The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~SCARLETT~

It was Autumn’s wedding day, and we were in the Fawn’s yacht, but all I could think about was Carter. He didn’t try once to contact me since I asked him to stay away.

I knew I was the one who told him not to approach me, but part of me thought he would have tried to fight more. It meant that I wasn’t that important to him, to begin with.

I try to distract myself by focusing on Anya and Atticus. He was married to Autumn, but Anya was all up in his face. It was disgusting.

“Can you believe them?” Clara asks me in disbelief. “Autumn deserves so much better than this. Why are men such assholes? All of them remind me of Carter and his dirty ways.”

I try not to be affected by my sister’s words. I didn’t want to say anything awful about him. I was already in too deep.

“Scarlett?” She calls my name. I look at her, and I think she can see the guilt in my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” She asks.

“Nothing.” I lie. “I’m just worried about Autumn.”

Clara nods, “she looks beautiful tonight. We should go congratulate her and give her our support.”

I nod in agreement. She would need more than our support tonight.

“Autumn!” I shout her name as we approach her. When she spots us, her face immediately brightens. I was happy that we could bring some comfort to her.

“Congratulations on your wedding!” We scream as we pull her in for a hug. “We’re so happy for you.”

“But we have noticed Anya all up in your husband’s space. She needs a reality check.” I point out. “If you want, I’ll give it to her.”

“There is no need for any of that,” She informs me.

“And here he comes,” Clara warns us.

I follow her gaze, and to my surprise, Atticus has just joined us. “Autumn.” He greets her, ignoring the rest of us. “Do you want to join us? We’re at the front of the yacht.”

“She’s good here with us.” I step in.

“Right,” Atticus says. “Aren’t you the one that let her get drunk that night at the beach? I think you were drunk as well.”

I give him a thumbs up, “at least you have a good memory. Hopefully, you remember that you’re married to Autumn and not Anya.”

I enjoyed messing with him. He deserved it after what he was doing to Autumn. She was too sweet for him.

His jaw clenches, “are you coming with me?” He asks as he returns his attention to Autumn.

“I’ll come in a bit.” She answers him after much thought.

He doesn’t look pleased with her response, but he doesn’t try to change her mind.

“I hope you’re not going to get her drunk again,” Atticus warns us. “There are many guests here. I would hate for there to be a repeat of last time.”

“Don’t you worry.” Clara cuts in. “We will take good care of her.”

He looks hesitant to leave, but he finally does.

I make sure to wave at him as he leaves. He could go back to Anya if he pleased. We would keep Autumn with us as long as she wanted to stay.

I watch as Anya goes straight to Atticus the second he returns. She’s already flirting and touching him inappropriately. She’s acting like he’d married her instead of Autumn.

I roll my eyes, “now I want to get you drunk tonight.”

She laughs, “As much as I’d love to help you piss him off, I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s right; there are many important guests present tonight. My parents are here as well. I don’t want to get into another argument with them because of my actions.”

“I understand,” I tell her. “But if you ever change your mind, the bottle isn’t far away. It will help ease all your stress. Clara always told me how good it made her feel, but I only got to experience it at the beach that day. Though, the next day, all the pain comes rushing back in.”

She looks a little lost before she speaks again.

“Thank you for coming,” she thanked us. “I’m happy to see you both here. I’ve been feeling a bit depressed, but you have brightened up my night. There’s just something about the both of you; I always feel better around you.”

At first, I had no intention of coming because of my situation with Carter. However, I knew I wanted to be here to support her, and I was glad I made the right decision tonight.

“We weren’t missing it; we promised to be your friends. We’re just keeping that promise.” I assure her. “And we’re just as happy to spend more time with you. We should meet up after this. The academy is about to resume; we can plan something then.”

“We’re happy to be here, Autumn,” Clara adds while pouring herself a drink. “Are you sure you girls don’t want to join me?”

“Maybe one drink won’t hurt,” Autumn says as she accepts the glass from Clara. I knew she was hurting. I knew her heart was in pain. We were both in pain, but for different reasons. Autumn had married into a loveless marriage. I, on the other hand, had fallen in love with a man I could never be with.

Clara keeps pouring drinks for Autumn and herself. I was trying not to drink as much; I was afraid I would spill too much to my sister. I couldn’t risk telling her the truth in a drunken state.

“Cheers to your marriage!” I mumble as I clash our glasses together and pretend to drink. “May Atticus open his eyes and notice the gem in front of him before it’s too late!”

Clara sighs, “Men do mess everything up.”

I can’t hide the guilt from my face at her words. Men weren’t the only ones that messed everything up. I had also messed up. So badly that I was scared to tell my sister the truth.

“Who does she think she is anyway?” Clara asks. “Her relationship with Atticus was over when he agreed to marry you. You need to go there and show her that he’s your husband.”

“I agree,” I shout. “Go and do something that proves he’s yours.”

“I’m going over there,” Autumn says suddenly.

We were delighted to see the determination in her eyes. That was her husband. Anya would have to learn that today.

“Let’s cheer for her,” Clara tells me. She doesn’t need to tell me twice. We both cheer loudly, supporting her as much as we can.

When she’s a reasonable distance away, I turn to Clara with every intention of telling her the truth.

“Seeing Autumn this hurt reminds me of everything Carter put me through.” She says before I can say anything.

I bit my l*p to prevent myself from responding.

“I’m so happy you’re helping me get my revenge Scarlett.” She tells me for the hundredth time. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess with me. I know it’s petty of me to want this so badly. I want him to feel some remorse. I want him to feel pain. I know it makes me a horrible person, but I can’t help how I feel.”

I can’t tell her, not when she’s like this. She was also drunk and probably wouldn’t remember anything I said to her tonight.

“Clara,” I whisper. “Is Carter really such a horrible person? Could there be a good reason that he broke up with you?”

She takes another sip of her drink. “What do you mean? What possible reason could make anyone cheat? He’s an a*s and always will be one.”

I flinch once more. She was convinced that he was a horrible person.

I couldn’t tell her. At least not tonight.

I had to wait for the right opportunity to spill the truth finally.