience.” She glanced over and tried to smile. Rob gave her shoulder a squeeze before running out after Aaron and shouting, “Wait!”

          The boy turned and Rob could see that his eyes were red with tears. “What?”

            “Let’s go together,” Yasmine’s father said.

           “I respect you, Mr. Hamilton and I know you’re her father but I really don’t think they’re going to let you in, if this whole gang thing is really true,” Aaron said, looking down. “I, on the other hand, am apparently related by blood. Please count on me.”

            “But—” And then Rob thought about it truthfully. It was true. Instead of helping his daughter, it’d only get worse. They’d be more suspicious and maybe even hold Yasmine as hostage for something else. It would go nowhere. “Okay,” he said, “please bring her back safely. Call me if I need to step in.”

            Aaron nodded. “Do you have a car I can borrow or anything?” He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. “The only vehicle prepared for me today was the “we just got married” car.” He pointed to it down the street. A black car with balloons and roses taped all over it shone in contrast to the other cars.

            “Yo, Aaron!”

            He turned to the voice. James stood with his hands in his pocket, shameful and a little sad that things ended up this way. “You can take my motorbike.”

            Aaron didn’t know if he wanted to punch James right now or thank him. “Okay,” he replied, settling for neither. James pulled a hand of out his pocket and threw some keys at him.

            “I hope you know I’m sorry for what I did,” James said, putting his hand back into his pockets. “I didn’t mean to hurt her or you. I never did deserve her.”

            “Damn right you didn’t,” Aaron replied. Yasmine’s father stood in confusion at their little clash. Aaron didn’t know what James meant when he said hurt Yasmine or him, but right now there were more important things. He hoped they hadn’t harmed her and felt a surprising boiling anger at the thought of some thugs touching her. And that’s how he knew he never stopped loving her.

//

so haha, it's been two years. ha ha. please don't kill me. i had true writer's block constipation for this story and it's still quite jammed up in my brain but hey-hey i uploaded what i have so far. sorry we didn't get to see yasmine's part here but that's because i wanted to give a little back-drop for the next chapter.

as always, thank you for reading & keep up the love

- Delly