"Oh my god, Ace, you're finally here! I've called you hundreds of times! You didn't even pick up a single call! Chris was that close to sending his special forces, just to find you!" Ethan exclaimed.
Waving towards Ace, he had donned a dashing suit, with his hair neatly slicked back.
Ace, however, was expressionless and calm. "Doesn't the wedding start in the evening? What's the rush?"
"Of course, we're in a rush! We're his groomsmen! We have to welcome the bride, and we need to take a group photo together too! We have so much to prepare!" Ethan gushed as he impatiently dragged Ace backstage.
"Go clean yourself and change into a better suit! Your current look is too casual. It's like you're just here for a vacation!"
As the two reached the dressing room, Christopher could be found facing away from the door, staring at the beautiful scenery outside the window. He was wearing a white suit, his dashing features enhanced by a light touch of makeup. His gentle and elegant aura also made him look like a fairytale prince.
However, he seemed to be frowning slightly, as if he was deep in thought. This was no emotion of a groom-to-be. It was as if he felt not the slightest happiness or excitement toward this event.
"Chris! Ace's here! You can relax now!" Ethan screamed as he approached the groom.
Christopher immediately turned around, his eyes lighting up in an instant." That's great! You're finally here, Ace! I thought you weren't coming today!"
Ace asked softly, "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I know it's still a little complicated between you, me, and Cecilia. So it's probably quite upsetting for you to attend our wedding. Even if you really didn't come in the end, just know that we never intended to hold any grudges against you…"
"I'm not upset at all." Ace's calm response expressed his honesty to his friend. "What Cecilia and I had is the past, and it will stay that way. She's just a close friend to me now. I'm truly happy that both of you finally get to tie the knot."
"Good then!" Christopher took a deep breath.
For the past few years, the couple had basically gone no contact with Ace, even going as far as to not attend Ace's wedding.
In their point of view, they believed Ace had been deeply hurt by him and Cecilia, which made him choose to marry a woman he didn't even love in an attempt at self-destruction.
The conscience of guilt thus weighed upon them for many years, and they were slowly getting consumed by it…
"I can tell that your relationship with Miss Pierce isn't all that simple. You may be divorced now, but I have a feeling that you will be able to find each other again, no matter where you run off to…"
After that, Christopher looked out the window again, curious. "Did Miss Pierce not come with you? I made sure to personally send her an invitation last night, though."
"We're separate people, so don't make us out to be a pair," Ace replied coldly.
He thought to himself, "If that woman wishes to avoid me so much, I wouldn't want to be viewed as a pair with her either!"
Christopher and Ethan looked at one another, figuring that Ace must be having a hard time winning Joanna's heart.
" Alright, alright! Let's not overthink this. You still have to change, you know? And we have to pick the bride up later!" Ethan quickly urged them to stay on schedule.
Although he was usually quite a slipshod, he would still get his act together when it came to matters related to Cecilia. For umpteen years now, he had always had a crush on her. Hence, it wouldn't be far- fetched to say that he was the one who was hurt the most by attending this wedding.
After getting changed and having their makeup done, the group immediately went to pick Cecilia up. Coincidentally, they bumped into Joanna, who was just entering the church.
Seeing that she was all alone, Christopher invited her with a friendly smile. "Miss Pierce, you seem bored. So why don't you join us in picking up the bride?"
Having paced around the dessert section for quite some time, Joanna began to feel her stomach rumble. She hadn't eaten anything yet.
At the time, she was scarfing down a piece of mousse cake, as if she intended to join an eating competition. There was even still some cream stuck to the corner of her mouth, which made her look somewhat adorable.
When someone called out to her out of nowhere, she lifted her head, and her eyes met Ace's gaze that loomed over her.
She found her current state rather embarrassing, so she quickly tidied herself up, putting on an elegant act. "They forced me to take this cake. I didn't really want to eat that much…"
Christopher smiled, seemingly fond of this side of her. "Looks like our employees are pretty responsible… Don't worry, though-we've hired the best bakers, the best of the best, to make these desserts. They made sure to choose the ingredients well so it wouldn't be too fattening either!"
Ace's hands were snug in his pockets. He stared at Joanna with a cold gaze as he blurted, "And here I was wondering why your stomach grew so much."
"Damn it!" Joanna was so mad that she wished she could slam the cake into the man's face.
"He needs to shut it if he has nothing good to say! He's so annoying!"
However, her current self would not easily back down after feeling offended.
"Oh? Well, I guess it's fair coming from you, Mr. Moran, since you have no excess fat around your waist. But I do wonder if you've done any' adjustments' to achieve those fake-looking muscles." Joanna spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Shouldn't you know if they're real or not?" Ace remained expressionless. "Especially when you've had so many chances to feel me up."
Joanna's face immediately turned as red as a rose, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'll have to admit, I did get to touch his abs lots of times! It… felt pretty good, and I know for sure… that they're real!"
"Hold on!" Ethan turned to look at Ace, then towards Joanna. His gut was telling him that something was up, so he asked, "How would you know what your stomachs look like? Could something have happened last night…"
"No!" The two denied at the very same time.
This made their thoughts wander off even more, which made Christopher grin. He pondered for a brief moment, "Looks like last night was quite… interesting for them. Ace finally did something good this time round."
With that, the guilt in his heart was once again lifted.
"Alright, let's not dawdle any longer. We should go!" Christopher said to everyone.
Ethan quickly agreed. "Mhm, mhm! The main characters are Chris and Cecy today! You two can show your love story sometime later! We're going to be late if we keep staying here!"
Scanning everyone, Christopher pointed towards the expensive wedding car and made arrangements on his own. "Let's ride in the same car. Ethan, you're driving."
"C'mon… Don't we have a chauffeur? Why should I dri…" Ethan whined but stopped as soon as he understood Christopher's intentions.
Nodding, he replied. "Alright, I'm great at driving! So count on me, y'all!"
Thus, Christopher and Ethan quickly sat down in the front, forcing Joanna and Ace into the backseat.
Joanna took a cupcake from the tray while speaking awkwardly. "I don't think I should go. I'm not that close with you guys anyway."
Putting that aside, all she really wanted was to try every dessert available since the bakers Christopher hired were extraordinarily skilled.
She'd rather happily enjoy these delicacies at the seaside than pick up the bride with these men, forcing herself to endure the awkwardness between them.
"It's fine. You might not be close with us, but you're close with Ace. That's enough for us to bring you along!"