Accident Prone

"It's time… It's time!", Madeline exclaimed enthusiastically when she entered the bride's room where Mia and her bridesmaids were leisurely chatting and laughing. Madeline's steps halted abruptly, and she looked over the young ladies with a frown. They were sitting in their underwear with light robes draped around them. There were snacks and drinks and it was a casual girl-only atmosphere.

Madeline cleared her throat, to get everyone's attention. "Why are you not dressed up?"

Mia checked the time. "Wedding is at two o'clock, right? It's not even one-thirty."

"We don't need half an hour. Five minutes is enough for us to get ready." Liz supported Mia's statement that it's early.

When they put dresses on, they need to watch how they sit in order not to wrinkle the delicate fabric or spill something accidentally. They were all in agreement to delay dressing up until the last moment.

"Zack is on his way to take photos before the ceremony. Should I tell him to go back and take a break?"

Hearing Madeline's words, ladies started busying themselves with finding the garment bags that had their names attached. Everyone wanted their photos to be taken by Zack. He can take a break later.

Three stylists were moving between the girls, to help them dress up and preserve the perfect makeup and hairstyles.

Mia looked at herself in the wedding gown and grinned. It fits! And it's beautiful. She reached for the plate with grapes and nearly inhaled a handful.

"Careful with those…", Brianna reminded Mia, making the latter groan in frustration.

Mia knew that Brianna is reminding her of the wretched diet.

"I'm IN the dress. I can eat!", Mia responded when she swallowed grapes from her mouth.

Brianna snickered. "If you continue like that, the dress will burst at the seams during the ceremony…"

Mia didn't want to admit that the dress is fitting tightly in her waist area. The important thing was that she managed to wear it without a corset so, as long as she does not breathe too much, it will be fine. Mia is not a girly type, and the fact that she endured diet only so that she looks pretty in the gown of her choice, was a different experience for Mia, comparable to torture.

When all girls had their dresses on, Zack entered with a big smile on his face and a camera in his hand (and another one around his neck).

Since he started working at Reynolds Media, Zack shot many models, but the girls in front of him were enchanting. Their styling and matching purple gowns with white and silver details made them look like fairies, and the fact that their smiles reached their eyes only made the scene more captivating. The only one that stood out (in a good way), was Mia who wore her white wedding gown and a dazzling smile on her face.

The scene in this room was a stark contrast from the stifling mood he left in the groom's room, but Zack knew better than to comment on it.

It took Zack a moment to snap out of his daze and he started telling them where and how to stand before he started doing his magic.

Two helpers were right behind Zack, switching the wheeled backdrops, to provide more variety to the photos. One made it appear like girls were standing in a forest, the other one was a meadow with mountain peaks in the back, and there was one backdrop with a cityscape on it.

…

The mood on the guys' side was not so cheerful.

Hunter was with his wedding party of groomsmen: Mike, Max, Quentin, Ashton, Jake, Derek, and Roberto.

They started their day by gathering in the salon where they got their styling and final fittings before heading to the venue in a rented limousine.

Hunter was glad that Ashton and Derek didn't fight, but the atmosphere around them was not good.

Seeing the tension, Hunter pulled Ashton to the side and advised him to lower his hostility.

"Come on, man. He made a mistake, you steamed out and it should be over, right? Can't you leave it behind?"

Ashton snorted. "I thought so too, but now that I see him acting like everything is fine, I want to punch him more."

Hunter exhaled heavily. "How do you expect him to act? You had your chance, and how much I heard, he didn't fight back. Whatever is left, you need to swallow it down or risk ruining your friendship beyond repair. Is that what you want?", Hunter asked with a frown. "This is my wedding. Both of you are my friends and part of this event. Can you be civil? You don't need to be friendly. How about you treat him like a stranger?"

Ashton's expression showed that he was not willing, however, he still nodded while reminding himself that there was no need for them to communicate. Maybe later Ashton's anger simmers down, but at that time, Ashton was unable to be polite toward Derek. Part of Ashton wanted to extend his hand to Derek and make up, but most of Ashton could not forget that Derek made a move on Angela despite their unspoken bro-code. On top of that, Ashton could not ignore that in the alley Derek didn't even try to defend himself. It made Ashton feel like he was the unreasonable bad guy and he hated it.

In the groom's room, as soon as Zack finished taking photos, guys split up into several groups.

Derek kept to himself and fiddled with his phone, smiling occasionally, and Hunter could guess that he was texting Angela (and Hunter was not wrong about it).

Ashton pretended that Derek was not present, and it was strange for everyone, especially for Jack and Mike who found themselves not knowing what to do. It was obvious that Ashton ignored Derek, and they would assume that it's some petty quarrel that will simmer down in a bit, however, last night they found out about the Derek-Angela business, and it became awkward because they didn't want to take sides. After all, they knew that Derek and Angela are dating, and they hoped that Ashton will accept that soon, so at that point, things will be settled on their own and they don't need to involve themselves in unnecessary drama.

Max chatted with Quentin, mostly gathering information about the different types of engagement rings. He told Quentin that Liz got an invitation to be a speaker at the symposium, and that was his cue to start preparations for a grand proposal because it needs to be perfect.

In his mind, Max envisioned how he will ask Liz to marry him in a romantic setting: candles, roses, wine, dim lighting, fireplace, soft music, chubby baby-angels playing tiny harps while floating around them… But he can't get baby-angels, so he had to settle for the next best thing, even though he had no idea what that next thing was.

Quentin enjoyed seeing Max all flustered and talking incoherently, and the two of them didn't notice the strange mood that stemmed from Ashton and Derek.

Roberto was another character who kept to himself. He used an excuse to check on security to get out of the room with a promise that he will be back on time. Roberto immediately noticed the silent hostility Ashton extruded toward Derek and how it impacted everyone other than Max and Quentin who were whispering and snickering between each other like two teenage girls. Roberto wondered if all rich young men are so carefree or if these are exceptions.

Since Roberto was eight years old, if he was not busy with schoolwork, he would be subjected to vigorous training.

He worked himself to the bone, thinking that he will be the one to inherit Fabricio, but things changed about six months ago when Mia returned. Roberto was stunned when Fabricio told him and several other high-ranking men in their organization that unless Mia takes over, Fabricio will dissolve them before retiring with an explanation of how only Mia has the skills and aptitude to be the effective leader their organization requires. Of course, this made Roberto dejected, but he didn't give up on sharpening his skills. After all, he is confident that Mia will slip one day and that will be his chance to prove his worth.

Looking at Hunter and his groomsmen who were in their own world, Roberto didn't envy them. How he saw it, they were all wasting their time on irrelevant things. If it's up to Roberto, this wedding would consist of a simple ceremony in court and everyone would go home quickly. It would save a lot of time and money, and the result would be the same: Mia and Hunter married.

In Roberto's opinion, the only good thing related to this event was Angela. Roberto spent the rehearsal dinner observing her enchanting features, and he felt lucky that she sat next to him. The fact that they chatted through the evening, from the moment he introduced himself until her brother (aka Ashton) came to fetch her to go home, told Roberto that there is a big chance Angela was interested in him. She was smart and funny, with a hint of shyness, and the more Roberto thought about Angela, the more he was confident that she is an amazing girl.

Roberto was looking forward to walking down the aisle with Angela. And once the ceremony is over, he will ask her to dance.

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