The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

74. Louis

A/N: I'm not saying there's any actual smut in this chapter, but it's pretty heavily implied lol

     "I would like to formally congratulate my son and his new bride on their marriage," Father stands from the table, wine glass in hand. He's in the very middle of the long table in the front of the room, for some reason. You'd think that Bella and I would be in the middle. "May this day be the mark of a new life together. I wish you all the luck for today, and for many years to come."

     I huff as the crowd cheers and Father takes his seat to my left. It's a miracle how we had enough tables to fit two hundred people in one large room, along with all the decorations.

     The decorations themselves are rather bland. All around me is nothing but white; white tables, white chairs, white curtains, white flowers, and so forth. At least I wasn't forced to wear white myself, or I would've choked someone.

     The clatter of forks and knives hitting the plates is ringing through my ears as I look down at my own plate. Hungry is the last word to describe how I'm feeling, and I don't even like meat anymore. I suppose red wine will have to do.

     Picking up my glass and taking a large gulp, I look around me at the people seated at my table. Father is to my left, and Bella is to my right. Beside her are Catherine, then Tadia. To Father's left is Mother, then Harry, then Liam, leaving Father to be in the exact middle of the table. I'm slightly curious as to why Harry is sitting next to Mother when Liam is the eldest one.

     Harry's been acting odd all day, and I didn't have anything to do with it. I assumed all was well when he barely spoke with me and seemed disinterested in Father's words earlier, as usual, when we were preparing for the wedding. But, I noticed the look on his face in the chapel while we were waiting for Bella. He seemed...sad.

     Now, I may be selfish and have a knack for causing trouble, but I still love my brother. However, I'm not interested enough to find out what's wrong myself. I suppose I can get Edward to gather information, he's been incredibly useful to me.

     "Would you go easy on the wine?" Bella whispers, leaning towards me.

     "Would you mind your own business?" I snap back. Then, I sigh. "Sorry."

     I turn to her and she smiles, confusing me. "It's alright. You know, I've noticed a change in you."

     "Have you now?" I raise a brow. I admit that I have indeed changed since she first arrived here, and I now sicken myself with how good I've become. Luckily, I've kept my rudeness towards most people, but for some reason, I can't find it in me to treat Bella like I treat everyone else. I don't know how she did it, but she's got me wrapped around her finger and I honestly don't mind.

     "Mhm," she says, sipping her glass of water. "You're nicer, more tolerable."

     "So are you," I chuckle, and she laughs. We don't say much after that, we just eat course after coarse until we can't eat anymore and Bella jokes about her dress being too tight. I restrain from offering to rip it off-

     "Ooh, cake!" Bella excitedly exclaims after complaining about eating too much. A few seconds later, servants come to take our dirty plates and place clean plates in front of us, each plate with a small slice of cake on it. It's vanilla, with no frosting. Of course my wedding cake would be bland. Nonetheless, I enjoyed eating it.

     "I wish I had some more," I mumble into Bella's ear as someone announces it's time to dance. Everyone stands from their tables, which are being pushed back towards the walls.

     She leans in again, the scent of vanilla inviting itself to me. "Think we can get more cake?"

     I think for a moment. "Maybe after the first dance, we can sneak into the kitchen."