The Wedding

by Sian Ceinwen

  Before she knew it, she’d told Callum that he was free to go home and that she’d call him out to Galena if she needed him. Luckily, he followed her instructions; she couldn’t bear to have any kind of contact with Harrison right now. It was an awful reminder that their lives were so entangled that it would take a lot of effort to disentangle them.

  They approached Sebastian’s powerful, red Ferrari, “Wait; you drove yourself here?”

  “Yeah, I told Daryl to stay home, I figured I’d be parking under here and always planned to offer for you to come out to Galena.”

  As the gate to the underground parking garage opened, and Sebastian edged the car out and waited for traffic. The group of paparazzi that had been waiting nearby took pictures of them driving away together.

  “Oh, great,” Heather drawled, “I can just see the headlines, ‘Sebastian Fox and Heather York’s love affair continues!’”

  Sebastian was surprisingly serious as he replied, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I know it’s not what either of you two needs right now.”

  The reality of the situation hit her as they were speeding away from Chicago. She relaxed into the buttery leather as the distance between them and the city increased, but it was the distance that she was putting between her and Harrison that broke her. Ten years she’d been together with him. She’d thought that nothing could ever break them, but all it had taken was some asshole spiking his drink and one monumentally stupid mistake on his part.

  Heather began to cry again, frustrated with herself, and Sebastian reached his right hand over to hold her hand in his.

  “You’ll be okay, Heather,” he assured her. “It’ll take time, but you’ll survive this, I promise.”

  He squeezed her hand supportively, then let it go and pulled a pack of tissues out of the center console, “Here, I thought you might need these.”

  As she continued to cry, he called ahead to his maid and groundskeeper, letting them know that he would be visiting from today. He asked them to ensure the place was ready and then to please give them some space. Heather was glad that she would be given the opportunity to grieve the ending of her relationship in private.

  “Running away like this, it’s not going to solve anything,” she sighed deeply.

  “Maybe not, but you’ll be safe, Heather. Galena is perfect for that.”

  “I’m worried about Harrison,” she said between tears.

  “Me too. Hayden’s going to look out for him, though.” Sebastian gave her a grim smile.

  “And you’re on ‘Heather Duty,’ then, I’m guessing.”

  “Awwww, lover, spending time with you is never a chore…but yeah, I’m on ‘Heather Duty,’” he reached over and squeezed her hand again.

  She sighed and looked out the window at the world that was passing them by. Heather couldn’t believe that she’d actually done it. It still seemed unfathomable that she’d handed back her engagement ring to Harrison. She rubbed the place on her finger where it should be sitting. It felt wrong, the bare skin there.

  The worst part, really, was the sense of relief that she felt, knowing that she wouldn’t have to spend time with Harrison anymore. It made her feel like a traitor. She loved that man more than anything or anyone else in the world; it was wrong of her to feel this way. She felt sick, thinking about what the future held for her.

  At least for now, it seemed like her friends weren’t choosing sides. She knew from yesterday that even though Hayden was with Harrison now, he was just as much her friend as Harrison’s. They would obviously just have to catch up, separately. Would there ever be a time that she could maybe have a friendship with Harrison, as well? Was there some future where she had a different partner, where Harrison did, too? A group catch-up with Gabriel and Ariana, Hayden and Ally, and their respective partners that weren’t each other?

  The thought of a future like that made Heather unbearably sad. She didn’t want another boyfriend, fiancé, or husband. She wanted Harrison. Every fiber of her being ached for him. Belonged to him. How did everything go so horrendously wrong? This wasn’t fair.

  Her phone pinged, and she saw a text from Ariana.

  Where are you and Sebastian going?

  “Harrison?” Sebastian asked her.

  “No, Ariana,” she replied.

  Obviously the pictures of them had already hit the internet.

  We’re going to Galena. I broke up with Harrison.

  Heather knew that Ariana would already have been told, but she would have wanted her to hear it directly, as well. It felt terrible just writing those words.

  I know. I’m sorry, Heather.

  Heather sent back a GIF of an explosion with a dark laugh that caused Sebastian to look over at her.

  “I know it’s not what’s important right now, but I see you’re no longer Team Sebastian,” he laughed.

  Heather laughed as well; it was nice to actually find something funny, “Sorry, Seb. I’m a traitor of the highest order. Ariana is the best. I don’t know how I would’ve survived the last month without her support.”

  “I suppose she told you to end it with Harrison?” he asked.

  “No, she thinks I’m blowing up my life the way she did with Gabriel and that I’ll regret it.” Heather grimaced.

  “At least she has some sense,” Sebastian said.

  Heather rolled her eyes at him, “You’re going to end up friends with her again, Seb.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  Heather grinned wickedly at him, then pulled a sad face, “Because I’m really upset right now, Sebastian Fox. I just broke up with Harrison after ten years, and it would make me just a tiny bit happier if you forgave Ariana.”

  “Ooh, the emotional blackmail is strong with this one,” Sebastian laughed, “you know you’re one of the few people in the world who might actually be successful with a tactic like that.”

  “Wait? You’re telling me that all I have to do is break up with my fiancé to get you to do things for me? I’ll keep this in mind for the future; the tradeoff seems worthwhile,” she gave a hollow laugh.

  They made the rest of the journey in relative silence. The pervasive feeling of emptiness that Heather had these days was all-consuming. She still didn’t know how she would survive without Harrison, and the knowledge that she needed to call all of the vendors on Monday and cancel their wedding was killing her.

  When they reached Sebastian’s place, he parked in the garage and carried her suitcase inside for her. They went upstairs, and for an awful second, Heather thought that Sebastian was going to take her to the room she’d shared with Harrison on her previous visits, she hadn’t thought about where she would sleep while she was here.

  Thankfully, he turned in the opposite direction, instead, and opened a door some way down the hall. He stood aside and allowed her to walk in before him.

  “My room is right next door if you need anything,” he smiled at her.

  “Noted for our late-night fuckfest,” Heather said with grim amusement.

  It felt like a lifetime ago that Harrison had made that joke to her in New York City the day before her fashion show. She’d give anything to go back to that time and be with him again.

  Sebastian went and sat on an armchair near the window as Heather started emptying her suitcase and grinned at her, “I stocked up on condoms, so we’re all good.”

  They went back downstairs, and Sebastian got them both some drinks. He also grabbed some snacks that they took with them into his theater. Heather sat back in one of the reclining chairs as he put a comedy on for them to watch. When the movie finished, he chose another one, and Heather was grateful to just zone out, while Sebastian ensured her drink was refilled each time it was empty.

  About twenty minutes into the second film, her phone lit up with a text from Hayden.

  Hey, Heather. Harrison wants to go clubbing. I’ve told him I don’t think it’s a good idea, but he’s pretty insistent.


  “Read this,” Heather said, handing her phone over to Sebastian as he paused the film.

  He frowned as he read it and handed her phone back to her, “That’s not good.”

  “I know, but it’s not like it’s my place to stop him.”

  The knowledge that she had no right to have any input in Harrison’s movements now was so painful that she felt like she was being torn into pieces. Sebastian got his own phone, sent a text, and then showed her the screen. He’d texted Harrison.

  Dude, don’t go to a club. The press will have a field day.

  As she was reading it, Harrison’s reply came through, and Heather was able to read it before Sebastian had a chance to turn the phone away.

  What do I fucking care? Nothing matters anymore. I’m going to get fucked up.

  He’d punctuated it with the shrugging emoji. Heather was worried, she’d known that Harrison would be hurting tonight, but she was actually concerned that he might hurt himself.

  “Surely, Michael wouldn’t let him go?” She bit her lip, “I mean, Cal wouldn’t let me out the day I found out about Maddy.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not Callum’s boss. He could fire Michael if he tries to stop him from going, like you tried with Callum.”

  She’d told Sebastian the story of the day she’d come back from New York and found out about Harrison. Heather sighed and sent a text back to Hayden.

  Thanks for the heads up. Please keep him safe, Hayden.

  Heather saw a notification that she had a DM on Instagram from @meggggzy2005. Only people that she followed could message her, and she wondered what Megan had said.

  Hi Heather. You might not read this but I just wanted you to know I don’t believe you cheated on Harrison. If its true you guys have broken up, thats so sad. I love you guys so much!

  She didn’t really want to reply and give her any information, but Megan was so sweet that she didn’t want to leave her on ‘read’, either.

  Thanks. I didn’t cheat. It’s nice to know someone believes that. I appreciate the support, Megan. :)

  Heather closed the app without waiting for a reply and turned to Sebastian, “Shall we finish watching this movie, and can I get another drink?”

  “Sure, are you going to eat anything, though?” he indicated to the snacks and looked concerned as she shook her head, but took her glass and refilled it before turning the movie back on.

  By the time the movie had finished, Heather was very drunk, and Sebastian refused to refill her glass this time, “You’ve had more than enough, lover.”

  “But Seeeeeeeb, I’m saaaaaad!” she whined at him, and he laughed.

  “Nope, the emotional blackmail thing doesn’t work when what you want is bad for you.”

  “You suck,” she sulked.

  “Come with me; you need to eat something. How about I heat up a frozen pizza?” he offered.

  Heather was actually hungry now, so she nodded and stood up to follow him to the kitchen. As soon as she was upright, she swayed on her feet, and Sebastian laughed as he took hold of her arm and steadied her.

  “I told you that you’d drunk too much, lover. Maybe you should have some coffee with that pizza?”

  He helped her up the stairs and led her to the kitchen. She sat on a stool at the kitchen bench as he turned on the oven to heat up. Heather grabbed her phone and searched for ‘Harrison Fletcher.’ She was rewarded with a page of articles about him, and sure enough, there were pictures of him and Hayden entering a club about an hour ago.

  “God, I hope he’s okay.” She dropped her phone onto the kitchen bench and spun it around so that Sebastian, who was standing across from her, could see it.

  “Hayden’s with him, he’ll be okay.”

  “Why do you sound so unsure, then, Sebastian?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  He didn’t answer her question, just grabbed a frozen pizza from the freezer and opened the box, put the pizza on a tray, then slid it into the oven.

  Heather couldn’t resist asking Sebastian, “What’s the worst that you think he could do?”

  “Come on, Heather,” she knew he was serious, he had used her real name, “you don’t want me to answer that.”

  “No, I do. I broke up with him today, and all day, I’ve been running through worst-case scenarios in my head. An overdose would be pretty fucking bad, I’ve decided. Having sex with someone else again, though, that would possibly be worse for me. Which I know is unfair, considering he’s technically free to screw whoever he wants now.”

  Heather felt utterly miserable at the idea of Harrison in bed with someone else and had to wipe away the tears that had sprung to her eyes as she said it. It was the basis of every one of her daily nightmares, and now he could theoretically go ahead with it.

  “He’s not going to do either of those things,” Sebastian said confidently.

  “You sound so sure of yourself, considering we’re talking about a man who specifically told you he’s going to get ‘fucked up,’ tonight.”

  “Damn, I was hoping you didn’t have time to read that,” Sebastian said, and grimaced at her.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, it just popped up, and I couldn’t stop myself. I want to call him, Seb. I want to tell him to come here and be with me and never leave. I hate myself because I won’t do it.”

  “Don’t hate yourself. I understand why you did it,” he shrugged casually.

  “Really? You’re the only one if that’s the case. Okay,” she corrected herself, “one of the only two people, since Harrison was unsurprised. But Hayden, Ally, and Ariana all tried to talk me out of it. So why is it that Sebastian Fox, Mr. Commitment-phobe himself, gets it?” She gave him a wry grin.

  “Because I’m scared for him, now, but I was scared for you before.”

  Heather frowned, “What do you mean? Explain.”

  “I’ve watched you become a shell of your former self for the last two months, Heather. I even talked to Harrison about it a couple of weeks ago. He had noticed, too. The only time I’ve seen you like that before was when Ariana left, but this was different; worse.

  “When she left, you were clearly upset. You weren’t eating, and we could all tell that you were devastated. These last two months”—he paused and seemed to search for the right words to describe it—“you’ve seemed empty. Like you don’t have any feelings at all. The light’s gone out from behind your eyes, and it’s terrifying to see.

  “It was more like Gabriel was back then. I chose ‘Heather Duty,’ because I know what Harrison is going to be like, now, and I can’t stand it. I trust that Hayden will keep him safe, but I can’t be the one to do it. Not again.”

  Sebastian turned away from her as he finished his explanation, and Heather thought that she saw tears in his eyes. He busied himself with making them both coffees, and she thought about what he’d said. For someone who hated relationships, he was surprisingly insightful about them. He was the only person, aside from Harrison, who had noticed how empty she was feeling.

  “I’m broken, Seb,” she said quietly, “I’m broken, and I don’t know how I can fix myself. Two months of therapy with two different therapists, and I’m still fucking broken. I’m having nightmares every fucking time I sleep. How am I supposed to get better? What Harrison said to you in his text? I feel that, too. Nothing fucking matters anymore. Nothing matters because some asshole spiked your drinks, and Harrison slept with someone else.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that…” Sebastian turned to her, brought their coffees over to the counter, and slid hers in front of her before turning back to get the pizza out of the oven.

  “Yeah, me too,” she said darkly.

  “No, not the cheating,” he clarified, as he grabbed a pizza cutter from a drawer and started to serve them up a couple of slices of pizza each, “the drugging. How much money do you think those pictures of Harrison were worth?”

  Heather was horrified, “What? No. You think someone did i
t on purpose to get pictures like that?”

  “In case you were wondering, the answer would be ‘a motherfucking fortune.’ I’m going to talk to Cooper this week about it. He’s been liaising with the police on the investigation, but I don’t think they’ve found anything, yet.”

  “I just assumed the picture was taken by some maid or someone who came into the room in the morning,” Heather frowned, “but if what you’re suggesting is right, fuck. That would make sense.”

  Heather took a bite of a slice of pizza. It was tasty, and she felt better now that she was eating something. Sebastian’s theory was awful, but it would also explain a lot. Otherwise, there was no real reason for their table to have been targeted with the drugged wine.

  “How could they be sure that they’d get something good, though? I mean, they sure are lucky that Harrison cheated on me.”

  “I don’t know; it’s just a theory. Like I said, I’m going to talk to Cooper and see what he says. Maybe it’s nothing, but it could give the police something to go on, I guess.” He shrugged.

  Heather didn’t know how to feel about this idea. She’d known all along that Harrison was a victim of being drugged, but the idea that it had been so that somebody could take advantage of him was even worse.

  “If you’re right, Seb,” she said slowly, “then that’s like what happened with Ariana and that reporter, but about a million times worse. The fact that someone did that to Ariana makes me think that, fuck, there’s at least a possibility that you could be right.”

  “Yeah, it’s scary. I hope that I’m wrong,” Sebastian replied as the coffee that Heather was drinking plus the topic they were discussing sobered her up a lot.

  She picked up her phone and searched Harrison’s name again. This time, there were pictures of Harrison and Hayden leaving the club, bodyguards keeping the paparazzi at bay. Michael seemed to be helping Harrison to walk in a similar fashion to the way Sebastian had helped Heather, earlier.

  He looked too beautiful to be allowed, even in this state. She started to cry as memories of the life they’d shared together flooded over her. She missed him with every fiber of her being. It was strange to believe that it was only this morning that she’d seen him last. It had been a long, and very draining, day.