"Then I’m honored that the first gown she’ll ever wear will be from ," Jenna said delightedly.
She clasped her hands, but before she could continue, there was the sound of soone slamming against the front door. A staff mber hurriedly dashed over to open it, only to reveal Aiden’s disheveled form.
"I made it! On ti too!" Aiden crowed excitedly, his face a ruddy red. His hair was a windswept ss. He caught sight of Alia and stumbled towards her, only for Matteo to hold him back with a warning growl.
"Aiden, did you drink and drive?" Alia demanded, her nose wrinkling at the stench of whiskey floating off him. It seed that Matteo’s prediction of his sobriety was accurate.
"Of course not!" Aiden said, scandalized. "I took a taxi here. I even shared my drink with the taxi driver!"
Before Alia could even parse the aning of that sentence, Jenna cleared her throat politely.
"I guess this must be Aiden Montgory. Dearie, kindly take a seat. We’ll get you so tea and cookies to sober you up," Jenna said politely, and Alia had to give her props for her professionalism. She barely batted an eye at one of her grooms entering drunk. Was this a common occurrence for her clientele?
Even Aiden was surprised at her unflappability as he followed her suggestions, plopping himself down with his legs spread, next to his future mother-in-law. Annalise discreetly scooted further away, her eyes flashing at the disrespect.
This was the man Horace wanted her sweet Emline to marry?!
Horace Hawthorne was also less than impressed by Aiden’s appearance, but at least Aiden had made an appearance. He glanced at his watch. It was already ti, and Emline was still not present yet.
"Hey, my fiancée isn’t here yet," Aiden mused loudly, his voice hopeful. "Does this an the wedding is canceled?"
Horace sighed. "This ans that Emline will be disinherited," his hand hovered over his phone. "I’ll get the family lawyers to draw up a new docunt―"
"No!" Annalise wailed, slamming her knees onto the floor with a heavy thud, frantically pleading for more ti. "You can’t, Father! She’s just running a little late― you know how she is! Emline belongs in your family!"
"She knew what was at stake," Horace Hawthorne said regretfully. "If she cannot commit to this engagent then―"
"I’m sorry for my lateness, Grandpa." A new voice cut in, and it was Emline, who strolled in through the open door left behind by Aiden’s entrance. She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress that hugged every curve, the very inch of a lady on a warpath.
Alia couldn’t help but notice there was a slight pouch at her belly― perhaps the recent news had struck her so hard that Emline was eating more than usual.
"I was wondering where my wayward fiancé went, but it seed like he had managed to crawl his way here just fine," Emline said sweetly, but she shot Aiden a vicious glare. Her jaw was clenched so tightly, that Alia found herself worrying about the health of her molars.
"Hey, don’t bla !" Aiden protested. "You didn’t want to co here either!"
Annalise quickly got up and cleared her throat. "As long as you’re here now. Do you have a dress in mind?"
"Since Alia is my cousin, I might as well let her have the first pick," Emline said with a generosity Alia knew was fake. "We all know Caleb Montgory never bothered to give her a proper wedding. Sothing in white would look nice with her coloring, don’t you think so, Grandpa?"
Horace nodded in approval, taking his fingers off his phone. Finally, his granddaughter was seeing sense.
However, his daughter-in-law continued to spout nonsense. Perhaps it was Annalise’s fault that Emline grew up to be such a spoiled child.
Annalise scoffed loudly. "White? How can she be worthy of such a color?! Only pure won can wear white, and we all know Alia is nowhere close to purity. She already had a husband, for goodness sake!"
"This is the 21st century, and white gowns do not hold such aning anymore," Jenna interjected quickly before a fistfight could break out in her boutique. Matteo Montgory seed ready to commit violence and stain her white gowns red, while Alia didn’t even bat an eyelash at the insult.
anwhile, Aiden Montgory was cackling so loudly that her staff were giving him a wide berth.
"This is pretty rich, coming from you, Emline! Does that an that you’ll be wearing black to our wedding, since you―"
Emline snarled and slapped Aiden before he could say anything more. The sound of her blow ricocheted around the room, stunning everyone. Aiden shook himself to wakefulness; it was as though she slapped the inebriation out of him. He rose to his feet, upset.
"Emline Hawthorne, how dare you slap !"
"Aiden, sit back down!" Alia exclaid. If Aiden decided to hit Emline, he’d be looking at a lawsuit― especially with Horace Hawthorne sitting two seats away from him.
At the combined warning glares from Matteo and Alia, Aiden sunk back into his seat, glaring mulishly at Emline as he nursed his swollen cheek.
anwhile, Horace Hawthorne shook his head in disappointnt. Aiden’s behavior was deplorable, but Emline should not have laid hands on Aiden to begin with. He sighed, but it was too late to reconsider this engagent. This was for Emline’s own good.
Thankfully, his other granddaughter seed to be in a happy, blissful relationship.
Jenna coughed and spoke loudly, thankful that there was no bloodshed in her boutique.
"Well, I agree that Alia here would look lovely in white. Dearie, if you don’t want a white gown, just let know. I have several colored gowns that would still suit you marvelously!"
"Thank you," Alia said, feeling touched and just a tad sorry for Jenna. To be saddled with their family drama... it simply wasn’t her lucky day. "I’ll try on anything you want to since you are the expert here."
Jenna laughed, pleased at her client’s easygoing attitude.
"Co here then," Jenna waved her into another room. "I’ll let you and your fiancé take a look at our gowns first. If you see anything that catches your eye, let know!"
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