"Christina..."
Blake reached out to touch my arm, but I withdrew immediately. "Don't. Just go." I tried to sound strong, but I knew he could hear the melancholy in my voice. It didn't matter. He'd made his choice, and if he was going to marry her just to have more money, then that wasn't a decision I could live with. We were done.
Chapter 20
It was the big day, and I was sitting at home with the remote glued to my hand. I surprised even myself when I took the day off from work. Fortunately, my bosses didn't give me much grief. I think it was partially because it was a Saturday, so it would be a slow day in the office anyway. But a small part of me also thinks they were partially okay with it because they were too busy rolling around in all of the money that I was bringing in. If only I could give myself a minute to gloat.
Today, I couldn't worry about work. Today, my number one focus was this wedding. I'd started watching Entertainment Forever! as soon as the clock ticked 11 am, because I knew Blake's wedding had the lunch special. I still had my eye out for him, even though the cameramen hadn't shown the groom yet. A sharp sensation twisted my heart, and I briefly closed my eyes to allow myself a moment of silent pain before I stuffed my face with ice cream for lunch followed with a healthy glass of wine.
Currently, the cameramen were fixated on all of the luxuries of the wedding. They had flowers flown in from France, the suits and dresses were the finest from Italy, the bride's dress was custom-made from some hotshot French designer, and they were going to honeymoon in Aruba. I could care less about it all. All the flowers and satin and white beaches in the world could be handed to me, and it still wouldn't put a drop in the ocean of want and need I have for the true prize of this wedding: Blake Slate.
There was a knock on my door and I bolted up. I looked through the peephole and saw Vanessa.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked, opening the door.
"I could say the same to you." She peered over my shoulder and saw the TV on full volume. "Don't tell me that you're here to see what details you can get about the wedding?"
"Fine, I won't tell you the juicy details." I moved out of the way and let her in.
"You have got to stop doing this to yourself."
"I can't help it, V. I'm not as strong as you. I just can't stop looking."
"But look at what you're doing to yourself." She gestured towards me. She grabbed my shoulders and made me look at my reflection in the mirror.
It was really a sad sight. My eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. I hadn't changed out of my baggy sweat pants since Blake had left, and my shirt was full of holes that bleach ruined. My hair was up in a messy bun with most of the hair being out of the bun. I was usually coiffed and neat but I didn't care. My first thought waking up today was: Why bother?
"You can't let this happen." She was rubbing my back.
"Right. But I don't want to leave the house either."
"How about we order some greasy Chinese food and watch some boring documentary?" She smiled.
"You love those, don't you? Is this more about you or me?" I chuckled.
"I won't lie to you and say that I won't enjoy watching the documentary, but it will definitely get your mind off of it."
"Okay." I gave in.
"So first you're going to take a shower and look better than this." She looked me up and down. "And I get control of the remote so you won't be tempted to look at any more things." Just then my phone vibrated. "What's that?"
"Oh..." I sighed. "I set up an alert so I can get details of the wedding sent to my phone. Plus, I'm getting a live social media feed."
"I got to give it to you, you're efficient when you're into it."
***
Apparently "boring documentary" was an understatement, we were seriously watching a documentary on how they made designer purses and shoes. I rolled my eyes but Vanessa's eyes were glued to the screen. For her, this was really a two for one. She not only loved documentaries, but she had an eye for fashion. In fact, right now she was wearing some of the designers featured in the film. When it was finished, she sighed in satisfaction.
"I did not know about all the tender care that went behind all of this." She touched her purse.
"I did not know that I could be this bored. But I will say one thing: I didn't think about him at all." I smiled. "So I guess you were right."
"Yes! Now the only mistake I made was not ordering dessert. After eating all that food, I could go for some cake or something. Are you up for going out?" I shook my head 'no'. "Fine. I'll order dessert as well. I want a cheesecake." She smiled wide. "You want a slice?"