22 That Night! (3)

Shelby froze. 

"Can I? I know he should be close to you somehow, I-"

"Rocky-"

"Why? He doesn't want to?" Rocky asked, sounding disappointed.

"Of course not! He's in the shower. Talk to him another day, okay? It's been a long day."

"Okkkkaaayyyyy..." Shelby could imagine the reluctance on his face and his familiar pout.

"Goodnight, Rocky."

Shelby hung up, and tears welled in her eyes. She got up and stepped out of the wedding dress with difficulty. 

'I should have let Suzie help me before she left!' She lamented, thinking of the sweet maid who had brought her to her room. With no one to help her, she stretched and bent in many awkward ways before she managed to unzip herself.

She sat on the edge of the bed in her new room. 'Now what?'

Her phone rang once again; this time, it was a group video call from her two best friends. Bracing herself for the inevitable, she picked up.

"You ungrateful girl, Shelby!"

"Why did you not invite us to your wedding? Do you even consider us friends?"

"Sorry, girls, I was not even notified of my own wedding, and my phone was confiscated, so I could not contact you."

"No way!" Ava shouted.

"Do you expect us to believe these lies? I bet it was because you knew how I loved Ian…."

'Shoot!' thought Shelby. She had forgotten that her other friend, Brianna, 'loved' Ian to the nonsense level. It was more of an obsession for Briana.

"Briana?" Ava said in a warning tone, and Briana rolled her eyes. She never bothered to hide the irritation on her face.

"Brianna, really. That is what happened. I mean, you know I would never do this to any of you. You are my best friends, and I would never think of snatching your man-"

"And yet, that is what you still did!" Brianna snapped.

"Really…. Please believe me. Do I look like the happy bride to you?"

"What happened, Shelby?" Ava ignored Brianna and asked her. Shelby went ahead and explained all the proceedings of the day to the two of them.

"So, that is what happened? You poor girl." 

"I don't know what to do now, Ava. I am totally lost, but I am already 'stuck in here', so I have to think of a way to survive. You know how my stepfather is. I don't know the Thornston's so well, so I must make sure that I be on my best behaviour-"

"Wait a minute- Did you say that James registered you as a catalogue bride?"

"Yes-" 

"You know catalogue brides, right?" Ava said with a worried face, "Don't tell me…."

Shelby nodded on the video call…. "Oh, right, I have forgotten that that is what Catalogue brides are expected to do… Just pop babies for their husbands." Shelby released an exaggerated sigh and ran her hands on her face. This action did nothing to smudge the well-done makeup. 

"You're only twenty-three this year!" Ava lamented.

"Clearly old enough!" Brianna spat out.

"I shouldn't have been surprised then when Geneva mentioned this-"

"Geneva?"

"Ian's mum."

"You are already on a first-name basis with her?" Brianna scorned again.

"Brianna, please…. This is hard for me. I have been given the deadline of a year to give birth with a man I do not know! And this is all you are worried about? How selfish can you be in your life?" Shelby snapped.

"But why did you not tell us that you were a catalogue bride?" 

  "I only found out today myself…."

Brianna rolled her eyes again. 'Lies!'

"All you have to do is sleep with the hottest man in the wine-making business! How hard is that? Always the drama queen…."

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'Do not play the pity card with me! You are always the one who should be pitied. Are you not tired of always doing this? Please!'"

"Why did you join this call, Brianna? Was it to mock me at my lowest? Despite what you are doing now, I love you as a friend, but all I want now is some support and encouragement, so if you can't do that, please leave me alone." Shelby added on the verge of tears.

"You know I wanted him. You know how much I wanted him! My dad was about to arrange our marriage!" The two friends gaped in surprise because Brianna had never mentioned it. If Brianna said it, then it was probably true.

'Why didn't your dad push through this?' Shelby lamented in thoughts. Brianna's father, Hagan Mush, was also a wine merchant, and Shelby frankly felt that Brianna and Ian would have been a perfect match but wisely did not comment on it.

Ava, stuck between the two of them, pitched in, "You know Ian is off the market, but so is Shelby! Do you know the number of our male friends who called me today to verify that it's true? I cannot count the number of men whose light hope has been dashed today. They will cry themselves to sleep today because of the loss." Ava shed a fake tear… 

Shelby shrugged. At the back of her mind, she was glad to be rid of many of those guys without lifting a finger.

Unfortunately, Brianna took those words and that action badly, and Ava's attempt to divert the conversation failed.

Brianna lashed out, pouring all her grievances on Shelby.

"But he did not even show up for the wedding, Brianna! What do you want me to do?" 

Aren't you quite capable? Just like your mother. Climbing into the bed of rich men above your status!'

"That's a low blow, Brianna!"  Brianna had always been blunt, and they tolerated her, but this-

"Liar! Who is in the pictures with you if he didn't show up?"

"Who and what pictures?"

"Do you have a bad memory and have forgotten the wedding ceremony you just had?"

Shelby looked on blankly and shared a look with Ava, 'What is Briana up to?'

"Take a look at them yourself! I don't know why you would lie about this!"

Shelby, "…"

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