It was morning and, and Alexander was eager to barge into Maxwell’s house to stop the wedding. Sienna called him while he was driving, and Ashton took the call on his behalf.
“Hi, Sienna. Ashton here. Alex is driving,” said Ashton.
“He called me last night after I fell asleep.”
“Yes, but right now, we’re on our way to Maxwell’s house.” Sienna gasped at the other end.
“Are you going to stop the wedding?”
“Yes, we are planning to. Are you there?” asked Ashton.
“Yes, we all are there. Do you need help? You have our support,” said Sienna.
“Thanks. We would need that! We’ll ask for help if we need it. See you in ten minutes,” said Ashton, disconnecting the call.
“Why didn’t you ask about Eva? You should have asked about the scene at the house,” pointed out Alexander.
“Oh, it escaped my mind. Do you want me to call her back?” he asked warily.
“No, we need to pick up Jax and Mike from their houses, right?” asked Alexander.
“No, Jax will reach the venue. We need to pick up Mike on our way. They want to help in case Maxwell’s family overpowers us,” said Ashton. Jax and Mike were their old batch mates in school. Alexander, being reserved and reclusive, hardly kept in touch, but Ashton never forgot his friends. He kept in touch with all of them who cared for him. Jax was a cop with the NYPD and Mike owned a real estate firm.
So they picked up Mike, who was quite excited to be able to help an old friend get his girl. “Thanks for coming along, Mike. I owe you, man!” said Alexander.
“Any time, dude! Hope this works and you get to marry her peacefully.”
“Yes, Jax is coming over too,” said Ashton.
“That’s good. He can help with his connections in case they report us.”
“We will play fair so that they don’t report us,” said Alexander as they drove off towards Greenwich Village.
Alexander’s phone beeped with an incoming call that flashed the name of Kendall Clyborne on the call tracking app. Ashton looked at the screen curiously. “Bro, there’s a call from someone called Kendall Clyborne. What do I do?”
“Wait, I’ll stop the car and take the call. She is related to Maxwell and might have something important to say,” said Alexander, steering the car off the road and parking at the side in a safe zone. However, the call got disconnected, and he called back, restless to know how Maxwell’s family got his number. Why would they call him?
After a few rings, a woman’s voice answered his call.
“Hi, am I speaking to Alexander Van Every?” she asked, hesitating a little.
“Yes, I received a call from this number. Is Eva there with you?” asked Alexander earnestly.
“She was trying to reach out to you, but now it’s not possible. The entire family is with her.”
“Who are you anyway?” asked Alexander suspiciously.
“I’m Maxwell’s sister.”
“Why are you helping Eva?” Alexander frowned at the knowledge. Did Maxwell engage her to find out about his plans?
“I’m actually helping my brother. He doesn’t love her and they aren’t happy together,” said Kendall.
“Isn’t it too late?”
“Eva’s very upset. That’s why I was trying to look out for her. It’s your call what you want to do. Good luck!” said Kendall, disconnecting the call.
“Why didn’t you tell her we’re on our way?” asked a confused Mike.
“She might be fishing for information. We need to take them by surprise.” They drove on and soon met Jax on his service motorcycle. He waved at them and followed them all the way to Maxwell’s house.
In the Meantime:
“What did Alexander say? Is he coming over or not?” asked an eager Skylar.
“Yes, he and Ashton are coming over to stop the wedding,” said Sienna, and aunt Claudia’s eyes widened with dread.
“I hope Alexander doesn’t create a nuisance here. He has a bad temper and I don’t want history repeating itself.” No one knew it better than her, having nursed Nicholas back to health afterwards.
“I hope so,” said Sienna with a sigh. Katie emerged from Eva’s room and sat down with them, and they had to stop the discussion.
“Eva is too upset today. I’m afraid she will fall sick if this continues.” They eyed one another, knowing the cause of Eva’s state.
“I’ll go in and calm her down,” offered aunt Claudia, getting up to go inside.
Katie left to get her breakfast, and the friends sat in one corner, watching the wedding arch put up in the backyard. It was a simple tulle and floral wreath arch put up at the last minute, but the red roses on the heart-shaped arch looked perfectly romantic.
“I can’t face her now. I’ll stay here till Alexander comes over,” said Sienna with a sigh.
“Same here. She’ll be more upset if she sees any of us. She’s trying to control her emotions in front of strangers,” said Hayley.
“It’s best that they don’t know what’s going on or they might call the cops on Alexander,” said Skylar.
After ten minutes, the doorbell rang, and they were immediately on high alert, knowing that it would be Alexander and no one else. However, their housekeeper opened the door to an attendant who came in with some kitchen stuff. They all released the breath they were holding.
Maxwell emerged from his room in an annoyed state and his eyes went straight to Eva’s friends watching him angrily.
“Hasn’t Mr. Lawrence arrived, dad?” asked Maxwell eagerly. Christopher Lawrence was the officiant who had presided over Isaac and Penny’s wedding three years ago. The family knew him personally and was thankful that he agreed to come over at the last minute.
“No, there’s an hour left. What’s the hurry son?” chuckled his uncle, Tim Clyborne, who was aunt Gloria’s husband.
“We seem to have forgotten our wedding days, Tim. Remember how anxious you were?” asked Maxwell’s dad, and they joked and chuckled about it. Maxwell was too tense to contribute to the conversation and glanced towards the door. With no information about Alexander’s plans, he was too disturbed to sit still. Knowing Alexander all his life, Maxwell couldn’t believe that he would allow him to marry Eva without a fight. Did he not know about her pregnancy?
The doorbell rang just then and before he could alert his housekeeper, Mrs. Duncan, she opened the door wide. To his immense horror, Alexander strode in, looking furious and ready for his blood. Following him were his troop of devout followers, Ashton, Jax, and Mike, all his seniors at school.
“You can’t just barge in? Who are you? What do you want here?” demanded his dad, getting up.
“What’s going on, Maxwell?” demanded uncle Tim. Maxwell fisted his hands and rushed ahead in a fit of rage.
“Get out, Alexander, before I call the cops to get you arrested,” he gritted out. Alexander laughed and came to a stop right in front of Maxwell.
“Jax is a cop. So keep your threats in your pockets. I’m here to take what is mine. There won’t be any violence if you let me see Eva,” he said as calmly as he could. Sienna, Hayley, and Skylar went towards Alexander to support him.
“Calm down, Maxwell. Eva and Alexander love one another. You can’t marry her forcefully,” said Sienna, but no one paid any heed to her.
“We can’t allow you to see her, Mr. Van Every. She is undergoing a critical pregnancy,” said Maxwell’s dad.
“Her condition isn’t stable. Please leave,” said Uncle Tim. Aunt Gwen and Isaac came out to see what the chaos was all about.
“Expecting?” muttered Alexander, desperately looking at Maxwell for an explanation.
“Yes, she’s pregnant with Maxwell’s child. That’s the reason we hurried with the wedding,” explained aunt Gwen. Isaac came forward towards Alexander and grabbed his arm to throw him out, but he shoved him away furiously, making him stagger. A crazy spark of fury surged inside Alexander, spreading like a wildfire, and he caught Maxwell by his collars.
“How dare you touch her? How could you take advantage of her? She’s mine.” He punched Maxwell so hard that he staggered and fell backward on the floor while everyone gasped with horror.
Maxwell laughed instead at him, but did not clarify.
Isaac and Maxwell’s dad tried to overpower Alexander, but he lost his cool and extricated himself from their hold to hit Maxwell again. Sienna came to her senses, realizing what Alexander had concluded.
“It’s not Maxwell’s baby, Alexander. Eva is pregnant with your baby!” she yelled and this time everyone heard her. Alexander froze and slowly turned to face her, and so did the others. There was a deafening silence in the room, and all eyes curiously focused on her. Everyone had come out to stop the fight and heard the bitter truth.
“Eva is pregnant with Alexander’s baby? Are you in your senses? What are you saying?” asked aunt Gloria in a daze.
“Yes, we all know about it. Eva tried contacting Alexander many times. Maxwell knows everything. Why don’t you ask him?” said Sienna.
“Yes, Sienna is right,” said Skylar.
“Why didn’t you tell me when you knew it all along?” Alexander asked Maxwell in a dazed state.