Not Meant To Be?

No man is worth your tears

The Present

Riley was lying in bed with dry eyes and a faraway look on her face. She made a promise to herself. She would keep her promise. No man was worth crying over. A man who did not trust, was not the man for her. A man who was quick to judge, was not the man for her. A man, who easily gives up the one he loves is not the man for her. A man, who could not have loved her as deeply as he said or pretended to. A man, not worth the tears she shed.

Getting out of bed, she got ready for the day. There was a lot to do, to prepare for the wedding and she was a pro at it. She ought to be as for the last few years, work had come first. She arrived at work and went in search of coffee. She needed the caffeine for what she had to do today. Caffeine fix ingested, Riley made the call that would put her in an emotional spin but it had to be done.

"Hello! Hello?" Riley cut the call. She couldn't do it. So much for her pep talk earlier! Mentally slapping herself, she reminded herself that Grace, did nothing wrong. If she was honest, the reason she chickened out is because she was scared that Lucien would answer the call. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. She dialed again. "Hello!" "Hello Grace. It's Riley. I'm sorry for the call just now. We had a connection problem." "Riley? My Riley?"

"Yes Grace, it's me. How are you?" Grace couldn't answer. She was crying. "Where have you been Riley. Lucien wouldn't say anything. We've been so worried." she said between sobs. Riley couldn't answer. Tears were contagious. She thought they wouldn't care about her. She thought wrong! The two friends caught up. Riley promised to tell her everything when she saw her. Riley cried even more, when Grace told her that her mom wanted to talk to her. Mrs  Sinclair lovingly scolded Riley for leaving them, without a word. They talked for hours. Riley's frozen heart melted a little as she reconnected with the two females who meant a lot to her.

Grace told her that Lucien wouldn't say anything about why she left and he refused to talk about her. When he started dating Elena, they then figured that he, and Riley had broken up. Riley apologized for not contacting them. They ended the call, agreeing to chat daily as there was a lot to discuss about the wedding.

Riley smiled as she placed the phone on  her desk. She wasn't going to let Lucien control her life again. "He could go to hell for all she cared. No man was worth, losing others, who cared about her." With a spring in her step, she left her office to carry out her daily tasks. The days and weeks went by quickly. Riley, Grace and Stacy chatted daily. They filled each other in, about happenings in their lives. Stacy had a minor heart condition and was bossed  about by her family, all the time. She had been very ill at one point in time, and terrified of losing her, they had made it clear that she was not allowed to do anything stress related. Lucien had insisted on hiring a full time nurse, who offcourse, had nothing to do. Mr Sinclair as Riley had always called him, was semi retired on instructions from his children. His duty, was to keep his wife safe, and happy. Riley laughed as Stacy related some hilarious incidents.

Riley had missed this. That family bonding between her family and Lucien's family had been very strong. Besides Lucien, Grace and Stacy had been her silent and strong support when she lost her parents. They would visit and just sit in silence while Lucien was at classes and knowing that she still had family, had pushed Riley to finally come out of the depression. It had been too late by then but Riley never forgot and will never forget those who had her back. Ryan, Carter, Grace and Stacy were her family. She vowed to do anything for them.

Time sped by and a week before the wedding, Riley, Ryan and Carter were having dinner together. The guys were so happy that Riley was happy that they had thrown her a party. Ryan got very drunk and wouldn't stop crying about how he was so happy that his baby was happy. He kept singing a song he made up. "I'm so happy, happy, happy. My baby is so happy, happy, happy. Carter is so sour, sour, sour because I'm so happy, happy, happy." Ryan was a bit of a demon at times. He loved to trouble Carter, because Carter, loved him unconditionally and he loved to push his buttons. Carter, bless his gentle soul, just laughed it off. Riley loved them both so much. Her brothers. That's who they were. How could she mope over what happened, if the result was these two. That night, they all went to bed with happy hearts.

During this time, it had never occurred to any of them to ask who Grace was marrying. It was only when they started with decor that it came up. Riley said she would ask when she called Grace for their daily chat. When she did make the call though, Grace didn't answer. Thinking that Grace was probably busy, she decided to try again and if she didn't answer, she would try later. She dialled again and a voice she knew very well, answered the call. "Hello! This is Grace's phone." That voice, though slightly older, sent shivers down her spine. She almost cut the call but at the last second, she responded. "Hello, is Grace available?" There was a heartbeat of silence then,"No, she's out shopping. She left her phone at home. Can I ask who's calling?" Riley didn't want to say who she was. He obviously didn't recognize her voice."It's her wedding planner. I'll call her later." He then asked,"Who am I speaking to?" Riley rushed out, "No stress! I'll call later," and ended the call, leaving the person on the other end, staring numbly at the phone in his hand as his brain, finally registered, the name of the caller, which was proudly displayed on the screen.

Riley, sat at her desk with a blank expression on her face. After a few minutes, she left her office to find the guys. Letting them know that she didn't get hold of Grace, but would try again later, she carried on with her work. Nothing was allowed to impact on the good mood she was in. She wouldn't allow it.

Later in the day, Grace called her back. The message had been delivered to her and when she tried to pry, she was left disappointed. No reply came forth. Riley also did not say much, other than, that she did not leave a message but wanted to call back later. Grace told her who she was getting married to. Turns out that it was Justin, a close cousin of Ryan and Elena's, which meant that Ryan's family were coming to the wedding. Ryan was in a state of panic, after hearing this news and Riley and Carter had calmed him down to a certain point but he was still apprehensive. Having someone else to focus on, kept Riley occupied. Who knows, what tomorrow, will bring!