Harper closed her eyes and began counting in her head. It was a habit she developed when she was about to lose patience while waiting.
Standing by the side of the church outside, Harper could feel the stares of several people present. The entourage was piling at the entrance of the cathedral, ready to come inside once the bridal car arrived.
The hired photographers clicked away, capturing stolen mementos of this eventful day.
Harper remembered what it was like. But she refused to let the mental image of her and her ex-husband be displayed in her head.
Thanks to Ro, who was seemingly late for the wedding, her day was already ruined.
Cars parked outside Saint Patrick’s cathedral, infuriating Harper even further as she waited for Ro. The clock was ticking, and he had yet to show up.
“You better not stand me up, Ro,” she muttered. “Or, I will make you regret even just for spilling that coffee on me.”
Harper even managed to find an affordable laundry shop to get his coat washed and ready to be returned to him today. If he happened to have ditched her, Harper wouldn’t mind burning the entire thing as an act of getting back at him.
Folding her arms over her chest, Harper was looking more and more like a fool standing outside, a suitable distance away from the main doors of the cathedral. It would be enough for Ro to see her if he happened to arrive any minute now.
“Calm down, Harper,” Harper coaxed herself. “Breathe in and breathe out. If he doesn’t come, just make a damn excuse why your so-called boyfriend couldn’t come.”
Exhaling a frustrated sigh, Harper was so close to losing her cool when a white Mercedes slowly stopped by the front doors of the cathedral. It had an array of flowers mounted on its hood at the front. The tinted windows didn’t allow Harper to peer inside.
But she didn’t even need to. Harper knew that Adeline was inside, wearing her elegant wedding dress, and looked like the bride as she should be.
“Great.” Harper turned away. She opened her purse and pulled out her phone. She tried dialing Ro.
It rang.
And rang.
And rang.
He wasn’t picking up. But Harper was fixed on pretending that she was on call to avoid catching Adeline’s gaze.
It was a precaution. Harper didn’t want to be seen by Adeline standing like an idiot in one corner while Adeline, on the one hand, would be spending her happily ever after with her ex-husband after they exchanged vows.
Harper wanted to cry then. She was burning with mad fury for Ro and herself because it looked like she would be stood up by some stranger.
“Great,” Harper repeated, cursing at the wall. “Okay, calm down. Give him five minutes. Five freaking minutes, Harper. After five minutes, just walk inside with your chin raised up and your dignity intact.”
She restarted the count down inside her head, her patience coming to its limit.
“Five minutes,” she reminded herself, blowing out a sigh.
Adeline had already made it inside the cathedral by the time she was almost finished with the count down. The doors were being pulled close.
Landing a slap on her forehead, Harper reached zero in her countdown. She knew she needed to have the walk of shame, later on, arriving late at her ex-husband’s wedding and with no one in tow.
“You–” the words left Harper’s mouth when a black motorbike parked beside the bridal car. On it, a guy in a formal suit took off his helmet and killed the engine. It turned out to be the man she had been waiting for.
Harper was sure her mouth would have dropped open if she wasn’t mad about him arriving after the bride did.
But she was impressed with the effort Ro did by wearing a boutonniere matching Harper’s baby blue dress.
Running a hand through his hair, he left the helmet on the bike and immediately searched for Harper. When their gazes met, he smiled sheepishly at her.
Ro approached Harper.
“You’re late,” Harper spoke through gritted teeth. She didn’t give him a chance to say anything as she dragged him inside the cathedral.
As expected, stares were sent their way. But for some reason, Harper was feeling like there was more to the stares other than them being late.
--
Maybe it was Wilson, or perhaps it was Adeline, but whoever thought about isolating Harper in one table at the far corner, Harper wanted to thank them. At least she didn’t have to play nice with anyone sitting around her and Ro.
But it was probably intentional because they failed to consider that she would actually have a plus one with her.
Harper had rolled her eyes upon finding most of Wilson’s family and friends were present.
They had sent an odd look towards Harper. But Harper had mastered the art of pretense.
In truth, she had no beef with Wilson's family. But after hearing how they tolerated Wilson’s choosing Adeline over her, her perception of them drastically changed.
Some other guests had been staring at them, too, though. It didn’t escape Harper’s notice. She was curious as to what they must be thinking.
Given that she was the groom’s former wife, it was inevitable to be the center of the gossip. But that was just her theory.
Did she really want to know, though?
For all she cared, they might as well be admiring her dress. The thought made her snort.
“What’s so funny?” Ro whispered beside her. Harper immediately shook her head, not wanting Ro to learn what was happening inside her head.
Then realizing that they needed their audience to believe that they were a thing instead of being total strangers, Harper leaned towards him to whisper in his ears.
“People are staring.”
Roland chuckled at Harper’s comment. He had a clear idea why people had been ogling their way. But he wasn’t about to kill the fun of the mystery.
“Maybe because you are too gorgeous to be a plain mortal. You must have been heaven-sent, an angel. And I’m a lucky guy.”
Harper felt heat rising to her cheeks. She didn’t anticipate Ro’s response, and it made her feel conscious all of a sudden.
She wasn’t used to compliments. Even Wilson had rarely called her gorgeous or beautiful. If he did, Harper couldn’t remember.
Clearing her throat, Harper rolled her eyes in response to Ro’s statement. She grabbed the glass of champagne sitting in front of her and took a sip.
Wilson and Adeline had started doing their rounds.
Harper rolled her eyes again and moved closer to Ro. If she wanted them to believe that their relationship was real, she needed to up her game.
Adeline was smiling broadly. She had changed in a white dress almost similar to her wedding gown with the beaded pearls tracing a tube dipped in the middle of her ample chest.
But unlike her wedding gown, this was shorter. It only reached her ankles, enough for her to walk around and dance to her heart’s delight.
Mentally sighing, Harper wished she could go back to Gwyneth and tell her how the wedding went and everything she could vent.
The heels she had on were already killing her feet. The constant stares of the people around her were making her feel sick.
Harper did not like to be stared at.
Was it a mistake to come to this wedding after all?
Harper heard a gasp somewhere close, taking another sip from the champagne flute. When her eyes landed on Adeline’s surprised gaze, her hand bearing the engagement and wedding ring was covering her mouth.
“Omigod!” she exclaimed. Her eyes were focused on Ro. Harper couldn’t understand what the gist was about. Was she about to steal his attention from her?
In front of her newly wedded husband?
‘How ridiculous.’ Harper thought. She was close to leaving a snide remark when Adeline approached their table and had actually smiled at Ro like she was looking at a celebrity.
“Roland Bretford! It’s a pleasure for you to be at our wedding.”
‘Roland Bretford?!’ Harper mentally screamed.
She looked at Ro and only then did she realize how idiotic she was. The heat on her cheeks had come back, making her want to hide in total embarrassment.
Roland Bretford was the most eligible bachelor there was, not only in New York. His fame reached the international lands and Harper couldn’t believe she had carelessly talked to him, became mad at him, and asked him to come to her ex-husband’s wedding.
“It’s a pleasure indeed. But you should thank my girlfriend for inviting me. If not for her, our paths wouldn’t even have crossed.”
That was only then that Adeline caught sight of Harper. The smile on her face faltered a little. But she perked up right after, pretending that she was glad to have Harper around.
“Of course,” she beamed, coming near Harper and exchanging cheek kisses with her. “I’m so glad you could make it!” she exclaimed.
Ignoring Adeline’s greeting, Harper was still trying to recover from the revelation of who Ro really was. Her heart thundered against her chest.
Roland Bretford put an arm around Harper.
“We wouldn’t want to miss the wedding of the year. That would be a shame, right darling?”
Harper gulped. Roland Bretford, CEO of Bretford Inc., the largest company that was a jack of all trades, was sitting right next to her and pretending to be her boyfriend. It was all because of her doing too.
Realizing a little later that she needed to keep her cool, Harper collected herself and forced a thin smile at Adeline.
“You’re glowing, Adeline,” Harper expressed, subtly adding a little sarcasm. “Congratulations on your wedding. I wish you both have a fruitful marriage that would last more than ours did.”
Harper raised her champagne flute towards the couple. God knows she needed the alcohol.
“Cheers!”