The priest began the wedding ceremony and Harriett couldn’t help the smile that was plastered to her face as she watched Eric exchange vows with his beautiful bride. The way he looked at his bride made it obvious that he was completely smitten by her.
Harriett made a mental note to thank the lovely girl for capturing Eric’s heart and causing him to settle down.
As Damien stood beside Eric as his bestman, he was completely unaware of the woman who was seated a few meters away from him. It is only when he turns his head to catch a small glimpse of the crowd that he sees her, dressed in red and smiling at an unfamiliar man.
Damien felt the air seep out of him as he found it hard to breathe. He had searched the whole earth for her for four whole years but it was to no avail.
She looked different. Too different.
When she lived with him, she looked pale and worn out, always having eye bags and her eyes lacked warmth. No matter how much she tried then, she could never look appealing to him because of how lifeless she looked.
But, seeing how she was glowing and full of life while seated with that man, it made him wonder if she was that way because of how he treated her.
She looked healthy and her eyes held genuine happiness in them.
She was beautiful.
The wedding suddenly didn’t interest him anymore as he kept his gaze focused on his ex-wife.
“Why is she here?” He thought and his eyes moved to Eric and back to Harriett who was smiling brightly at him and his bride. It was then it dawned on him that she was invited by Eric. The fact that she was seated at the front said it all.
Damien felt betrayed by his friend and all he wanted was to speak to Harriett.
He needed to apologize to her for everything that happened four years ago and beg her to return to him.
As unbelievable as it sounds, Damien realized that he was in love with Harriett only after she left.
He woke up every morning expecting to see her by his side, smiling like she always did even though he was so foolish then and never reciprocated her love.
Evelyn, whose eyes had been on him noticed his gaze was directed in a particular direction and when she turned, she almost choked on her spit. She couldn’t believe that Harriett was back after all these years.
She was still in the process of securing her spot as Damien’s wife.
Why did she have to show up now?! Why now when she was so close to making Damien finally agree to marry her?
She had waited patiently for four years to become Mrs Daniels and just when it was about to happen, Harriett shows up again just like she did Seven years ago!
Evelyn gripped her seat angrily but then noticed that Harriett wasn’t alone. Instead, she was seated beside a man and two children?
“Harriett gave birth?” She thought to herself with a smile. To her, Harriett was remarried and already had children so there was no way she could come back into Damien’s life.
Twenty minutes later, the ceremony was over and it was finally time for the reception.
Harriett, Tony and her children drove to the reception venue but since they had to stop and get an ice cream for Addison who suddenly started whining about it, they arrived a little late.
“This place looks so cool, mummy.” Adrian shrieked as soon as they got to the venue and Harriett nodded, agreeing with him. Eric definitely spent a fortune on this wedding. But then, who wouldn’t want to make their wedding as memorable as possible?
Harriett took the children and walked to where Eric sat to greet him and his bride.
“Look who it is!! I’m so happy you made it, Harriett.” Eric said, giving her a hug. He looks down and noticed the two beauties standing beside her.
“Look how big they are.” He said, bending down to their level to give them a little fist bump.
“Congratulations, Eric.” Harriett smiled and turned to the brunette who had captured his heart.
“Congratulations to you too. Although I have to warn you. Eric is a lot to handle.” She said jokingly and they all laughed.
“I’m Harriett, by the way.” She said and the lady nodded.
“I know. Eric has said so much about you. I’m Iris.” She said with a smile and both women hugged.
“I’m sure you remember Tony, my friend from Paris.” She told Eric and he nodded before pulling out his hand for a handshake.
“Of course. How could I forget?” He forced a smile out as he greeted Tony. He could already see the trouble that was on the way.
Damien had arrived at the venue a few hours ago but was out on a call when Harriett walked in. When he walked back into the venue, he saw her talking with Eric and decided that it was a perfect time to approach her.
As he took a step, he suddenly remembered his harsh words to her a few days before she left. Even when she confessed that she loved him, he ignored it and broke her heart.
Oh, how much she must hate him.
He pushed his thoughts aside and walked to her. When he got closer, he noticed that she wasn’t alone. The man from before was still glued to her and two children were also beside her.
Damien’s brows creased in confusion. He couldn’t understand why Harriett would be with a child, two at that.
He decided to find out for himself and approached her.
“Harriett.” The words rolled off his lips for the first time in four years and God, it felt good.
Harriett felt her heart waver as she heard the familiar voice of her ex-husband. In the past, he barely called her by her name and if he ever did, it was void of any emotion.
Her mind flashed back to his accusations and harsh treatment from four years ago and suddenly, the pain from before crept back in.
Tony who was beside her, noticed the sudden change in her mood and understood that the man who just called her name was her ex-husband. He had to be, seeing as he was the bestman to the groom and Harriett had explained earlier that they were best of friends.
He snaked his arm around Harriett’s waist and pulled her in, assuring her that he was going to keep to his word and protect her.
Damien who saw this held himself from giving the man a punch on the face.
‘How dare he touch my wife.’ He snarled but said nothing as he didn’t want to create a scene.
“I’ll be fine.” Harriett whispered and turned to Damien with a smile.
“Hello, Damien.” She greeted with an emotionless tone that was a huge contrast to the smile on her face.
She had to admit, he certainly looked different. Not in a good way though.
She could tell that the only reason he got a shave was because of the wedding. His eyes looked tired and weak, almost like he had been having a hard time.
‘He has Evelyn by his side, he should be happy.’ She thought, eyeing him up and down.
“You look… different.” He said, unsure of where to start.
Harriett let out a short laugh, her eyes turning cold. “I could say the same about you.”
Damien opened his mouth to say something when his eyes caught sight of the two children and he was finally able to look at them closely. His heart almost leaped when he saw how much resemblance the twins shared with him. The boy was practically a replica of him when he was that age and his eyes widened as he finally did his calculations.
They didn’t look anything younger than four and if he was correct… it meant that..
‘Harriett was pregnant when she left the house?’ He almost screamed but he couldn’t understand how possible it was as they had never shared a night together.
Rather than making assumptions, he decided to hear it from her own mouth.
“Are they mine?” He asked, his eyes glued to the twins who were staring at him with their grey eyes and thick lips.
Harriett threw her head back and laughed, shocking him with her new attitude.
“It doesn’t matter, Damien. They don’t need a father.” She said, using the same words he used on her four years ago.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t love you.”
“Daddy, who is he?” Addison shook Tony’s leg, pointing at Damien with a terrified look.
“Addy darling. Don’t be scared. He’s no one.” Harriett replied looking directly into Damien’s eyes with a smirk.