Page 165 of Four Fiances & I

“Thank you, Luna. You did such a good job looking after it for me,” Jasmine grins, taking the box from her.

Jasmine opens each box one by one and slides the ring onto the relevant hand as the bridesmaids cry silently, watching their friend. Sean’s is the last of the rings, and I place Jasmine’s ring in his hand for him to present to her. The three of us take a place behind our beautiful bride as Sean holds her left hand.

“Princess, Jazzy, Shorty and Baby girl,” he smirks as we all laugh. “You have made all of us the happiest men in the world, and we can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives showing you how much we love and appreciate you.” He slides the ring onto her finger before pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

Everyone is on their feet as Lucinda shouts over the noise that the ceremony is over, and she presents Mrs O’Reilly and her four husbands.

We each get a few seconds with our girl before the bridesmaids pull her away, and people come over to shake our hands. For a few minutes, there was absolute chaos, and I couldn’t be happier. Everyone is so happy for us, and there have been many tears shed, but the most important factor remains: Jasmine Rose O’Reilly is our wife, and there is nothing we wouldn’t do for her.

“So, that’s it,” Jason smiles, stepping beside me. “We did it.”

“We did,” I nod, watching Maximus pick Jasmine up and spin her around as she tries to hold on to her veil. “I want out.”

Jason's head snaps towards me as I continue to watch our family and friends.

“Defineout.”

“Out of the illegal shit. Out of the dark side of our lives. I want our wife and children to be free. No more constant bodyguards, no more lockdowns in our own home. I want to give that woman there the best life she could even dream of and to do that, I will get us out of the shit Tommy dragged us into.”

“Is it possible?” Jason asks. I nod, finally looking away from our bride.

“It won't be easy, but I’m done, Jason. I’m tired of it all, and I just want to breathe again and live the life we deserve.”

Jason nods as he places a hand on my shoulder.

“Then we do it. We return from the honeymoon and do what needs to be done to give our wife the best life.”

Turning around, I pull my brother towards me and hug him. He has had my back all these years, and one word, and he has it again. Stepping back, I place a hand on the back of his head. And lean my forehead against his.

“Let’s get our lives back.”

ChapterFifty-Six

ABBI

“Abbi, where are you going?” Danielle tugs at my hand, and I nearly lose my balance for a second.

“I need a drink!” I laugh, stumbling away from her and the others who are on the light-up dance floor the guys organised for the reception after the wedding. I thought it was terrific when I first saw it. However, I’ve changed my mind. Now I’ve had several very large drinks, and the lights are a little too bright and seem to be moving faster.

Sitting in my chair, I look at the table to find a drink, but they are all empty. The bar is only on the other side of the tent, but I have a funny feeling if I walk over there right now, a certain arsehole may see how drunk I am and start butting his nose in where it’s not wanted; again.

Pulling my phone out of my bag, I search the screen, hoping for a message from Eddie, but there is still nothing. I haven’t heard from him in four days, and I’m starting to think he’s ghosted me. Things were going so well; I thought he cared. He even told me he loved me when we went to the bar the other night. How can he go from telling me he loves me to cutting all contact?

Opening the messages, I type out a new one.

Abbi: It’s me again. Are you mad because I couldn’t tell you where I was? I can now and will explain everything if you will let me. Please get in touch and let me know what I can do to make it up to you. I miss you.

My finger hovers over the send button, but I can't decide if it sounds too needy. I don’t want to sound desperate, but looking around at everyone now, I can't help feeling lonely, so I send it.

All my friends are so happy, and I hate how jealous I am. Jasmine has four husbands, and Verity has her three fiancés. Danielle may be single, but she loves it, as apparently, the last person she dated turned out to be a cheating bastard; even Chelsea, Dad's old PA, has her three men surrounding her, placing hands on her growing stomach and making a fuss of her daughter; and then there's me. Desperate for someone to actually give a shit for once. However, that doesn’t include the person whose eyes I can feel watching me from across the tent. There again, it’s not like he actually cares; he just likes trying to control me.

Ever since Dad was killed, I’ve felt so lonely. He was my best friend. I spoke to him all the time, and he was there whenever I needed him, but he’s gone and is never coming back. I miss him so much. My eyes start to burn as my heart pounds in my chest. Fuck, I need a drink.

Standing from my chair, I make my way over to the bar, thinking about each step and trying to hide how drunk I am already so no one will have another go at me. I almost manage it, but when I reach the bar, I find Christian leaning against it and watching me. He’s lost his jacket and is now just in his shirt and waistcoat; his sleeves are rolled up to his elbow as he holds a whiskey glass in one hand and leans against the pop-up bar they booked in the other, talking to one of Chelsea's men.

“You okay, Abbi?” he asks, frowning.

“Absolutely,” I smile, forcing myself to stand as tall as possible. “I’m having the best time,” I add, quickly placing a hand on the bar to steady myself.

---