all the wrong reasons Episode 37

?ALL THE WRONG REASONS?
?EPISODE THIRTY-SEVEN?

The next day became hectic for Adrienne. Abigail may
have looked shy and quiet at first, but hell! She ran a
military rule when it came to organizing stuff. She got on
the phone, putting pressure on the photographers,
videographers and other suppliers. She seemed so
meticulous and so strict. Adrienne no longer wondered how
she managed to straighten out the old Mason.
Abigail turned to her, taking dee-p breaths. “Okay, I
sorted out the cake! Now, let’s get you to the couture house
so you can pick out a dress.”
Adrienne nodded. She almost got scared of her future
cousin-in-law. While Abi’s driver transported them to a
shop, she spoke over the phone in Italian. She was almost
raising her voice. Adrienne found it a little amusing now.
When she hung up the phone, she turned to Adrienne
and smiled. “Sorry. That was Justin.” She turned to her
driver to give out instructions in Italian. Adrienne had no
idea what she said.
“My Justin?”
Abi nodded. “Yeah. He speaks perfect Italian.”
It was alre-ady past noon and Adrienne realized they
hadn’t eaten yet. Abigail kept her busy with choosing
anything from ribbons, to flowers, to linen and paper. The
arrangements were looking grand now and there would only
be four people attending the wedding.
They stopped by a small hotel. Adrienne seemed
confused because she thought they would go to look at
wedding dresses.
“Abi, I thought you wanted me to pick a dress.”
“Yeah, but Justin berated me for starving you.” She
laughed. “He said we could schedule dress-shopping after
lunch.”
Adrienne just nodded but dee-p inside she thanked
Justin for rescuing her. Abi looked like she didn’t know how
to take a break. She was all work, work, work!
“Where is Justin?” she asked Abi.
“In the restaurant with Mason,” Abi replied. “We all
will have lunch together.”
Abi led her up the marble staircase to the mezzanine
floor to the restaurant. The door was closed. Abi turned to
her and smiled.
“Smile, Adrienne,” Abi said.
Adrienne didn’t get what she meant. But then she
opened the door to the small restaurant. Adrienne then saw
Justin and Mason talking to some people seated across from
them. Adrienne looked at their guests and she felt like her
heart immediately went up to her throat as she looked at
their familiar faces. Justin’s guests were none other than…
Jill and Yuan.
“Oh my God!” Adrienne breathed.
Jill let out a scream. She and Yuan stood up their seats
and immediately ran to her to give her hu-gs and ki-sses.
“What are you guys doing here?” she asked them. Her
eyes started to get a little bit teary. This was indeed a
pleasant surprise.
“Your boyfriend…I mean… your fiancée…” Jill said, her
eyes sparkling. “Contacted us last night and told us to
immediately get on the next flight to Italy. No matter what
the cost.”
“I cannot believe you guys eloped!” Yuan said.
Adrienne waved her fin-gerin front of them to show
them her ring.
“It’s wonderful!” They exclaimed.
“Heirloom?” Yuan asked.
Adrienne didn’t exactly know the answer to that.
Justin came to her side, wrapping an arm around her wa-ist
and giving her a ki-ss on the forehead. He turned to Jill and
Yuan and said, “That ring originally belonged to my
grandmother. She gave it to my father when he proposed to
my mom. And my Mom gave it to me when she wanted me
to propose to my… ‘betrothed’.”
Yuan’s eyes wi-dened. “You guys are so dead!”
“Maybe.” Adrienne smiled at them mysteriously.
They both raised a brow at her and she laughed.
“Funny how my mother arranged me to be married to
someone, too.”
Yuan and Jill’s eyes wi-dened. “What?”
Adrienne smiled wi-dely at them. “What are the odds
that my parents arranged me to marry someb©dy I was
alre-ady in love with.”
“You?” Jill echoed. “You were the ‘br@t’ who had been
destined to marry Justin all along?”
Adrienne laughed. “Yes. It’s…surreal, really. Like, what
are the chances, right?”
“The chances of that happening is not even one in a
million!” Yuan said in amazement.
“Yep,” Justin agreed. “But it doesn’t change my
decision. My parents could never for-ce me to marry anyb©dy
else than your best friend.”
“And when I saw you at blus-h you were looking rather
happy.”
Justin laughed. “Maybe I was. Because I planned to
scare off my designated fiancée and it was working. I had no
idea then that it was Adrienne.”
“Did you tell your parents?”
Adrienne shook her head. “We’ll just…shock them
when we get back.”
“I’ll bet they will be,” Justin whispered staring down at
Adrienne. Then he leaned forward and ki-ssed her forehead
again. He turned to Jill and Yuan. “Let’s have lunch first.
There are still a lot of things to be done. And I believe I have
made Abi fall behind schedule. She will order a firing squad
if we don’t eat fast. Don’t choke on your food, okay?” He
grinned tea-singly at Adrienne.
Adrienne sat beside Justin. She felt very happy. She
would have loved it if Jin, her Mother and Pierre were
prese-nt…even her Father, but for now she’s content that at
least Jill and Yuan had made it. And she couldn’t help falling
in love with Justin even more for doing this for her.
“I love you,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you so
much for getting Jill and Yuan here. I don’t know how to pay
you back for this.”
He grinned at her. “I accept payment…in kind,” he
whispered. “And you alre-ady know which kind.”
She laughed. “And yet you’re gonna have to wait.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. Then he pu-lled her to him
and gave her a squee-ze. “You’re going to be the death of
me.”
Adrienne looked at him from un-der her lashes and
said, “And I’m just getting started,” she said in a voice full of
mischief.
Justin laughed and gave her a squee-zeagain. “I can’t
wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“And I can’t wait for you to start ordering lunch,”
Mason said to Justin, bringing them both back to reality.
Adrienne blinked back at the other people in the table.
She immediately turned red, realizing they’ve been
oblivious of the others around them. They had whispered
but Mason sat close enough to Justin that he couldn’t help
overhearing.
Justin shot Mason a murderous look and then he
looked at the menu in front of him. Mason just laughed. It
was obvious he loved taunting his cousin. And Adrienne
found it adorable how Justin had so much patience for
Mason. Maybe even more than he’d shown Gian.
After lunch, Abigail took Adrienne away from Justin
and they went gown shopping with Jill and Yuan.
They went to a boutique that looked like it only sold
expensive couture gowns. The moment they walked in, the
doors closed behind them and the saleslady turned the
“Closed” sign on the door.
Abigail smiled at Adrienne. “So you can shop without
interruption.”
The VIP treatment gave Adrienne a bit of a headache.
She wasn’t used to this. And she felt like Abigail would make
a good principal at “How To Be A bit-ch Academy.” It’s
amazing how she didn’t even have to open her mouth but
things would just go the way she wanted them to be.
“Well, I like her,” Yuan said beside her. “Besides,
you’re running out of time. A woman who runs military rule
is exactly what you nee-d to get everything up and running
in two days.”
Abigail took her to an aisle of dresses. They were all
beautiful, flawlessly tailored with sparkling crystals and rich
laces.
Adrienne picked out a simple gown that went all the
way down to the ankles.
What could you wear in a wedding with six people,
right?
“Ah-ah!” Abigail said, shaking her head. “That looks
more like a co-cktail dress to me, sweetheart.” She took out
a ball gown that had folded layers over the sk-irt.
“Seriously?” Adrienne asked. “For a four-guest
wedding?” The dress looked too grand for such a simple
occasion.
Abigail raised a brow at her. “Seriously,” she stated
simply. Then Abi let out a sigh. “Adrienne…Justin is Mason’s
go-to guy. My husband owes him a lot. If there’s one thing
I’m good at, it’s re-ading people. Your fiancé feels guilty
about not being able to give you a wedding that’s fit for an
heiress like you are. He knows that you deserve a fairy-tale wedding. But as it is…you’ve eloped and can’t bring the
whole United States of America to Italy. So ap@rt from the
lack of guests at the wedding, don’t you think you should do
everything else as grand as it would have been?” Abigail
said, finally giving Adrienne a piece of her mind. “That
would erase Justin’s guilt and make him really happy!”
Adrienne blinked back at her. Then she realized Abigail
she was right. Justin would want to give her a grand
wedding. And he could afford it. But his de-sire to have an
inti-mate, solemn and R0m-ntic ceremony prevailed. And
honestly…she preferred it this way, too. But Abi made a
great point. Nothing should stop them from making this
wedding majestic. Their love story was a fairy-tale anyway.
She took the dress from Abi. “You should have said
that earlier!”
When Adrienne finally came out of the dressing room,
her friends gazed at her in awe. She turned to the mirror
and almost g@sped at herself.
The silk gown hu-gged her b©dy to perfection. The
bodice with a sweetheart ne-ckline, was fully embroidered
and lined with crystals. The flowing side dra-ped sk-irt was
made of folds of rich silk. Each fold ended with floral crystals
and embroidery. Additionally, the dress included a
detachable crystal-adorned chapel-length train that could be
used during the ceremony and re-moved at her convenience
during the reception.
“Wow!” Jill cried. “That is the dress, if you ask me.”
Adrienne had to agree. She wanted to check out the
other dresses, but she was sure this was it. She fell in love
with it. She actually imagined herself getting married in it.
“See?” Abi began. “This is perfect-ion!” Her voice was
full of approval.
“How could you get it right the first time?” Adrienne
breathed.
“Talent, my dear.” Abi giggled. “Come, you have to
choose your shoes.”
Adrienne looked at herself in the mirror one last time
and smiled. The dress she wore looked fantastic. It was
doubtlessly expensive, but she didn’t care. Its beauty
glowed…exactly how she felt inside. And she couldn’t wait
for Justin to see her in it.
Abi and Jill also chose their own gowns. Then they all
chose their shoes and other accessories. In the evening,
they returned to the hotel to meet Justin and Mason.
Adrienne felt exhausted by the time they had dinner. It was
a long day. Brides usually have at least three months to plan
the wedding of their dreams. She had three days.
The whole group gathered at the poolside to have
some beer. For Abi, it was the time to remind everyb©dy of
their roles for the next two days. By ten in the evening,
Adrienne yawned. Justin gave her a squee-ze, then he turned
to the group.
“Guys, we would have to go now,” he told them. “I
think my bride-to-be can ha-rdly keep her eyes open.”
“No, I’m okay,” Adrienne said.
Justin shook his head and stood up from his chair.
Adrienne stood up after him. To her surprise, Justin scooped
her up on her feet and carried her bridal style as they bid
goodnight to the group.
“This is embarras-sing!” she said to him. “Put me
down.”
Justin laughed. “I would have to carry you the same
way after the wedding. I should practice not to drop you.”
“I’ll be wearing a big gown, I’m sure you’ll have
difficulty nevertheless,” Adrienne warned him.
Justin looked at her for a moment and his eyes
sparkled. “Really? How big?”
Adrienne smiled proudly at him. “Cinderella gown
big!”
Justin smiled back at her. “Oh, I can’t wait to see you
in it.” He walked inside the elevator. Adrienne pressed their
floor number. She turned back to Justin. He smiled at her mischievously. “And of course, I can most definitely not wait
to see you… out of it.”
Adrienne laughed. “Justin, will you stop that? You have
less than forty-eight hours to go.”
They reached their floor and Justin walked towards
Adrienne’s b£droom. Adrienne swiped her access card and
the door opened. Justin kicked the door closed behind him
and put Adrienne down on the b£d.
“Forty-eight hours is torture, honey,” he whispered to
her. He leaned forward and to-uched his li-ps with hers.
She ki-ssed him back. Then Justin dee-pened the ki-ss.
He wrapped his arms around her wai-stand pu-lled her to
him.
“Justin…” she mo-aned.
“Adrienne…” he whispered coarsely. He nuzzled her
ne-ck and she almost squirmed in his arms.
He pushed her towards the b£d. She landed on her
back and he landed on top of her. His hands and li-ps
claimed her and she felt completely and insanely lost. She
could feel him between her thi-ghs. de-sire was evident in
every p@rt of his b©dy. Her arms wrapped around his ne-ck
and she pu-lled her to him.
It had been too long since she held him like this and
she forgot that this one man could undo her in ways she
never thought possible. His tou-chelectrified her and his
ki-sses made her forget anything…everything.
She felt de-sire completely overtake her. She pushed
his jacket off him. She felt Justin’s hands un-derneath her
shirt, to-uching her… skin to skin, feeling the pounding of her
heart inside her rib cage.
“Oh God!” she mo-aned as she felt the urgency
overtake her. She felt him su-ck at her ne-ck and she let out a
mo-anof plea-sure. “Justin… please!” She mo-aned although
she wasn’t aware that she spoke at all.
His li-ps returned to hers and he ki-ssed her savagely,
bi-ting at her li-ps, invading her mouth with his ton-gue. Then he ki-ssed her more gently… and he suddenly stopped
moving.
She gently opened her eyes to stare back at him in
confusion. He looked at her with a smile of triumph on his
devilishly handsome face.
Finally, she remembered the rule she made. They
cannot make love until they’re married.
“Now, don’t you wish you didn’t make those damn
rules at all?” he asked with a slight sm-irk on his face.
She pla-yfully hit him in the shoulder.
“I told you…you’d be begging for it, too,” he tea-sed
her.
“I didn’t beg for it,” she protested.
He narrowed her eyes at her. “Oh, right! You just
said… what was it you said? ‘Justin… please’?” He shook his
head. “Sounds like begging to me, honey.”
She laughed and pinched his shoulder.
He leaned forward and ki-ssed her li-ps gently. “You can
break the rules, Adrienne,” he said. “If you ask me nicely
again… I just might have mercy.” He continued taunting her.
She punched his shoulder again. “That’s it! Get off me
and get out of my room, you conceited prick!” she said in
between giggles.
Justin laughed and ki-ssed her gently on the li-ps.
“Really? You’re not going to change your mind about this?”
Adrienne gave him a push. She shook her head.
“Nope. Let’s torture ourselves some more.”
Justin lied on his back and gathered Adrienne in his
arms. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“You better have plenty of energy drinks prepared on
our wedding night,” he said, chuckling.
She stared up at him. “A lot of people say that newly-
married couples usually don’t have s-x on their wedding
night. You know…because they’d be too exhausted they
would just sleep. Do you think that would happen to us?”
“Are you kidding me?” Justin asked. “I can ba-rely keep
my hands off you now. Do you really think I would let the
wedding night pas-s? Besides…there’s only one wedding
night. We could sleep any other night but that night
deserves a celebr@tion. Why did you think I opted for a very
small wedding? You could put your energy to better use
than smiling all night and entertaining a lot of people you
ba-rely even know.”
Adrienne laughed. “You’re probably right. Where are
we getting married anyway?”
“If you can torture me about not being able to make
love to you before the wedding day, then I can torture you
about not knowing where exactly we’re getting married.”
Adrienne stared up at him. “You think you’re very
clever, huh?”
He laughed. “I don’t think I am. I know I am.”
“Come on, Justin!” she insisted. “Where?”
He pu-lled her to him. “No. I want it to be a surprise.
Patience, okay?”
She sighed in frustration. She couldn’t un-derstand,
but she suddenly felt really angry about it. She felt like she
didn’t have a say in anything about their wedding when in
normal weddings the most involvement grooms have is to
just actually show up on the wedding day. But on hers, she
was the one tagging along and being pushed over.
Everything came as a surprise…or a shock. She didn’t
un-derstand why, but normally she wouldn’t make a big deal
out of these things. She might actually feel it’s sweet how
Justin got so involved with their wedding preparations. But
right now, she couldn’t help feeling…angry.
She pu-lled away from Justin and turned her back on
him. She stood up from the b£d to head for the bathroom.
She suddenly felt queasy. She ran to the bathroom, hoping
she would make it to the sink. It only took a second for
Justin to run after her. Adrienne threw up almost everything she ate that evening. When she finished, she washed the
sink. Then she washed her face and gargled mouthwash.
Justin leaned on the sink beside her, carefully studying
her. She caught his eye in the mirror in front of her. She still
felt nauseated, her pulse was hammering visibly at the base
of her ne-ck.
He narrowed his eyes at her and couldn’t help the grin
that was slowly forming on his face.
“Justin…” she began. “Why are you smiling?”
Tears welled up in Justin’s eyes and he pu-lled her to
him in a ti-ght hu-g. Then he said, “I’m just…very happy,
honey. I think my insurance just came throu-gh.”

Tbc