Always the Bride

29. Unexpected feelings

Hi guys, here's the latest chapter. It's nice and long to make up for the gap in updating. :) Happy reading. You know the drill. Vote and comment if you enjoy. <3

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“Has anyone noticed Julia is missing?” I ask after a lengthy silence.

Jamie rolls his eyes. “Of course, why do you think I’m back out here again?”

 I place my hands on my hips. “Well how am I supposed to know? You ran out so quickly after going in I wouldn’t think you had time to realise the problem.”

He runs a hand through his hair and releases a breath. “Good ol’ Uncle Bronco was standing at the altar. The moment I walked in he said it couldn’t go ahead unless Julia was present.” He muttered obscenities under his breath. “The nerve of him,” he says in a louder voice.

I groan and start pacing the ground. How could we have forgotten something so important? It was the one thing I was aware of night but today…what the hell happened?

Julian.

His name sends a shiver down my spine as memories of our encounter cloud my mind. Seeing him made me forget everything. Still, how could Jamie or Russell forget? Especially Russell! Julia is his wife.

I groan in frustration and grab at my wig. I rip it off, throw it on the ground and stomp on it like a five year old.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I mutter as I stomp on it over and over again.

The plaits I put in it yesterday are gone and this is just a wig of long hair. Or at least was. My stomping has turned it into a matted mess. Yet I can’t seem to stop. I’m so frustrated at forgetting something so important and doing something so immature is strangely relieving.

“Hey,” Jamie cries, grabbing my arm and pulling me away, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Breathing heavily I stand staring at the wig, anger coursing through my veins. How could we have been so careless? Seriously! This has just confirmed why this needs to stop. It’s so out of control, I just can’t enjoy it anymore.

“I’m not doing this,” I snap, looking at Jamie square in the face. “I never wanted to do this to begin with but you made me.”

Jamie’s face crosses with disbelief. “Me? You didn’t have to agree!”

I glare at him. “Yes I did, Jamie. You practically blackmailed me saying I owed you a favour.”

He smirks. “Oh yeah so I did. In fact, you still do. Tell you what, go through with this for me and all debts will have been repaid.”

My shoulders slump forward. There’s no getting out of this now, is there? I need to see this through just to be rid of Jamie.

“Fine,” I say at last. “But I want my gifts and I don’t want to hang around. I have a life to lead.”

“You have a life? I thought this was your life?”

He looks genuinely shocked, not that I blame him. I do look like quite a loner offering my services to so-called jilted men. Although Jamie knows otherwise now. The truth is though, the story I originally told him holds some merit. After all, it’s only jilted men who will agree to getting married to a stranger so quickly.

I shake my head to dismiss my thoughts. Now is not the time to think about this. I need to marry Jamie, whether I like it or not.

“Not anymore,” I say as my thoughts briefly turn to Julian.