The days flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the wedding.
I hadn’t seen Vincent Lombard at all these past few days. I had no idea what he was busy with.
Only my mother-in-law was bustling about, but she seemed to be enjoying every moment of it.
But as the wedding day drew near, my heart began to pound with nervousness.
I’d already been married to Theodore Grant for two years—we just hadn’t had a formal ceremony. Even so, I was just as excited as the day we went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get our marriage license.
Thankfully, my best friend, Chloe Miller, was finally back from her business trip. Having her by my side, cracking jokes, helped ease my anxiety a little.
"You’re being such a doormat! That Clara Langley is practically shitting on your head, and you’re just taking it?"
"..."
I hadn’t expected that. I’d barely told Chloe Miller what had happened over the past few days, and her fiery temper flared. She was already rolling up her sleeves, looking ready to march out and beat someone up.
"It’s fine now. Theodore has completely cut ties with her."
Chloe pursed her lips, looking thoroughly exasperated with me. "Your ability to spot these manipulative women is way off. If Clara Langley gives up this easily, I’ll personally unscrew my own head and let you kick it around like a soccer ball."
"’Spotting them?’" I asked Chloe, confused. "Are you saying Clara Langley is a ’green tea’?"
Chloe had drilled me on this kind of "knowledge" before, but Clara Langley didn’t seem to fit my definition of a "green tea."
"She’s on a whole other level than a ’green tea’," Chloe scoffed. "This is a ’tomboy tea’—the toughest kind to deal with. It’s not just you; those clueless men can’t spot them either."
"..."
"I mean, seriously. How could you have been so blind to fall for Theodore Grant? You can tell just by looking at him that he’s a total playboy. How could he possibly compare to Sebastian Forrest?"
I couldn’t help but feel exasperated. "If you like Senior Forrest so much, why don’t you go after him?"
"He likes *you*. What the hell am I supposed to chase?!"
’...’ I couldn’t believe the things Chloe said. "Don’t be ridiculous."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "You’re the only one who’s too blind to see that Sebastian Forrest likes you. Why else do you think he suddenly holed himself up in that research institute, completely cut off from the world, right when you married Theodore Grant?"
A helpless expression washed over my face. "Don’t try to connect everything to me. Senior Forrest comes from a prominent military family, a true blue-blood. It’s perfectly logical for him to pursue a career at that research institute."
Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it. There’s no explaining this to someone as clueless about love as you. Let’s just drop it. In any case, you’re already carrying Theodore’s baby, so you might as well make it work with him!"
As she said this, she reached out and gently stroked my belly. "Go to the hospital with Theodore right after the wedding tomorrow. You don’t want to give Clara Langley any time to stir up trouble. The longer you wait, the more can go wrong."
"Yeah, I know."
Just as Chloe and I were in the middle of our conversation, a knock echoed, and Theodore Grant pushed the door open and came inside.
"I’m not interrupting, am I?" Theodore asked with a smile. He was already strikingly handsome, but his smile was so warm and disarming it could melt away any winter chill.
"Not at all, not at all," Chloe said, waving her hands quickly. "Theodore, you’d better treat our Chelsea right. Don’t you let anyone bully her."
I was exasperated. "Chloe."
Theodore knew Chloe’s personality, so he was used to her antics. Maybe because he was in a good mood, he played along with a smile. "Don’t worry. As long as I’m around, I won’t let anyone bully her."
I looked at the two of them with a helpless sigh before asking Theodore, "What is it? Did you need me for something?"
"Dinner’s ready. Let’s go down and eat."
Chloe looped her arm through mine. "I haven’t gotten to freeload a meal at your place in ages! I’m in for a real treat today."
"Then you’d better eat your fill."
Chloe and I headed out, chatting and laughing. As we passed by Theodore, his phone suddenly buzzed.
Chloe and I instinctively glanced at him, just in time to see him reject the call with a slight frown.
"Who was that?" Chloe asked.
"A spam call."
"’Oh...’" Chloe raised an eyebrow, drawing out the word. The smile she gave was loaded with meaning.
Theodore, however, looked completely unfazed. "Let’s go. Time to eat."
...
Since the wedding was tomorrow and there was still so much to do, Chloe left right after dinner, but not before giving me a few more worried instructions.
Theodore and I were busy for the rest of the afternoon.
But I noticed Theodore was clearly distracted, glancing at his phone every now and then.
Remembering Chloe’s parting words, I decided to ask, "What’s wrong? Is everything okay?"
"It’s nothing, just a minor issue at the company..." Theodore reassured me. "Noah’s already taking care of it."
That’s when I realized I hadn’t seen Noah Brown all afternoon. So that’s what he was doing—handling company business.
Just then, the phone in Theodore’s pocket buzzed again. I instinctively glanced at the caller ID—it was Noah Brown.
"Chelsea, why don’t you rest for a bit? I’m going to take this call."
I nodded. "Okay, I will. Go ahead."
I watched Theodore walk away. He went all the way out to the gazebo in the yard before answering. I couldn’t hear what Noah said, but Theodore’s brow was furrowed tightly. Even from a distance, I could see an aura of frustration and anger radiating from him.
I bit my lip, wondering if Clara Langley was stirring up trouble again...
Just as I was about to go over and investigate, Theodore hung up and strode back toward me.
"All done?" I asked.
"Yeah. Like I said, it was just a minor issue. Don’t worry, Noah handled everything."
’I breathed a silent sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t Clara, I was fine.’
...
「The wedding day arrived quickly.」
First thing in the morning, I was hauled out of bed by a team of makeup artists.
The wedding preparations these last few days had already been exhausting. On top of that, probably due to the pregnancy, I felt sleepy and drained. I nearly dozed off while they were doing my makeup.
The ceremony was being held at a hotel, and nearly every guest in attendance was a prominent figure in Kington.
While I was getting my makeup done, Chloe stood by my side, feeding me nuts. She was worried the day’s schedule would be too demanding for my frail body to handle.
"By the way, I’ve been here for a while now. Where’s the groom?"
Before I could answer, one of the makeup artists chimed in with a smile, "It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."
Chloe pursed her lips. "What kind of tradition is that? Never heard of it."
Then, she gave me a mischievous wink. "The bride can’t see him, but surely the maid of honor can go take a peek, right?"
I quickly grabbed Chloe’s arm. "Stop it. Theodore is definitely busy right now. Don’t go and bother him."
Chloe immediately shot back in a teasing, sing-song voice, "Tsk, tsk. The wedding hasn’t even started and you’re already protecting your dear husband!"
I couldn’t help but blush. "You’re impossible!"
Chloe just grinned at me. "Relax, I’ll just take one peek. I won’t bother your husband."
And with that, Chloe dashed out of the room.
She returned a moment later, but the look on her face wasn’t good.
"What is it?" I asked, my own expression turning to one of confusion.
Chloe’s brow was furrowed. "Theodore’s not there."
The smile on my face froze. "Theodore’s not there? What do you mean?"