Second Chance After the Divorce

Chapter 3

Amelia

I wiped my sweaty hands down my peach-colored satin dress as we all reached the lavish hotel where we were having the rehearsal dinner.

Karl slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it gently. “You okay?”

“Yup..” I whispered with a slight nod and tightened my hold on him. When we entered the banquet hall, my eyes did a quick check around. My shoulders slumped and I sighed in relief when I did not find the one person I was so scared of seeing again.

The hall was filled with our extended family and friends so I spent the first few minutes going around and chatting with everyone. Gladly, no one brought up anything about the past and most of them were genuinely happy to see me with a guy.

“Karl seems to be a great guy..” My elder brother, Augustus remarked as he came to stand beside me while Karl left me briefly to fetch us drinks.

“He is..” I agreed with him.

Gus suddenly looked uncomfortable as he shuffled on his feet. I waited a moment for him to say something but I already knew what was going on inside his head.

“What is it, Gus?” I urged.

He looked everywhere but my face, mostly at his shoes, “I was worried how you’d feel to be here, you know.. with him being the best man. But we couldn’t stop it. He is Ron’s best friend..”

“Of course, you don’t have to explain it to me. I know how close they are..” Ron and Noah were inseparable as teenagers. And even though Ron was very upset with the choices that Noah made, he never cut ties with him and so, I had to with Ron. But since my life is a crazy b***h, my sister had to go fall in love with Ron and make Noah his best man.

“But now I am happy that you are finally moving on, Amy..”

I flashed him a small smile, burying the real pain inside me. Only if he knew how impossible it was for me to move on. Noah was a greater part of my childhood, we had been high school sweethearts, dated for five years and been married for three years before the disaster shook our lives. People might easily suggest me to move on but no one knew the real pain behind it.

But never mind, I wasn’t going to explain that to anyone.

“It’s nice to be back..” I said, forging my feelings.

“Yeah, It’s nice to have you back..” He hugged me sideways, pulling me into him.

After a while, we took our designated seats. Since I was the bridesmaid, I was assigned the seat next to Angela and Ron at the head of the huge dinner table.

I swallowed the bundle of emotions when I took in the name card in front of me. No matter how much I prepared for this, I couldn’t control my insecurities and self-doubts at that moment.

Did I make a big mistake by coming here and agreeing to be my sister’s bridesmaid? What was I thinking? What if he came here with his family? Would I be able to handle seeing him with someone else?

I tried to tell myself that he wasn't mine anymore to feel possessive about him. He was somebody else's husband and a father. A status I could never give him.

"Stop frowning.." I didn't notice I was ruining my perfectly manicured nails by chewing on them until he held my hand firmly. "Don't work your head too much. Everything's going to be alright.."

"I want this dinner to get over soon.." I whispered and went back to worrying myself.

Suddenly I realized something, the seat next to his was occupied by another friend of Ron.

Why? I wondered.

Was he not bringing his family along?

There were so many questions running in my mind at that point. Probably he had the decency to not show off his family to me and rub it off my face what I couldn’t give him.

I didn’t think I could have handled seeing him with his wife and child.

The child he had with that despicable woman.

My heart felt like being squeezed between a vice to think he had a child with her the moment I left.

While I was here infertile, he went on in his life with a happy home.

That was another reason I never dared to date another man after Noah.

“Don’t overthink, Amy..” Karl whispered into my ears and that’s when I realized I had zoned out again.

When I pulled back from the daze, the first thing I saw was a tall, muscular figure shadowing the large oak table. As I slowly lifted my eyes, I saw he was dressed in a black suit. Even through the thick fabric of his branded clothes, I could make out the contours of his muscled body. My gaze finally met his. Noah. The man I fell in love with. My throat clenched shut, and my heart thudded in my temples.

My breath hitched.

All I could do was tell myself to not stare at the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life yet that’s what I ended up doing. He was still handsome. Perhaps even more than I remembered.

His dark eyes were set on me and I couldn’t control the warmth that ran up my cheeks. He looked unnervingly attractive. Dangerously handsome.

God, I had to be crazy to find him attractive after he cheated on me with the one woman I hated the most in the entire universe.

That thought brought some sense into my brain and I quickly lowered my eyes. From the peripheral vision of my eyes, I watched him take his seat right opposite mine. I quickly stood up to greet Ron, my soon-to-be brother-in-law who had walked behind Noah while I was shamelessly ogling him.

“Hey, Amelia..” He pulled me into a bear hug. “It’s so glad to have you back..”

“Thank you..” I avoided the stare on me, “Welcome to our family..”

"Thank you.." He kissed my cheek.

When I sat back down, Karl held my hand on the table and kissed the back of it. I smiled at him, knowing why he was doing it. A part of me felt bad for using him like this but I also knew that this wouldn’t affect him knowing how crazily he was in love with Jules.

For the rest of the dinner, I avoided looking ahead of me and kept my eyes strictly on my plate or on Karl who kept having small talks with me, failing at distracting me from the deep stares I was receiving.

I couldn’t wait for the dinner to get over so I could get out of there. It was hard to maintain a level of composure that would be taken as casual and not as a desperate attempt to pretend to be okay.

I could feel the heat of his stare melting the skin off my bones and I didn’t dare look anywhere but my plate. Why was he looking at me like that?

I couldn't do anything but wonder about it.

And why was he alone here tonight?

Where is his family?

Even though I avoided it, our eyes met many times during the dinner and I found his hands clenched on the table and jaw muscles ticking. It was something he did when he was extremely angry.

Angry?

Why was he angry?

What was he angry at, by the way?

I could hardly put any food into my mouth. And the worst part was I couldn't leave until everyone wa done. After what felt like forever, the dinner finally came to an end. I was about to leave the place with Karl but I was stopped by an old friend.

“Is this really you, Amelia?”

“Tammy, how are you..?” I hugged her. “This is Tamara, a friend from high school..”

“And this is Karl. My friend..”

“Hey nice to meet you..” I introduced her to Karl who politely shook hands with her.

“Same here..” She shifted her gaze on me. “Trust me, I did not expect you’d come, Amelia..”

“Well, I am here..” I chuckled nervously.

“It’s so good to see you..”

We two were close at a point in our life but to think I had given up on all my friends when my relationship with Noah came to an end was heartbreaking but it was needed at that time for my self-perseverance.

I nodded and noticed how she glanced around in search of someone. I knew who it was when her eyes stopped on Noah who was talking to Ron. My breath hitched for a second when I found that his eyes were already on mine. It took me a couple of seconds to avert my eyes but my breathing remained uneven for a long time.

“I will wait for you in the parking, okay?” Karl gently excused himself giving us some place but not before pecking my cheeks.

“You two look good together..” She commented and just like before I did not correct her.

“Thanks..” I couldn’t help but look down guilty for lying to everyone around me.

“Did you meet him?” I know whom she was referring to.

“I saw him but that’s it..” I said and now that she has brought up about him, I couldn’t stop myself from asking more about him. “Why has he come alone though? What about his.. uhmm.. wife and child.”

“Wife?” She c****d her brow up, “You seem very sure that he’s married..”

I stared at her incredulously. “He’s not?”

Tamara flashed a sideways smile which looked more like a grimace. “He’s not and if I know him better, he might never again, not Tory at least..”

I was hearing that name after so many years and it brought bitter memories with it.

“You know what. We shouldn’t be talking about him..” She cleverly diverted the topic and in a way, I was grateful for it. If allowed I would have made a fool out of myself by indulging myself in knowing about my ex.

“You are right..” I laughed it off.

“So, how long are you planning to stay here, Amelia? I would love to spend some time with you..”

“I would love that too but unfortunately I have to go back immediately after the wedding..” To be honest, I had no hurry. I had saved all my leaves and I could stay here for a while if I wanted but the problem was I didn’t want to. This place suffocated me and I needed to be out of here as early as possible.