Wildflower (Chapter 40)

The End... For now...

Chapter 40

           

Wildflower woke up on the morning of October 17^th and she smiled. Today she was getting married. For some reason instead of feeling excited she just felt nauseous. Before she could lay back down and pull the blanket over her head, there was a knock on the door. Christina came in first carrying a tray of food and behind her was Brooke carrying Ariela and of course Allie and Sammie were there too. All of them came to get in bed with her. There was no time to be sick with nerves; she knew it had to be nerves that made her sick. In just four hours she was getting married to the love of her life.

            Breakfast with the girls was nice and they did make a point to keep trying to feed her. After talking and laughing for awhile she went to take a shower. She was so nervous she was almost certain she was going to pass out at some point during the day. Once she was out of the shower she sat in her bedroom in silence for a minute or two. Yesterday they had a spa day and got nails done and massages. The clock said that there was now a little less than three hours to go.

            Before she could let herself think too much the room became a chaotic mess with everybody coming in and the hair and make-up people. When she looked out the window she could see Scarlet directing people outside over where the tents were set up. Seeing all this all week made it a little too real and there were going to be a lot of people here today. Champagne was passed around the room and she drank down two glasses a little too fast. It was too early in the day to be getting drunk and she didn’t want to be drunk during her wedding. Everybody in the room kept trying to get her to eat more so that she wouldn’t pass out and with her recent history it was a possibility.

 

 

            Nicolas looked at his watch, in about an hour he was getting married. Soon they were leaving to return to the mansion. It had been a shock when his father offered for him and his groomsmen to get ready at his house and for Nicolas to spend the night there. Maybe it had something to do with him hiring his father as a private consultant and letting him come back to work with a few limitations. He himself hated to sit around with nothing to do, so he understood his father’s restlessness. The uncharacteristic kindness made him suspicious, but at least he knew his father would never try to ruin his wedding day. But still Emilio was up to something; he just didn’t know what and didn’t have time to figure it out.

            Even though he never got nervous because he always got what he wanted, he was nervous today. At this point anything could happen and he didn’t like those odds. He liked to be certain of things but today he wasn’t. Once Wildflower was legally his then maybe he could calm himself. There were just too many what-ifs today, too many people would benefit from this wedding not happening. And there was that fact that he was going to be out of the country for a month, anything could happen while he was gone. Depending on Jose to keep everything together was his only choice and he could usually count on him. Though his life was a little chaotic right now and at least for the moment Delanoz was staying out of trouble.

            It had been a difficult week but he was putting everything behind him and move on into his future. A future that he was starting very soon. For awhile he didn’t think this was really going to happen, but here he was. His extreme anxiousness was driving him crazy, something was going to happen today he could feel it. Before he could call the house and have the security check things out just be sure, his father came out onto the porch. He’d come out here to breathe and stop feeling so claustrophobic.

            “Nervous?” His father asked and nodded. Normally he would never admit a weakness but today he wasn’t himself. “I was nervous before I married your mother, the others not so much.”

“I just need to get though this day,” he said.

            “You will do fine, you always do,” Emilio paused looking at him with an odd look in his eyes. “I want you to know that I do not harbor any resentment for you decision to take over, you were right and it was what needed to be done. Just be careful, don’t let your bothers bring you down.”

            “What do you mean by that?”

            “The girl whose sister he killed in that accident, I know she was with him, I do keep an eye out too. I should have done the right thing and got rid of him years ago, he will never change and I’ve taught you to help each other. But that has gone so wrong but how could I admit that my oldest son is a monster?”

            “We all make mistakes,” Nicolas replied. He knew that for a fact, though he was surprised that his father had finally come to this realization. None of this he wanted to think about today, he just wanted to marry Wildflower.

 

 

            Wildflower wasn’t yet dressed for her wedding, she was in fact locked in her bathroom alone. She should have already been in her dress with just under an hour until she walked down the aisle. But she was sort of having a panic attack at the moment and she could not force herself to leave the bathroom. Carmen was very concerned and had called the good doctor in to check on her, but she couldn’t let him in. Maybe it was a combination of everything that happened in the last week and nerves but she just couldn’t move. Another reason was sitting on the counter and it had her confused.

            Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life but she wasn’t really happy and she hadn’t been at all. Maybe something was wrong with her that she couldn’t be excited for her own wedding. It could have been that a permanent commitment was too much for her when this relationship was the only commitment she ever made. There were a number of reasons for her to feel panicked; especially at this exact moment For some odd reason she really wanted her mother. That definitely had something to do with her mood all week. For all of Marguerites faults and issues, she was her mother and every girl wanted their mother their on their wedding day. But out of loyalty to her brothers, she told her mother not to come. It was funny that after all these years and everything that happened, she wanted her mommy. Someone knocked at the door, the only reason she went to open it was because it was Ricky.

            “What’s wrong?” He asked when he came inside and closed the door behind him.

            “Why do you think something is wrong?”

            “Because Brooke called me and told me that you locked yourself in the bathroom and won’t come out. Which is obviously true because here we are,” he said staring at her.

            “I um might be pregnant,” she said. It was the first time she was able to say that aloud and he just sort o gawked at he.

            “How the hell did that happen?”

            “Do I really have to explain that? You know how that happens.”

            “What I mean is why were you not using protection?”

            “Because Nick wants a baby,” she whispered avoiding his eyes.

            “Ok I’m not gonna say anything about that or tell you it’s a stupid thing to do. Tell me why you think you are pregnant,” he said. There was no hiding the disappointment in his voice, she just felt worse. This was not what she thought would happen today.

            “Take a look,” she said pointing to the sink.

            “Oh,” he said when he looked at the two pregnancy tests on the counter. One said yes and the other said no.

            “Yeah, you see why I’ve been in here? I’ve been sick lately and I never get sick,” she whispered. She sat back down on the bench under the window, what she needed was to get dressed.

            “Do you have another test?”

            “Nope, Brooke brought those ones as a joke.”

            “Ok, I’ll get you another one,” he said looking at his watch.

            “How would you get out of here? There are a lot of cars here, you’d never get out,” she sighed.

            “Do you want to get married?” He asked looking at her in an odd way that she couldn’t decipher.

            “Right now I don’t even know, I’m a wreck,” she said. The need to cry was coming on but she didn’t want to do that.

“Seriously if you don’t want to do this you don’t have to,” he told her.

“I wish I never took the damn test, I need a drink,” she replied.

“Not if you’re pregnant,” he said giving her a look. “What about Carmen’s doctor boyfriend? Couldn’t he figure it out until I can get out of here?”

“Maybe, but then he would tell Carmen and I don’t want anybody to know. Do you know how this would look? These people already think I’m a gold digger; they do not need to know this. I just can’t handle anymore of this,” she said. Now she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

“It’s going to be ok,” he whispered in her ear. Ricky held her while she cried and further ruined her make-up.

“Wildflower,” she heard someone call. She had to look up to prove that she wasn’t haring things. It was her mother standing there looking at her concerned.

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

“Um well I know you asked me not to come but Ricardo came to speak with me and thought you might change your mind,” her mother told her.

“You did?” She asked her brother and he nodded, this was shocking.

“I kind of thought that you might want her here,” he said.

“Oh my God,” their mother gasped having obviously seen the tests.

“I feel so sick right now,” Wildflower said.

“Which test did you take first?” Marguerite asked.

“I honestly don’t remember,” she sighed. There was a knock on the door and Christina came in.

“Is everything ok? Carmen and Scarlet are kind of concerned that you don’t want to get married today,” Christina said. She was leaning her back against the door which meant that everybody was probably out there waiting to bust in.

“Honey, are you having second thoughts?” Her mother asked and she shrugged.

“Do you want to talk to Nicolas?” Christina asked.

“Maybe you should,” Ricky said.

“No, I’ll just get dressed and figure everything else out later,” Wildflower said.

“Are you sure?” Her brother asked and she nodded.

There was no more time for her to waste on freaking out. Now she needed to get ready for Ricky to walk her down the aisle so she could get married. Her mother came over to hug her and she welcomed it, she loved her brother even more for this. Of course Ricky knew what she needed for the most part he always did. Christina gasped when she saw the tests on the counter but she didn’t ay anything. Wildflower just hoped that she could get though this without throwing up o passing out. Today was her wedding day, maybe later she could be happy about that. She really wanted a drink though.

 

 

Caroline was surprised she was allowed onto Capriani property after the other night but then again thee wee a lot of people here today. She did put a dress on and tried to look halfway decent. Her sisters thought she was on a flight back home to their parents’ house. Even though she should have gone and he knew Delanoz would be pissed at her, she had to do this. When she found him he was out on the deck with his bother and some other men, they were all laughing and drinking. His face got pale when he saw her and he came charging at her looking angry. He didn’t say anything jut dragged he back through the house and into a bedroom.

“Why are you here?” He asked her, he wasn’t that sweet guy she met anymore.

“Funny how before you wanted to be with me all of the time and now you can’t stand to look at me,” she said. Her own hurt and anger took over for a moment making her forget the real reason she was here.

“It was for you own good,” he told her.

“Is that because you killed my sister?” She couldn’t stop that question from coming out.

“Yes,” he replied and she didn’t expect that. “I was driving and we crashed and she died almost instantly.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you asked and you need to stay away. I am bad for you, I hurt people and sometimes it’s on purpose,” he told her looking weary.

“Did you lie when you said you loved me?”

“Does it matter?”

“Just tell me, I have to know.”

“I didn’t lie about that,” he admitted.

There was something seriously wrong with her. Why did this matter? Why did she still love him? He admitted to being involved in her sister’s death. She forgot her purpose for coming here and slowly went to him. It was him that kissed her and she still felt the magic of it. In her heart she knew they were meant to be together and nothing else mattered. Then she remembered why she came here and she pulled back.

“My sisters are planning something; they don’t want to let your brother get married,” she told him.

“Figures,” he sighed. “Do you know what they are planning?”

“No idea, they put me on a plane back home, Heather tried to stop them. Wildflower and Carmen were really nice to me and its not right what they are doing,” she told him. “Why didn’t you ever tell the truth if what happened to Hannah was an accident?”

“Because I was drinking and high that night, my father thought it was best to burry her body but only he knows where. I never meant for that to happen, I swear,” he paused. “I love Caroline and trust me when I say I never seriously loved a woman before.”

“I love you too,” she replied.

“Come on, I need to make sure Nicky gets to marry his dream girl,” Delanoz said. He kissed her again and took her hand and led her away. Right now she was way more confused than when he broke up with her, but she couldn’t tell her heart not to love him. She at least hoped that she could save Wildflower’s wedding day.

 

 

Nicolas looked at his watch, only a few minutes to go. He was all nerves so he was having his fourth drink of the day but wasn’t drunk, yet. Standing out on the deck he could see everybody ready in their seats, there were a lot of people here today. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day weather-wise. So far everything was going according to plan, or at least he thought so before he saw Ricky. Something was wrong and it was written all over his usually expressionless face. Had Wildflower finally come to her senses and decided to dump him? It would be fitting for her to leave him before their wedding and so publicly, he deserved it. From the way Ricky was looking at him, it was obviously something bad. And why else would he be here when he was supposed to walk his sister down the aisle in about 10 minutes?

“I need to talk to you,” Ricky said predictably.

“She changed her mind?” Nicolas asked because he couldn’t help himself, he should have known he messed things up too bad this time.

“No,” Ricky said staring at him like he was crazy. Then he gestured for him to move further away from the groomsmen that were all too damn nosey and were watching them.

“Is something wrong then?”

“She wanted me to talk to you or more like Christina convinced her that I should talk to you.”

“About what?” Nicolas was confused something had to be wrong.

“My sister might be pregnant,” Ricky said. It was obvious he didn’t know how to feel about that but Nicolas just stared at him.

“Uh how does she know that?”

“Because she took some tests and they said conflicting things.”

“When did she buy a test?” He asked feeling sort of clueless; he should have suspected this from her moodiness and her being sick. But coincidently the models were sick too and he had been pissing her off.

“Brooke gave it to her as a gift to take on your honeymoon,” Ricky said. He thoroughly looked unamused. “Anyway, your sister’s doctor boyfriend volunteered to go out and get her another test but he pretty much thinks she is pregnant.”

“Wow,” was all he could say. This changed everything and he had been starting to wonder if there was a reason he hadn’t gotten her pregnant yet, it had been months.

“Yeah, well I have informed you so I will be getting back to my sister. Ya know so I can hand her off to you with you knowing that I will torture and kill you if you ever hurt her,” Ricky said seriously. Good thing he didn’t know about the stripper thing, she obviously kept that to herself for a good reason.

“I love your sister,” Nicolas told him.

“Uh huh that’s always how it starts,” Ricky said and he walked away. There was obviously more to that but of course he didn’t elaborate.

Nicolas just stood there for a few seconds after Ricky walked away, this was interesting news. The last few days he had been very jealous of Jose and his son, his brother was completely loving being a father. Now he was going to have a child of his own, this was amazing. Today he was going to marry the love of his life and she was carrying his child, this was definitely the best day of his life. And tomorrow he was taking her away, finally he had a good luck streak. In just a few more minutes Wildflower was going to be his, suddenly he wasn’t so nervous anymore. Funny how that happened.

 

 

Wildflower was standing in front of the mirror taking one last look at herself. Her dress was on, her hair and make-up were done and it was time for her to make her grand entrance. The dress was beautiful and at least it fit this time. It was a white taffeta ball gown with a ruched sweetheart neckline and Swarovski crystal beaded straps. There was an elaborate butterfly and flower Swarovski crystal beaded pattern and a chapel length train. Carmen was the one that told her in detail about the dress, Wildflower knew nothing about wedding dresses. Except of course that she loved hers, it was so pretty. Her hair was half up half down with a few orchids in it. The bridesmaids were wearing chiffon cocktail length dresses in persimmon or cherry with sunshine colored sashes around the waist. Carmen thought it would be nice to do two different colors to add some variety and make things different. She even color coordinated the vests and ties of whatever groomsman was walking with whichever bridesmaid. It was very colorful, she liked color.

Thinking about clothes and color schemes was a lot easier than thinking about other things. Christina had talked her into sending Ricky to talk to Nicolas about their situation. There was a very good chance that she was pregnant and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. This was what she wanted and what he wanted, but it was different now that it was happening. She wasn’t upset about it, not really but she wanted the chance to be a wife before she was a mother. But she chose not to use protection and leave it up to fate and fate said that she was getting married and was pregnant. Dr. Cam had already left to try to find away t get to a store with the traffic jam going on out in front of the house. In his expert opinion she was pregnant. Maybe she should have been the one to tell Nicolas but it was supposedly bad luck to see him before the wedding.

The time came and she wasn’t all that nervous anymore, this was what she wanted. She wanted to marry Nicolas and be his queen. So what was the point of nerves? They were meant to be together, she believed that in her heart. And yes they had problem, all couples did. Most important was love and she loved him and she loved their child already. Everything was going to changed now but that was ok with her. She waited patiently holding her brother’s hand for her turn to come down the aisle.

First Uncle Apollo went down he was Aunt Mina husband and a reverend. Next was of course Nicolas and then their flower girls went down Anna-Maria, Olivia and Ariela and the ring bearer Ansley. The rest of the wedding party went down in pairs Brooke and Jose, Christina and Ivan, Delanoz and Carmen, Allie and Jason, Sammie and Evan, Iris and Richard, and Brian and Carlynn.  The music changed and Scarlet gave the signal and it was Wildflower’s turn. All eyes were on her and Ricky as they made their way down the aisle, suddenly she was nervous again, but she still smiled. She focused on Nicolas who was watching her like she was the only person in the world and she just continued on to reach him.

 

Nicolas was not a man that cried, he saw it as a sign of weakness. But looking at his beautiful bride he was tearing up a bit, she looked like an angel. He kept his eyes focused on hers and she looked him straight in the eyes the whole time, she looked teary too. It was like nobody else in the world was there, just the two of them. When she made it to him and he held her hands in his the rest of the world was completely drowned out. They were both on autopilot it seems because they were speaking when needed but other they both stared into each others eyes. The first conscious thought he remembered clearly was being told he could kiss her. And he did kiss her in such a way that he poured his emotions into that one kiss so that she knew how much he loved her.

“I love you,” he told her and she smiled. There were tears in her eyes.

“I love you too,” she replied.

Their guests applauded them even though he knew most of his family was not happy about this. Everybody wanted to congratulated them and stop and talk to them, he didn’t have time for that. What he wanted to do was get her alone and talk to her, but that wasn’t happening. There were pictures to be taken and time to be wasted; well it was a waste of time in his opinion. By the time he could get her alone he was contemplating not going through with the whole reception thing, he just wanted to leave. They were alone in their bedroom after Carmen did something with the dress that made it quick trailing behind her. Nothing she said he actually paid attention to except that sometime during the ceremony Camden came back with a pregnancy test and left it in their bathroom.

“So Ricky talked to you?” Wildflower asked watching him.

“Yup, even threatened my life if I hurt you,” he replied.

“I’m his favorite, he would really kill you,” she said. “

“Oh I bet he would,” he nodded. There was a bit of awkwardness between them.

“You know I really planned on drinking tonight and drinking a lot while we’re gone, guess not,” she sighed.

“Are you ready to find out for sure?”

“No, but I will do it and you are so not watching me pee.”

“Never said I wanted to,” he said and kissed her.

She disappeared into the bathroom leaving him to pace the room. He started thinking about what it was going to be like to be a father. Unlike in other families where you might have babysat children in your family, his was not like that. Everybody had nannies, he did sometimes spend time with the little ones but for the most part he was best with older kids and teens. Having a baby would definitely change things in this house full of horny teenagers; thank God none of them were having children. Growing up with nannies wasn’t a bad thing, considering who his parents were but he didn’t spend much time with nannies. He was grandma’s boy, thinking about that had him wishing she was here now. After she died he couldn’t live in this house alone, now he was never going to be alone in the house. Only part of him disliked that, sometimes it was good to have family around. Wildflower brought life and family back into this old house.

“Ok you can come in,” Wildflower called to him. “You know I never thought that this is what we would be doing on our wedding day.”

“Neither did I but I can’t say I’m disappointed,” he told her. “Especially with little baby Joseph in the house; I’m surprised it took so long for Jose to have a kid though.”

“Should we still go to Brazil if I am pregnant?” She asked, she was sitting on the bench under the window. Maybe it was the light from the window but she seemed to glow, maybe it was more than that.

“We are going no matter what,” he replied. The test was on the sink counter, he went over to look at it.

“What’s the verdict?” She asked, she looked worried and that confused him. Did he force what he wanted on her?

“What do you want it to say?” He asked watching her very closely.

“Well I’m not against having a baby, I just sort of assumed it would take longer and I would get to just be your wife first. And I suppose having a baby in the house and seeing how you look at him makes me want it to be true. It’s just sort of a shock but I guess we should have known,” she shrugged.

“Are you sure you want a child? Or do you want one because you know I want one?” He asked not that it mattered that much.

“Honestly, that is part of it but I love kids and I agreed to leaving it up to fate.”

“And would you not want to take our trip if you are pregnant?”

“If you don’t jut tell me I’m going to hurt you,” she said with a smile.

“Congratulations Mrs. Capriani, you are pregnant,” he said.

“Wow,” she whispered. “I’m your wife and your baby mama.”

“I love you,” he told her. He kneeled on the floor in front of her and took her hands in his.

“Are you just saying that because I’m giving you the baby you desperately wanted?” She asked trying to hide her smile, unsuccessfully.

“I’m saying I love you because I do and I am very happy that you are my wife and that we are having a baby,” he told her.

“We need to go,” she said.

“Why? We could sneak off right now,” he suggested.

“No, so should we tell anybody about this? Besides the people that already know I should say. We could just wait until we come back.”

“That is fine, what does the doctor say?”

            “He suggested that I see a doctor before we leave, but since tomorrow is Sunday that’s kinda hard.”

            “We can leave on Monday, so you can get checked out.”

            “Alright,” she nodded. He stood and kissed her.

            “You have no idea how happen you’ve made me,” he told her.

            “I love you,” she replied. She stood and he pulled her into a hug.

            “Wildflower,” someone called and her mother appeared in the doorway.

            “Hey Mom,” Wildflower said.

            “So you are pregnant?” Marguerite asked.

            “Yes,” she said and her mother came over to hug her.

            Nicolas had heard she was here and saw her for about a half second outside. He was surprised to see her since Wildflower asked her not to come. It sort of made him jealous, Marguerite had her faults but at least she loved her daughter. When she hugged him it was a complete shock but he didn’t mind. His parents weren’t happy about this wedding, especially his mother. It was probably more surprising that his own mother came today, but as luck would have it he didn’t speak to her today, yet. He wasn’t so lucky that he could avoid her the whole day. But today nothing could break his good mood; he finally had everything he wanted. And he was after all a man that always got what he wanted.

 

 

            Jose hated being a part of such a big nosey family. Today they should have been focusing on his brother but they still made time to be in his business. Then again he should have expected this; he did suddenly have a fiancé and a son. Though he wasn’t sure what was more shocking that he was going to marry Jasmine or that he had a son. Cheyenne was pissed and she didn’t hide it but Liam, sure was happy. His mother was somewhere between disappointed and happy he was finally settling down. At least his family was nice to Jasmine, for now anyway. And for now Jasmine was acting like she wanted to be with him.

            “So is she pregnant by you?” Jasmine asked whispering in his ear.

            “Hell no,” he replied. For one reason or another she always was asking him about the women he was with.

            “Do you want to have a big wedding when we get married?” She asked surprising him. They hadn’t really talked about that all week.

            “Whatever you want,” he said.

            “You don’t believe I’ll marry you, do you?”

            “Honestly, no I don’t,” he said. Maybe he should have lied but what was the point anymore?

            “What can I do to make you believe me? I love you J and I want us to be a family for Little J,” she said. When she said it she looked sincere, but he still wasn’t sure.

            “Love was never really our problem, but I don’t feel lie arguing with you today. Let’s just have as peaceful a day as possible considering my whole family is here.”

            “I’m not trying to fight with you, I am really trying here. But really you have had sex with everybody and Cheyenne looks like she wants to drown my baby in the pool.”

            “Jas, for the millionth time none of the women I had sex with ever mattered to me. Only you and the sooner you realize that the easier this will be, otherwise there is no point to being together. If you decided you don’t want to be with me I would still take care of Joseph,” he told her.

            All week it was the same thing, she was suspicious of him. It was starting to drive him crazy. The best part of the week was spending time with his son and that was it. She was different now and he hoped it was a phase she was going to get over. He loved her so much but maybe they just weren’t meant to be and he needed to accept it. There was obviously something wrong if they couldn’t make it work over the span of four years. He was a little jealous that his brother knew he wanted Wildflower from the moment he saw her and he got her, just like he wanted. Whatever this was with Jasmine needed a lot of fixing and he was willing to try. He was even willing to keep his mouth shut about how he felt just to keep her and his son.

            “Sorry,” she whispered pouting slightly. “I am jealous, you are mine now and I just need to get use to us being a permanent thing.” How he wanted to believe her, he was desperate to.

            “It’s alright,” he said and kissed her forehead. “I promise I am committed to both of you.” Funny that he was certain of that when a week ago he was having threesomes.

            “So how is the house hunting going?” She asked changing the subject.

            “We can go look at a few places on Monday,” he replied.

            All week he had been a little busy with work and his bother and getting use to having a family. Having a baby was a lot of work, not that he minded. Spending time with Joseph was amazing, and the more time he spent with him the more he realized that he couldn’t live without him. It had to be love if he was willing to marry the mother of his child knowing that there was a good chance she was going to leave him or drive him completely insane. He loved Jasmine and he always just accepted that he would never have her but things were very different now and he wasn’t going to let her take his son away. With all the thinking he had been doing the last few days he came to realize he wanted his child more than the woman he loved. It was surprising, he was always a ladies man, but everything was different now.

            He walked around introducing Jasmine around; she had previously met most of the family. In the past he often brought her as his date to family functions. There were way too many people here today, it was like a mob, and he was not doing this for his wedding. Or at least he hoped not, it was up to Jasmine to make that decision. In one of the many tents out on the lawn was a lounge area with couches and cushions, they went over there to sit. For a moment he wrapped his arms around Jasmine who was holding Joseph and for that one peaceful moment he was completely happy. Then he looked up to see Nicolas and Wildflower coming out of the house with her mother. That wasn’t the interesting part though, coming from around the side of the house were the police.

            This was probably because of Caroline; she was here like it was ok. Delanoz did the right thing for once in his life and went back on it just like that. It wasn’t surprising at all, but it wasn’t Jose’s problem. He had a family to take care of and he was not going to have his son visiting him in jail. From the moment Jasmine told him he had a son he knew he was officially done with helping out his criminal brother. The same was obviously going for Nicolas who told him before the ceremony that Wildflower was probably pregnant. When you were young and had nothing to lose it was whatever but now everything had changed, almost in a blink of the eye. Maybe the Mandrakes reported Caroline as missing or kidnapped, knowing them it could be anything. Whatever it was today was just not the day for it.

 

 

            “You’re here to arrest him for what?” Nicolas asked, he seemed just as shocked as she was. But there was no denying what the police officer had said.

            “Suspicion of the murder of Hannah Mandrake,” the officer repeated.

            “We found her body,” the other one said.

Two others had gone to find Delanoz, surprisingly he came peacefully. Luis was advising him not to say anything and everybody was standing around staring. This was supposed to be her perfect wedding day but nothing seemed to ever go right in this family. Selfishly she wondered if this whole arrest thing was going to ruin her honeymoon. Maybe she had been hanging out in Capriani land a little too long but she had been waiting for this for months. It sucked that she couldn’t drink anymore because your brother-in-law getting arrested for a 14 year old murder at your wedding was a reason to drink. Especially when your husband and his other brother were accessories to this particular crime, thankfully the police weren’t arresting them today.

Nicolas and Emilio talked to the police and Carmen pulled her far away from them saying she didn’t need the stress. That was definitely true, not that the rest of the day was going to go as it was planned. Caroline was crying, it seemed like that was all she ever did. Why was she even here? It was obvious her sisters were doing a very bad job of keeping her out of trouble and out of Delanoz’s bed. But that was not her problem, she tried to help the starry-eyed confused girl, yet here she was again. Wildflower seriously was wondering it just one drink would really hurt; she had no idea how far along she was anyway. Maybe like a month or two but it couldn’t be more than that.

Once she was away and sitting down with people fussing over her, something occurred to her. Nobody ever knew where Hannah was buried, except Emilio. That was interesting and it meant that the old man tipped off the police. But why? He was pissed that his sons overthrew him but Nicolas let him come back to work. Was he really mad enough to send them to jail? Or was he just tired of covering for and dealing with Delanoz? Maybe because she wasn’t allowed to drink she wanted to so badly but having your wedding crashed by police was pretty drink worthy. Besides nobody really knew she was pregnant. Except of course her mother, Christina, Brooke, Carmen, Ricky, Dr. Cam and Nicolas, Carmen just told everybody she wasn’t feeling well. With a doctor to back that up and the fact that she had the right to freak out and be nervous before her wedding, nobody knew anything. The girls probably suspected something but she was going to talk to them later.  She didn’t know how to tell people that she was pregnant, especially her brothers.

Scarlet was thankfully in charge of everything because she got everyone to sit for dinner. Delanoz was taken away and Luis went because he was the family lawyer. Caroline was a little hysterical and to be sedated and taken into the house. Things sort of calmed down for dinner, it wasn’t all that rare for a Capriani to be arrested. Wildflower was mostly in her own world anyway. There were toasts during dinner then cake cutting afterwards. She didn’t have much of an appetite but she faked it like she faked interest in everything. For some reason she felt like she was over this wedding and she hated that. This was her one and only wedding it wasn’t like she was going to get to do this again. Even with the partner changing the Caprianis did she was pretty sure her and Nicolas could stay together, or she hoped so. Today just didn’t really feel like a big important day, it was more like she was playing dress up at a party. Maybe it was because she was tired and there was an overwhelming number of people around and the thing with Delanoz. What if the police arrested Nicolas and Jose next? And there was the small fact that she was pregnant. Mostly she just wanted to curl up with Nicolas in bed and let the rest of the world do whatever they wanted without her.

Instead of getting rest she danced with him in front of everybody. She smiled when he danced with Ariela and she danced with all of her brothers and her girls.  Being in the big wedding dress was wearing her down so she went back up to the house with Carmen to change. Her dear sister-in-law made her a party dress so she didn’t have to wear the wedding dress all day and there were definitely enough pictures of her in her dress. The house was pretty quiet, only random members of the catering staff were around in the kitchen. Part of her wanted to just get in bed and forget the rest of the evening but that wasn’t going to happen. Tonight they were going to the hotel anyway, but now they weren’t leaving as planned until Monday.

“So are you excited to be with child?” Carmen asked while unzipping her dress.

“Well Nick is happy, I’m just in shock a little, I guess I shouldn’t be but I am. Today just isn’t what I expected,” Wildflower admitted.

“Yeah, I honestly didn’t think you were going to marry him from how you were acting earlier. Then again I would be freaked out if I found out I was pregnant an hour before my wedding. Believe it or not that never happened to me,” Carmen said. “I feel bad that you can’t at least get drunk tonight or on your honeymoon and dumb a*s got arrested today. And that Caroline with her stupid self still chasing after him.”

“That girl is asking for trouble,” she sighed. It was not something she wanted to deal with today. “How did you feel when you got married the first time?”

“Uh well I was really in love with Alex back then, I was deliriously happy. Eventually he let his eye wander and cheated on me so I might have set him on fire, he wasn’t hurt or anything though, pity. And I only did it because he told my Lexy to call one of his w****s ‘mommy’. Yeah I’m crazy, why do you ask?”

“I love Nick, but I’m not all that excited today, I never really was,” she told her.

“Did you have a fight? Things have been a little tense around here and I just figured you were nervous and a lot has been going on,” Carmen said watching her closely. The Caprianis were always trying to read people and assess whatever was going on, like they could see inside you.

“Well we sort of had a fight, but I was trying really hard to forget it.”

“What did he do?”

“Got a little too drunk at his bachelor party,” she whispered.

“Oh God, did he cheat?” Carmen asked looking both stunned and concerned.

“I don’t know and neither does he or so he says. He doesn’t remember that night and I found her thong in his pocket. And I keep trying not to think about it especially not today and really not when I find out I’m pregnant,” she sighed and sat on the bed.

She had on her simple white cocktail length halter dress. The dress was simple and plain, like she wanted it but her life was a mess. Aunt Carmella gave her a locket that belonged to her grandmother to wear earlier that day; she twisted it around her finger. Inside there was a picture of her grandparents from their wedding day and a picture of her father. Wildflower had been her grandmother’s favorite just like with Ricky. She missed her grandmother and could remember her pretty well the same could not be said about her father. All she remembered was that he was very loving and he spent all his time with his children. Today was not the day to focus on the past, it was about the future. A future where the rest of the jewelry she had on cost almost as much as her SUV. A small part of her regretted getting married with unresolved issues but that was her choice and she had to live with it. Her child deserved a father that would love him or her and be devoted to him or her like her own father was. So why was she questioning her decision? A decision she made before she even knew she was pregnant.

“But he couldn’t have cheated with your brothers there, right?”

“That’s what he said and what Brooke said, funny thing is he was willing to postpone this wedding and I said no. Just ignore me, I’m just tired and a little crazy and I’m wishing I could drink just a little.”

“Are you sure? You really didn’t have to go through with this you known. I’ve learned that you’ll never be happy if you’re always trying to please others. Nicky is a good man despite a few things that may have happened in the past, but he loves you. And I don’t think even drunk out of his mind that he could stop thinking about you,” Carmen told her.

“I know, I love him and that is why I married him. And I wouldn’t trade the look on his face when he read the test for anything, he’s really happy.”

“Yeah, but are you happy?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “It’s just been a stressful week and I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“You’re sure everything is fine?”

“Perfect, I am happy to be Nick’s wife.”

“I’m going to get you a glass of wine, its fine I swear Cam will agree. Though you need hard liquor after this week,” Carmen said.

“Sounds good,” I just have to go to the bathroom so I will meet you downstairs.”

“Babies are such a blessing, but the things they do to your body,” Carmen shook her head. “I’ll wait for you in the kitchen Mrs. Capriani.”

“Ok,” she replied. She went into the bathroom and sat a minute, she wasn’t lying she had to pee but she needed a moment to herself too.

When she was finished in the bathroom and ready to head back out to the party, she stepped back in her bedroom. The room wasn’t empty anymore, but it wasn’t Carmen. This woman standing there looked vaguely familiar. It took a minute to place her; she’d seen her in a picture on Nicolas’ computer. She was one of the Mandrake sisters, which she didn’t know but the pale blonde hair gave her away. Since Wildflower had met Heather and Caroline was downstairs somewhere. The point wasn’t who she was it was more like why the hell was she here? What was the point of security guards and cameras in every room of the house if someone could sneak in?

“Which one are you?” Wildflower asked, she just wanted this over with.

“The one that knows your new husband intimately. I’m Sadie.”

“If you’re looking for Caroline she’s not up here,” she told her.

“I came looking for you,” Sadie said.

“What is it you want?”

“He doesn’t love you, Nicolas I mean, he doesn’t love you. I don’t even think he’s capable of love, not after the things he has done,” Sadie said. It sounded like a challenge from a past lover.

“Yeah, I’m going to need you to get out of my house. I don’t care if you dated him in the past, that’s not my problem,” Wildflower told her. This was going to end badly she knew it but what could she do? She had to think of her child.

“Did he tell you that he was my first? That he got me pregnant, twice,” Sadie said.

“I don’t care,” she said. In her head she was trying to assess if that was a true statement or not without letting her face give off any expression. She really had been hanging around Nicolas way too long.

“The first time was a miscarriage and the second he forced me to have an abortion. Is that the type of man you want to marry? One that wouldn’t want you anymore if you got knocked up?”

“Even if that’s true it has nothing to do with me, get over it.”

“She’s pregnant,” came a male voice from behind her.

“Owen,” she breathed. He was leaned in the doorway of the closet staring at her.

“How would you know?” Sadie asked him.

“The test is in the bathroom and she was just talking about it. He cheated on you Wildflower? I never cheated on you,” Owen said.

That fear that she thought she was over came back, she was in trouble. Owen was crazy enough on his own, now he made friends with some crazy bitter women. How she wished she at least had her cell phone or a weapon but her phone was with Nicolas. The landline, she noticed had been pulled from the wall. What was she supposed to do this time? Yes, everybody was there but they were all outside with loud music playing, these two could do anything to her. And she was pregnant she couldn’t exactly take many chances here.

“Does he know?” Sadie asked staring at her looking hurt.

“Yes, Nick is happy that we are going to have a baby,” she said. Maybe she shouldn’t have said it but it was the truth.

“He’s going to change his mind and then what will you do? I came here to help you, he is not the man you think he is,” Sadie told her.

“I don’t need your help, I’ve seen how you’ve helped Caroline and I don’t want anything to do with you.  Especially not you Owen, so both of you get out of my house,” she said firmly.

It would be very nice if they listened but she knew they didn’t come to listen. Owen left his perch against the closet door and started across the room, he stopped at the stripper pole. Until that moment she forgot about it, he knew about her past. In fact when he found out what she was doing back then he flipped out completely. Maybe she should have known he had a temper and when he found out what she was doing back then he flipped out completely. Maybe she should have known he had a temper and was a little unstable, but it was different then. Finding out by accident that your sort of girlfriend was a stripper was a shocking thing. He had come with his friends and that had been very humiliating. After he found out he came there every night she worked, he said it was to protect her. Now she was starting to think she should have known then that he would turn out to be a crazy stalker. The way he stroked the pole looking at her made her feel sick, he was fantasizing right there.

She stood in a way that she could keep an eye on both of them. Owen of course knew to block her from the closet and Sadie was blocking the door. Sadie wasn’t much taller than her and she was rather thin, it wouldn’t be hard to get pass her. Since the only other option was jumping off the balcony, she had to get to the door. There was the chance that Carmen would come back up but she couldn’t take that chance and wait. As soon as she could she had to run for the door. Wildflower took a second to say a silent prayer not only for herself but for her unborn child. Life wasn’t fair sometimes but she prayed it wasn’t so cruel to give her this gift and take it back.

“I find it interesting that you have one of these,” Owen said looking at her. The look in his eyes was suggesting he remembered what she looked like naked.

“I don’t have it by choice, my friends thought it would be funny,” she said.

“He doesn’t make you dance for him?” Owen asked while still creepily stroking the pole.

“What I do with my husband is none of your damn business,” she replied.

Out the corner of her eye she saw Sadie move; she went over to the bed and studied the wedding dress. There was a longing look in her eyes; obviously she wanted to be the one Nicolas married. As if there weren’t enough drama, Sadie didn’t want revenge she wanted Nicolas. This just got more and more ridiculous, her family’s drama was nothing compared to the Caprianis and Mandrakes. These women swore they hated these men for taking their sister away and yet they wanted to be with them too? What sense did any of this even make? Maybe she shouldn’t have been so surprised by Caroline’s obsession with Delanoz; it was in her DNA to be completely psycho.

“Owen loves you, you should be with someone that loves you,” Sadie said while staring at the dress. “If you leave with him now then Nicky will just think it wasn’t his kid and you can get your marriage annulled. Simple and easy, it will save you a lot of heartache later when he dumps you with nothing.”

“You are insane,” Wildflower said. This was her chance; both of these idiots were distracted. Part of her wanted to go get the gun out of the safe and just shoot them both. At this point she was pretty certain she could do it with no guilt. Instead she run for the door.

 

 

After talking with his mother about a postnuptial agreement and having her wave papers at him begging him to do the responsible thing, Nicolas went in the house. His bride wasn’t anywhere outside so he assumed she was in the house. She did say something about a dress but at the time he had only been half listening. He was ready to get out of here and get their honeymoon started. They hadn’t had sex all week and he was at the end of his control, he wanted her badly. Just thinking about her got him a little excited. Tonight he was going to make love to his wife and he was anxious for it.

            “Where is Wildflower?” Nicolas asked his sister who he found in the kitchen.

            “Pregnant women pee a lot,” she replied.

            “Oh,” he said. He felt like if he let her out of his sight she was going to leave him.

            “Did you cheat on her?” Carmen asked staring him in the eyes, she never did that.

            “Who told you about that?” He asked instead of admitting or denying anything.

            “Your wife isn’t even happy on her wedding day, did you notice that?”

            “I told her we didn’t have to get married today.”

            “Didn’t I plead with you not to hurt her? You shouldn’t have married her.”

            “Why wouldn’t I marry her? She is mine and as of today she is legally my wife and she is carrying my child. I love her, and I would never intentionally hurt her and cheating would be pointless,” he told his sister.

            “It’s rare that I like any woman that any of you bring around, but I do like her and I’m worried about her,” she admitted. “Did you notice how unhappy she is today?”

            “Yes, she says she just doesn’t feel too great. Or did she tell you something else?”

“I’ve been a bride twice and I’ve been to plenty of weddings, even weddings where the couple hated each other and didn’t want to be together. She loves you and I can tell but she isn’t happy at all, I’ve never seen a bride like this,” Carmen told him.

“Maybe I will talk to her again or we can leave soon,” he said.

What were you supposed to do if your bride was completely miserable on your wedding day? She was pretty good at faking it but he could see right through her. Wildflower was a people pleaser, she was giving everybody what they wanted, a happy bride. Wasn’t this just like when he met her? She had been being a good tame girl to please her mother and the rest of her family. The sense of duty she had was ridiculous, so it was very possible she was putting on a brave face for him. Today was obviously not the best day to get married. He’d known they had unresolved issued but she wanted to move forward with the wedding. Now she was pregnant on top of everything else, he wanted to be happy, he got his way again but if she wasn’t happy then he couldn’t be. Funny how something he planned the moment he saw her all came true and he couldn’t be happy about it. And he was a man that liked getting his way.

He was still in shock that he had a wife and that she hadn’t left him yet. Part of it he knew was because logistically she really couldn’t afford to leave him. That had originally been part of his plan; he wanted her completely dependent on him. But somewhere along the way things changed, he changed. It didn’t give him any satisfaction that she had no choice but to stay with him. Maybe that was why he meant it when he said he would still take care of her no matter what. She was having his child now so there would be no breaking up, that was unacceptable. And it wasn’t like he would ever give up on wining her back. Wildflower belonged to him and she was going to be his until death did they part.

“I’m going to go check on her; she’s been up there for awhile. And if she doesn’t drink this wine I will,” Carmen said.

“My wife is pregnant and you want her to drink?” He asked staring at his sister.

“One glass won’t hurt, I promise. Trust me I have three perfectly healthy daughters,” she said dismissively.

“What you do is your problem but you aren’t giving my wife that,” he said and she glared at him.

“So you know you don’t own…” She trailed off staring behind him at something; the color seemed to be draining from her face so he turned.

“F**k,” he hissed digging in his pocket. He had a handheld device that showed him a view from all the cameras on his property and he switched the view to his bedroom.

“That was Tina, wasn’t it?” Carmen asked still staring.

“Carm, I’m going to need you to snap out of the shock. Wildflower is upstairs with Sadie and Owen,” he said. His little device had already alerted the security but he was going to make sure these intruders were punished.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left her,” Carmen said. That he agreed with but it probably wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

 

Ivan had been talking about something or other when he felt something. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was he felt. His sister, something was wrong with her. So he scanned the crowd of people everywhere but didn’t see her anywhere and he didn’t see Nicolas either. When he spotted Christina he ran over to her, it was rude to walk away but he needed to see Wildflower. Something just felt wrong and it had to do with her. She had whispered to him that she was pregnant and that had shocked him. What if it was something to do with her pregnancy? Or it could have been her new husband. Something had been bothering her for days but she swore it was just nerves but all day he hadn’t seen her smile like she was genuinely happy to have gotten married. That was a huge change, she was never overenthusiastic about her wedding but she wasn’t faking it before.

“Chris, do you know where Wildflower is?” He asked and was thankful when she nodded.

“She went to change her dress with Carmen,” Christina told him. “Something wrong? You look kind of pale.”

“Not with me, its her,” he said absently.

He sprinted off to the house and went in through the kitchen door. Carmen was in the kitchen looking like something was wrong. Like something scared her or for a lack of a better comparison, like she saw a ghost. Wildflower of course was no in the kitchen. Before he could ask Carmen where his sister was, there was a scream coming from the direction of the entrance hall and the sound of something glass breaking. What was going on? His sense of dread was growing, he needed to get to his sister. He’d already lost one; he couldn’t bare to lose this one.  So he dashed off down the hall and found that Carmen followed him.

The scream had come from a woman with pale blonde hair that seemed to have lost a fight with a glass table. Or upon further inspection it seemed that Nicolas was the one to throw her into the table. What was going on in this house? Before anybody could do anything there was arguing coming from upstairs. They all looked up to see Wildflower trying to fight off some guy who had a syringe in one of his hands. That guy was Owen, and there was a woman with him. No wonder he felt lie his sister needed him, because she did. Without asking questions or thinking further he ran for the stairs, just like Nicolas.

 

Wildflower was pretty sure that Owen and his sidekick didn’t want to kill her. It was possible that she was wrong about that, but even so a lot of things went through her mind while she was running down the hall. The first thing she thought of was Daisy and how much she loved and missed her. She thought of her father and her grandmother and of all her siblings. Especially Ivan, she knew he couldn’t keep going if he lost another one of the. They had been a threesome so long that she sometimes forgot Daisy was gone. It was easier to thin that maybe she went on vacation or she was off with one of her boyfriends. This seemed to be like her life was flashing before her eyes and she had no intention of dying. Not today, not on her wedding day that was way too tragic.

Her mind wondered over to Nicolas and the girls and her friends. When she thought of her child, that was when she stopped feeling like she might die. The hallway was long and Owen was catching up to her, all she had to do was make it to the stairs. And in true horror movie style she fell but she didn’t let that stop her she started crawling away. That was when Owen grabbed her by her hair. What had she even saw in this psycho? And how didn’t she know he was so unbalanced? There was a syringe in his hand and he was obviously planning to drug her. But she managed to kick him in the stomach and he released her.

She got up and ran; she was almost to the stairs leading to the entrance hall. After this she was going to need somebody to install a panic room and some secret passageways. Maybe this house was safe over 100 years ago but it wasn’t anymore. And it was a good thing she hadn’t put her shoes on, she would have broke her neck running in heels. When she reached the stairs she saw that there were people at the bottom. Nicolas, Ivan and Carmen and the door burst open with security guards coming in. But everything happened so fast, one minute she was relieved to find help and the next she was falling. The last thing she remembered seeing was a satisfied look on Sadie’s face and a horrified one on Owen’s. There was shouting and something that sounded like gunshots but everything went black for her. And she barely felt the pain but she did think about her baby. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

 

 

Delanoz sat in an interrogation room alone. There was a lot for him to think about. Finally the past really caught up with him, but he never saw this one coming. Only one person in the world knew where Hannah Mandrake was buried and that was his father. So why after all these years did his father finally give him up? The answer was simple, Nicolas. Things went bad between the golden boy and the old man when he tried to force him to help Delanoz. Of course his own father blamed him when technically he had nothing to do with it. All he did was sit there as he was told to do. Now here he was arrested at his little brother’s wedding, wonderful.

Luis was a hell of a lawyer and he could probably make bail soon, money was no problem. Even though he felt like all he did was work to pay child support. There was no evidence that linked him to Hannah and nobody even knew they were together that night. All that happened 14 years ago, there was no way they could convict him of a crime. Especially since he didn’t even burry her, he was sent home while his father bullied his brother into burying her. Technically they should be here too but he was no snitch. Besides one brother just got married and the other had a three month old baby, he may have lost his soul but he wasn’t going to drag his brothers into this. If he was convinced of a crime nobody was at home to care, his kids had no reason to. There was Caroline but he didn’t need to mess with her life anymore than he already had.

Waiting patiently gave him time to reflect on his life. Instead of jail he really deserved to be tortured and killed slowly. He knew he had done horrible things in his life but he would be lying if he said he was actually sorry, he just didn’t care. Just because a woman said no didn’t mean that she meant it. Women were always the cause of his troubles; he needed to lay off them for awhile. If only Caroline wouldn’t have come here pouting at him looking so cute. The girl was crazy, but he had fallen for her. Having real emotions and caring about someone was very weird for him. But she had no idea he had sex with multiple women at his brother’s bachelor party. It had been to forget her but she wouldn’t go away. He loved her that was why he needed her to stay away from her. Once he got bored things turned bad and he would rather have her hate him from breaking her heart than breaking her skull and watching her die.

“When can I be bailed out?” He asked his cousin when he entered the room.

“You can’t, they have a lot of evidence against you and you are definitely a flight risk. I’ll keep working on it but it doesn’t look good,” Luis told him. Was it possible that for once money and power were going to get him nowhere? And all this because his father was having a tantrum. It was then he made a vow to himself that he was going to kill his father.

Reviews

[romancewriter09]

this can not be the end!!!!!!! pls have not be the end!!!! if u value my exestince then this will not be the end!!!!!!

[deeps]

Wow Girl this is just simply amazing! I enjoyed this read alot. Full of action and drama. I found this very well written. I enjoyed reading this writ. Wonderful detail and vivid imagery.