14. Grayson

Finally, the day has come. I woke up before the sun this morning and laid there for a while, my soon-to-be bride held close in my arms. Last night had been lots of fun with our friends and family coming together to celebrate us.

There was no time to waste. I had to make some calls to make sure that all the instructions I’d left would be carried out. With the time difference, we’re about six hours ahead, so things should be getting ready to take place there in a few hours. Lacey wanted an evening wedding which worked out fine for what I had planned.

* * *

At the same time,our ceremony started in Tuscany, which was at about one in the afternoon; the guests were starting to arrive at the Country Club for Lacey’s pre-wedding cocktail hour. That had been Lily’s suggestion so that we could watch part of the show after our vows. When I brought it up to Lacey, she saw it as me being invested in our wedding plans.

I’d talked her out of having a church wedding since neither of us attended one, and the club had accommodations for the ceremony anyway.

Her parents and mine had shelled out a lot of money to make it into what she wanted, and for me, the hardest thing I’d had to do so far was convince my parents that it was okay for me to hang out with friends the night before my big day and even spend the night with my best man.

I was indeed spending the night with my best man, but we were miles away on a different continent; he didn’t need to know that. I’d paid people very well to carry out my orders. Not friends, just acquaintances and a few professionals in case anyone chickened out.

She looked beautiful in the Italian lace gown her grandmother had worn to her own wedding. Something else that had been passed down in her family, this time on her grandmother’s side. She said it was only fair since the ring was from her grandpa’s family.

Her other grandparents had paid for the wedding, which included flights and accommodations for all our guests. It’s funny how they bend over backward trying to outdo each other in spoiling her. And to think, I could’ve married the wrong sister.

Our wedding ceremony will be the first thing the guests who were waiting for Lacey’s wedding to start sees. I knew it was being streamed the way I’d wanted because I could hear the chatter in the earpiece I had in my ear. She wore the matching one in hers.

We were still able to hear the minister and answer when we were prompted. I’d learned Italian for this purpose, of course, and didn’t need an interpreter. She’s fluent.

We took pictures, laughed, and talked with our friends, all while listening to the mayhem we’d caused through the earpieces. Neither of us could wait to escape so we could actually see what was going on and not just hear, and our chance came not long after the first dance when everyone else was preoccupied.

There was a lot of ribbing about us not being able to wait to be alone, but we brushed it off and promised to be back soon. I had waited a long time for this day and didn’t want to miss another second of it.

I know they’d seen the ceremony take place; I wanted that to happen, to be the starting point for what was about to come.

* * *

LACEY

* * *

I hada nice buzz going and was feeling no pain. Today is my wedding day. Last night, I had a threesome with the groom’s father and one of my girlfriends, so nothing had changed, and I didn’t expect it to after the ceremony. Life is good.

I heard a knock at the door and my wedding planner entered the room where me and the girls were getting the final touches on our hair and makeup done. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I was just making sure you were all getting ready so we could start the cocktail hour.”

“Is Grayson here yet?”

“He’s on site, yes, his car just pulled into the parking lot that’s why I’m checking.”

“We’ll be right there.” It’s happening, it’s really happening. I had so many nightmares in the last few days that something would go wrong.

Grayson had been distant since the whole high school drama, and it felt like forever since we’d been close, but he had shown up today. I shouldn’t have worried anyway; my Dad had made sure he couldn’t get away. Bought and paid for.

I was more excited about marrying him now than I was when I forced his hand. Thinking that there was a possibility Lily could steal him from me had shown me how much I really wanted him to be my husband.

He was handsome as fuck, kind, and on his way to being wealthy; what more could a girl ask for? When it comes to the sex thing, though, who knows how good he’ll be or if I’ll enjoy it. At least if that doesn’t work out, I’d have a man who can support me the way I deserve.

I could try to be faithful and had all plans on last night being my last wayward night if things go well on my wedding night. It’s not like we were married all those other times, and it’s not my fault he wanted to save himself until marriage.

After today I won’t have to think about these things or worry if he held them against me. We’ve been best friends for most of our lives; what can’t he forgive? Besides, there’s no way Lily’s husband can be better than him, so that’s the one place I know I have her beat.

I looked beautiful in the princess gown I’d designed and had custom-made. I knew I far outshone all the other women there as I entered the room where the party was being held.

I like the idea of a pre-wedding cocktail hour and had never heard of it before Grayson came up with the idea. None of my friends had ever heard of it either, so that was another plus, as my wedding promised to be one that would be talked about for a very long time.

I’d made sure to get the best of everything. Things that people hadn’t seen before and even the menu had been meticulously gone over to ensure my guests had their every wish fulfilled. I wanted my wedding to be remembered, for people to try to copy me because it was the best they’d ever been to. That’s been my dream since I started planning with Mom, and from the looks of things, we’re off to a good start.

The place was buzzing when I walked downstairs to join our guests for the cocktail hour before the wedding started, and I didn’t have time to look for Grayson, whom I hadn’t seen before I was being congratulated by some of my Dad’s guests.

As if they’d been waiting for my arrival, someone flipped a switch or something, and one of the walls lit up with a scene. “I don’t remember this. What is it?” I looked around for the wedding planner, but she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it’s a surprise from Mom.

“Is that Lily?” Why was her wedding being broadcasted at mine? I looked at my Dad, but he just shrugged his shoulders as all eyes turned back to the wall. There were a lot of shocked expressions on some of the guests faces and some of them started murmuring and staring at me.

Some of my friends started laughing and pointing from the wall back to me as I stared at Lily walking down a path to who I’m guessing was her husband-to-be. Then things got very confusing.

I didn’t understand what I was looking at because it didn’t make sense. It looked like Grayson was coming out of the wall. No, that’s not it. He’s standing in the garden where Lily is. What’s going on? Is this a prank? I’ll skin that bitch for embarrassing me. I looked around the room for Gray again but didn’t see him anywhere.

Then I looked back at the wall and it finally hit me what I was looking at. I couldn’t move or feel for the first few seconds, and then I went cold all over as the room started to spin.

I didn’t understand the language they were speaking, but it looked like Grayson was getting married to Lily. Some of Dad’s friends from the office were looking around, a bit confused, and that’s when I realized it wasn’t a prank or a practical joke.

Before I could yell for someone to turn it off so I could figure out what was going on, the images on the screen changed, and there I was, on one of my more adventurous college days, having a train run on me. The room really came alive then because whoever had made the video didn’t censor it and there was a lot on display.

I’ve heard of people being stuck in place from sudden shock, but I’d never experienced it before until now. I couldn’t move. All eyes were turning to look at me. Mom was screaming for some bastard to turn it off, and Dad looked like he was ready to commit murder. Mine!

Someone had a camera, they were recording people’s reactions, and still, I couldn’t say or do anything. There was a static sound, and then voices could be heard in the video.

It was Grayson’s dad and Grayson. They were talking about what happened in high school, and Gray was saying he didn’t want to be with me because of what I had done, while his Dad was threatening to disown him if he didn’t stay with me.

Then Dad was talking to Gray’s Dad. They were talking about the promotion he’d gained from talking his son into staying with me. They were laughing and talking about the future.

Then, the images changed again. This time there was a video of me and his Dad fucking. “How?” I barely breathed the word as I rocked back on my heels. How did that get there? There was pandemonium in the room as Gray’s Mom started screaming and hitting his Dad.

The screen changed again, and this time, Gray was sitting in a room looking at the camera with Lily next to him. “Hello, everyone; I guess you know by now that I won’t be coming. As should’ve seen by now, I’m already married to the woman of my dreams, but before you go, there’s something I would like to share.”

He started calling out people’s names and showing them documents and said something about his Dad and mine stealing from the company, which I didn’t care about. He ended by stating that everything had been sent to the SEC whatever that is.

People started leaving and there were a lot of voices raised in anger. Dad was looking for a way to unplug whatever was showing the video but couldn’t seem to find it and all Grayson’s Dad kept saying was that he was finished, that his life was over.

I didn’t understand any of it, and no one was telling me anything. Then, Grayson addressed me directly and shattered my world. “I know everything you have done in the last five years. That’s as long as Lily and I have been dating, by the way.”

“You see, she was the one who warned me about your cheating in high school, but I didn’t know that until we met in college. We’ve been together pretty much ever since, so I have that at least to thank you for. If you weren’t what you are, the two of us would’ve never found each other and fallen in love.”

“I have to say, though, it’s hard to see the resemblance between you two, whether physically or otherwise. I’ve known you since we were four years old, at least that’s as far back as I remember. I used to call you my best friend, but until I met her, I didn’t know what a best friend was.”

“Don’t blame me for this, blame yourself. Had you let me go when I told you I wasn’t interested in being in a relationship with you instead of using your father to bribe mine into making me stay with you, you would not have seen a day like today. Now you can go have the life you deserve. You want to say anything, baby?”

He looked at her lovingly as he wrapped his arms around her and she shook her head no. I started screaming and tried running from the room, but I tripped over my feet, and no one helped; in fact, people were walking over me and stepping on my dress.

When I reached the door on my hands and knees, there were two cops walking in. One of them helped me up since the dress kept pulling me back down. “Are you Lacey Sinclair?”

“Yes.”

“You’re under arrest for receiving stolen property.” At the same time, I heard Mom start screaming and looked over in her direction just as two more cops whom I hadn’t seen were putting her in handcuffs.

“What is going on? What stolen property?” The female cop held up my hand and took my ring off my finger. I lost it then and slapped her.

“We’ll add resisting to those charges, shall we?”

“What? Get off me, you bitch.” They dragged both Mom and me from the room.

“Dad!” Why was my Dad being arrested?