The Wedding Plan

Chapter 51

'How?'

'It doesn't matter. What matters is that it became much more than a lie, didn't it?'

'I'm not so sure about that.'

'Why?'

Eleanor sighed and sat on the bench beside Lina.

'I walked by the living room yesterday while you were talking with your brother. I didn't mean to listen. It just happened.'

She hid her face with her hands.

'Oh, I see,' Lina chuckled. 'But I guess you didn't listen to the whole thing. Otherwise, you wouldn't be like this.'

Eleanor raised her head and frowned.

'What did you hear?'

'You,' — she took a deep breath — 'you asked him if it was still a lie, he didn't answer. I think that his hesitation says it all, otherwise he would've just said it immediately.'

'Do you want to know why he didn't answer?'

'Definitively not.'

'Are you sure?'

Tears started pouring from Eleanor's eyes.

'Please. Please don't cry, sweety. You look beautiful and you will ruin your makeup. And I can ensure you that there's no need to cry,' Lina placed her arm around Eleanor's shoulder. 'He didn't say anything because he was trying to choose the right words. He doesn't just like you, it's a lot more than that.'

Eleanor's tears stopped and perplexed. She raised her head and looked Lina straight in the eyes.

'Yeah, I know, he could've realized it sooner, but you can also give him a chance right now and talk to him. Hurry and solve this so that you can officially become my sister-in-law.'

'Your what?'

Lina giggled.

'You heard me. You two have some serious communication issues.'

'I guess we're still learning.' She smiled.

'What you two have is something special. I've seen the way you look at each other. You don't come across that often. You can't waste something like that.'

'Did you know Ian was the one?'

'I didn't at first,' — she looked outside through the window and smiled as she glanced at the sky, she had so much tenderness in her eyes — 'we didn't click right off the bat.'

'I would've never thought that. Seeing how you two are now.'

'I might be an outgoing person, but I wasn't ready for love when I met him. I made thigs difficult for him. Luckily Ian is the most stubborn person I know, and he did not give up. I wasn't in a position that different from yours. That's why I can recognize your mistakes and why I want to help. And besides, I was part of the problem. If I hadn't talked to Sebastian—'

'It's not your fault. I shouldn't have eavesdropped. And I should've talked to him no matter what. Thank you for everything, Lina.'

'My pleasure. But you should go now. Try to find him before we start the wedding.'

Eleanor left Lina's room confused and felling guilty. If she only had talked to him. If she had told him what she heard and confronted him about it, if she hadn't run away as she always did, they would be in a very different situation.

When she found Sebastian, there was no time left to talk things over; he needed to take his place standing beside Ian as the best man and the guests were already in their sits waiting for Lina to walk down the aisle.

Eleanor disguised her sadness with tears, as if they were happiness ones from seeing the bride and groom exchange their vows.

They moved to the reception area, and it became impossible for them to have a proper conversation. Sebastian was always being snatched away by someone that hadn't seen him in a while and wanted to talk to him, and Eleanor was left alone with her guilty weighting on her.

The food was delicious, but it left Eleanor with a bitter aftertaste on her tongue. She couldn't disguise it any longer. Even Larissa, that sat in front of Eleanor, noticed that something was wrong.

Lina and Ian were dancing in each other's arms, floating around the dance floor as if no one else were around them. Larissa refused to dance and stayed with Eleanor, and Sebastian had vanished once more.

'I'm going to walk for a bit,' Eleanor said with a forced a smile.

'Are you ok?' Larissa asked. She could she see right through Eleanor's smile.

'Too much wine. I think. I just need to move a little,' she lied. Her glass was still full, and she had barely touched her food.

Eleanor was feeling overwhelmed and started walking towards the vineyard. She sat on the swing pending from the old tree, where she had the picnic date with Sebastian, took off her shoes; that turned out to be a lot more uncomfortable that she anticipated; and closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun while taking deep breaths.