Chapter 9 - THE WEDDING HE TRIED TO DESTROY
The Carter family was waiting in a private suite at the Halston Grand.
The bride, Emily Carter, sat on the sofa with red eyes.
Her mother stood beside the window.
Her fiancé, Daniel, looked furious.
When Olivia entered, Emily stood.
“Is it true?”
Olivia took a breath.
“Some of the allegations against my company are under investigation. But I have not stolen your money.”
Daniel crossed his arms.
“Then why did the hotel cancel our event?”
“Because someone sent them documents claiming Hayes Events was involved in financial misconduct.”
Emily began crying.
“Our wedding is in nine days.”
Olivia's heart broke.
“I know.”
“My dad was supposed to walk me down the aisle.”
Her voice cracked.
“He died last year. We planned everything around the memorial display you helped us design.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“Emily, listen to me.”
The bride looked up.
“I cannot promise the original arrangements will remain unchanged.”
Emily's face crumpled.
“But I can promise I will work with you to find a way forward. And if you decide to hire another planner, I'll give them every document they need.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“You'd do that?”
“Of course.”
Olivia swallowed.
“This is your wedding. It shouldn't become collateral damage in someone else's dispute.”
Gabriel stood near the door.
He said nothing.
Olivia appreciated that.
This was her client.
Her responsibility.
Her moment.
Emily wiped her face.
“Do you think we can still get married?”
Olivia smiled.
“Yes.”
Over the next forty-eight hours, Olivia and her team worked almost without sleeping.
They found a beautiful alternative venue overlooking Lake Michigan.
A florist agreed to honor the original pricing.
The caterer transferred the deposit.
The photographer adjusted the schedule.
And Olivia personally recreated the memorial display for Emily's father.
The wedding happened on time.
The bride wore her mother's veil.
Daniel cried when he saw her.
And when Emily walked down the aisle carrying a small photograph of her father tucked into her bouquet, Olivia stood behind the last row of chairs and cried too.
After the ceremony, Emily hugged her.
“You saved my wedding.”
Olivia shook her head.
“No. We saved it together.”
Emily smiled.
Then she whispered, “Someone told me you were a fraud.”
Olivia felt her stomach tighten.
“Who?”
“Richard Hayes.”
Olivia went still.
“He called my mother personally.”
A cold anger settled inside her.
“What did he say?”
“That you were unstable. That you were under investigation. That you had a history of mishandling money.”
Olivia closed her eyes.
Richard had used the same words during their marriage.
Unstable.
Careless.
Emotional.
Words designed to make other people doubt her before she could defend herself.
Emily squeezed her hand.
“I don't believe him anymore.”
Olivia opened her eyes.
“Thank you.”
That evening, after the reception, Gabriel found Olivia sitting alone near the lake.
She had removed her heels.
Her feet hurt.
Her hair had fallen loose.
And there was a tiny stain on the hem of her dress.
“You look exhausted,” he said.
“I feel victorious.”
Gabriel smiled.
“You should.”
She looked toward the water.
“Richard tried to take this away from me.”
“Yes.”
“And he failed.”
“Yes.”
Olivia laughed softly.
“It's a strange feeling.”
“What is?”
“Winning without needing him to lose.”
Gabriel sat beside her.
For a while, they watched the moonlight on the lake.
Then he asked, “May I tell you something?”
She turned.
“Of course.”
“I was wrong about you.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“When we met, I thought you were a frightened woman trying to prove something to her ex-husband.”
She smiled faintly.
“I was.”
“Yes. But I didn't understand that you were also a woman who would spend two days saving a stranger's wedding while your own life was falling apart.”
Olivia looked away.
Her throat tightened.
Gabriel continued.
“You're extraordinary, Olivia.”
She laughed nervously.
“Don't.”
“Don't what?”
“Say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know what to do with them.”
He studied her.
Then he reached for her hand.
“You don't have to do anything.”
Olivia looked at their joined fingers.
The lake was quiet.
The wedding music drifted faintly from the building behind them.
For the first time in years, she felt something unfamiliar.
Hope.
Not the desperate hope that Richard would change.
Not the fragile hope that people would finally believe her.
Something gentler.
The possibility that she could be loved without being diminished.
She looked up.
“Gabriel?”
“Yes?”
“Would you kiss me?”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“On the forehead?”
Olivia smiled.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
Slowly.
Giving her time to change her mind.
She didn't.
Their first real kiss was soft.
Unhurried.
And when they separated, Gabriel rested his forehead against hers.
Olivia laughed quietly.
“What?”
He smiled.
“I've wanted to do that since the gala.”
She looked at him.
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because you weren't asking for romance that night.”
Her eyes filled.
“What was I asking for?”
“A moment of dignity.”
Olivia swallowed.
Gabriel brushed his thumb across her cheek.
“And you deserved to have it without owing me anything.”
She kissed him again.
This time, she wasn't trying to make Richard jealous.
She wasn't trying to prove she was desirable.
She wasn't trying to survive thirty seconds.
May you like
She simply wanted to kiss Gabriel Moretti.
And that made all the difference.
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