CLAUDE
“I thought you had somewhere to go, son? Why are you still here?” My mother’s voice broke into my thoughts.
I set down my coffee and looked at her. “I do have somewhere to go. Zeke’s wedding is today. But it’s not until nine,” I casually replied.
“It’s already seven-thirty, son. You might be late.”
I shook my head vigorously. “No, Mom. It’s still early. It’s just at the main branch of the Starlight Hotel. There’s still plenty of time.”
Her eyebrow raised at me. “That’s not close, son. It’s a half-hour drive from here to the hotel. And you might get caught in a heavy traffic jam on the way, you might be late.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I don’t feel like going anyway. But Monte keeps bugging me. I didn’t even buy a gift. I’ll just give money instead.”
“Hmp! Suit yourself. Just reminding you.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
More than half an hour passed before I decided to leave. My mother was right; there was already traffic on the road. I arrived at the Starlight Hotel exactly at nine.
After parking my car, I entered the hotel and headed to the grand ballroom.
The ceremony was just starting when I arrived.
Members of the entourage were entering one by one.
My attention was drawn to a woman talking to a young boy in line. She had her back turned, so I couldn’t see her face.
I noticed the woman kissed the boy’s cheek before he straightened up and left. My heart seemed to stop beating when I caught a glimpse of the woman.
“S-Sia?” I uttered, staring at the retreating figure of the woman. She was still not facing me, so I couldn’t see her entire face. But I was sure that it was my wife. I was about to follow her when someone blocked my way.
“Excuse me, sir. Do you have an invitation?” a man asked.
I gave the man a dirty look before retrieving my invitation from inside my coat.
“Friend of the groom or bride?” the woman beside the man asked.
“Groom,” I replied, annoyed.
The woman gestured to the left side of the ballroom.
“This way, sir.”
Reluctantly, I followed. I felt a sense of disappointment when I noticed that the direction we were headed was not where Sia had gone. Perhaps it was related to Zeke’s bride.
As I sat down, I scanned the surroundings. With so many people there, I couldn’t see where Sia was.
“Hey! I’m glad you’re here, Chaos. Just arrived?” Monte greeted me as he stood beside me.
“Yeah, just got here. How long have you been here?” I replied.
“About thirty minutes ago. Come on, sit next to me. I reserved a seat for you,” Monte said.
I got up and followed my friend. Once again, I scanned my surroundings. When I couldn’t see who I was looking for, I looked ahead where Zeke was standing next to Kiel, Claribelle’s husband.
I noticed the boy walking down the aisle holding a Bible. His face looked somewhat familiar. I just couldn’t remember whose friend’s child he was.
The next one to walk down the aisle was a young boy. He was carrying a small pillow. He must be the ring bearer. I stared at the child until he reached the front. I blinked several times when I saw the boy’s face in full. He resembled someone, but I couldn’t think of who.
I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Huh? Why?” I asked Monte in surprise.
“I’ve been talking to you for a while now, bro. But you haven’t been responding. Your eyes were just fixed on the aisle. Is there a problem?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I was just curious about Zeke and Maven’s entourage.”
Monte chuckled lightly. “There you go again! Are you jealous again? Probably because you didn’t get married properly. Are you thinking about Sia again, huh?”
I smiled. “How could I forget the person who made me feel like I should be content with what I have? It’s like I saw her here earlier when I arrived. I’m just not sure if it was really her or if I was just imagining things.”
“Huh? Really? You saw her here? Maybe she’s one of Maven’s friends.”
“I don’t know. I have no idea.”
“Wait a minute. Let’s check the invitation if her name is in the entourage.”
Monte opened his invitation and skimmed through the entire list of entourage members.
“There’s no Sia’s name here,” he said after a few seconds.
I took Monte’s invitation. I had my own invitation for weeks, but I never bothered to open it.
My eyes widened when I noticed a name on the entourage.
“Chase Adrian Harris,” I read the ring bearer’s name. “Maybe Sia is here.”
“Oh? How did you come up with that? Earlier, you said you weren’t sure if you saw her or if you were just imagining things. And now you’re saying she might be here. Which one is it, bro?”
“Read the ring bearer’s name. He has the same last name as Sia. It’s likely that he’s the one I saw earlier because I caught him talking to a young boy when I arrived here.”
“Are you saying the kid is Sia’s son?”
My eyes widened.
Shit! A child? Sia has a child? Could that be our child?
“Where is that ring bearer?”
“Why are you so interested in him, huh?”
I didn’t immediately answer. I glanced at Monte before turning my gaze back to the makeshift altar. I couldn’t see the other members of the entourage anymore. Only Zeke and Maven were there with the officiating officer.
“Claude, tell me the truth. Did you impregnate Sia before she left?”
I quickly glanced at my friend before looking away again.
“I-I’m not really sure. But the maid saw a pregnancy test stick in her shorts before she left.”
“Oh! There’s a chance that the ring bearer is your child. But why does he have a different last name?”