Page 18 of Waiting Game

I laughed, and idly wished that I could be a little more like Rome.

So strong, so self-assured.

I knew that she was the one for my brother.

Rome wasn’t with him for the status, the money, or the protection. She was with him because they were one in the same, and I could feel it.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” she asked, catching me off guard again.

“For what?”

She raised her eyebrows, giving me a look, and I knew what she was trying to communicate. She knew what I would go through tomorrow - that I would probably face the same amount of scrutiny as her.

She was the outsider, I was the traitor.

We would both be under the judgement of the entire family.

I sighed, and nodded.

“Well, in the words of your lovely mother,” she raised her glass to toast me, and I picked up mine. She cleared her throat, “to being disruptive, disrespectful, disobedient bitches who ruin everything!”

“Aww,” I laughed, “ how did you know my childhood nickname?” I placed a hand dramatically over my heart.

We toasted, and laughed - and continued being disruptive bitches into the early hours of the morning.

5

Chapter 5

Ren

“Well,” I said, straightening my tie and looking in the mirror, “sorry for looking better than you at your own wedding.”

“Alright gorgeous, rein it in a bit,” Antoni smacked me on the back of the head.

He sat in the lounge of our hotel room with a low groan, and sipped a glass of scotch with ice as he rubbed his temples. It was getting close now, and the ceremony was about to begin. We all shared thumping headaches from the night before, and after Antoni had spoken to Rome on the phone this morning, we now knew that the girls were feeling just as poorly.

The large hotel where the wedding was taking place was right near the middle of the city. It had a big greenhouse out back among the sprawling, colourful gardens where the ceremony would take place, and a large hall inside the hotel where the reception would be.

We could almost hear the girls from down the hall, their high heels scraping across the tile occasionally, and the persistent laughing that we could hear. I found myself listening closely, trying to see if any of those giggles sounded like Valerie.

We still weren’t sure if she would show, and I had doubted it from the start.

I was sure that Antoni would know by now whether or not she was here. He hadn’t told me either way and I knew that asking about her would only open myself up to ridicule and pushing. It was only a little while longer and I would find out.

“Alright,” Vera stuck her head in the door, “we’re ready to go.”

Antoni stood, fixing his suit jacket and Vera clasped her hands together in front of her.

“Oh, Toni,” she exclaimed, “you look so handsome.”

She went to him, giving him a tight hug and wrapping her arms around his torso. I could hear the faint noise of sniffling, and Antoni rolled his eyes at me as Vera began to cry into his tux.

“Alright Zia,” I sighed, pulling her away from him, “you don’t want to smudge your makeup.”

“You’re right Lorenzo. Thank you,” she dabbed at her under-eyes and nodded.

Straight away I noticed that she chose to wear a cream dress that may as well have been white, and I wondered if Rome had seen it yet. I doubted that she would be one to care anyway. Honestly, I had been surprised in the first place that she had agreed to a wedding like this.

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