Me?

Thornston's Residence, about twenty minutes before the wedding…

Geneva stepped out of the room allocated to Shelby, after leaving her in the hands of Katie and the two other maids. She took one hesitant gaze at the closed door with an indescribable expression.

Turning her attention to the ongoing work in front of her, she snapped, "What are you people still doing, lazing around? How much effort does it take to break down one door?!"

She had expected to see them at least dragging her eldest son out of his room. Given the circumstances, nothing short of 'a drag' would work on her eldest. Ian could be a handful when he set his mind on anything.

Geneva knew this because she was his mother. But never in Geneva's wildest dreams did she think that she would live to see the day her son would retreat from the world for almost two years… all because of a woman!

The two men stopped and bowed... guilt, written all over themselves.

"Ma'am…. It's very weird. No matter what we do, we can't get the door open! We have tried all possible keys and even tried to break down the door but-"

"It's okay!" Geneva held her palm up, "All I hear is incompetency in different words! Get out of my way!"

They parted ways for her as she approached the door.

Thump! Thump! Thump! "Ian! Ian! How long are you going to do this? Will you not save your mother's face at all? Ian, please…."

The few people around masked their surprise when Geneva used the humbling 'please' word. For in as long as they had lived with the Thornston family and served them, the proud Geneva had never lowered her head for any person. She routinely did make some concessions here and there but never any of the near desperation they saw in her at that moment.

Geneva kept quiet, gritting her teeth and waited for a few minutes.

'What else must I do to get Ian out of this misery and self-pity cage?'

Finally, she strode forward away in near resignation from the door but added, "Make sure he is out on time for the ceremony. We have a lot at stake here…"

'If you could not get him to come out, what can we do as mere workers?'

No one had the courage to utter these words, though. They tried all they could, but try as they did, their efforts remained futile.

Little Gabriel walked in, just after his grandma, Geneva, left. He paused for a while, watching them work. If one watched carefully, one would have noticed that his gaze was a little to the side of an empty space by the door. He sighed, a sound way bigger than his small body, and entered the room directly opposite.

After a little while, Katie ushered the new bride out. But the groom was still in the room, and the workers were now helpless and equally desperate.

'How difficult is it to open a door?' they wondered.

"We will need help in other parts of the Estate today. Mike, leave this be and make sure that all the tasks are done on time." Katie directed towards the man who had brought the keys earlier.

"I'll make sure, everything is done accordingly," he replied promptly and started giving out sub-instructions immediately.

In less than a minute, Katie was the only one left. She stared meaningfully at the door, and then, as if an idea had occurred to her, she brightened instantly.

Katie hurried along to the winding corridors. She paused briefly only to whisper an instruction to one of the maids and then entered what looked like another wing of the estate.

*Knock, knock, knock! *

"What is it?" came the deep male voice.

Without answering, Katie swung the double doors open and entered the room. After a few moments, a loud, "NO WAY!!!!" was heard.

Inside the room, Katie faced the indignant Brad.

"Please, master Brad, you are our only hope!" she pleaded.

"Why does he get to stay in and worry about nothing, and now I must even be a stand-in for his bride? What do I get from all this? This is my precious body, none of which has ever been seen before."

He gestured to his toned muscles exaggeratedly, almost as if he were acting out a theatre play. "It took me a while to get all these. I feel used already. I mean … I will be second-hand products for my future wife if I do this now. I must be reassured that I will be greatly compensated if I do this!"

"Of course! Anything you want will be at your disposal, but for now, I really need you to dress up and represent the Thornston family!" Katie's voice rose slightly at the end, but she immediately lowered her head in a humbling stance.

"Oh! So, without me, this wedding is as good as a flop, right?" Brad's eyebrows rose mockingly.

Katie gritted her teeth and remained unmoving.

"Alright, I will need that Lamborghini I have talked about for years."

"Consider it done!"

"I want it customised to my specifications!"

"Done!"

"I want it by tomorrow!"

"What?!"

"Then I will no-"

"You can have it in three days, master Brad."

"Ok…. I also want-"

"Don't push your luck on this, master Brad."

"Okay! You don't have to be so uptight about this, jeez! Katie! But thank you!"

"I will be at the back gardens in about five minutes."

Katie released a breath she did not realise she was holding and quickly sent a text message about what had transpired. She had expected to exert more effort here, but it went surprisingly smoothly.

It did not take long for Brad to come out in his tux. He lazily walked to the gardens and onto the aisle. The bride was already at the front with her back to him.

'It feels nice for someone to wait for me.' He thought.

When Brad looked into the eyes of his brother's bride, he felt his heart drop.

'How does Ian get all the good ones?' He felt his heart clench, and he closed his eyes briefly. Before long, he blurted out, "Is that not part of the ceremony? You should end with "You may kiss the bride in your brother's place or something! Hurry up and say it!"

'What am I doing?'

But he could not help himself. The murmurs that arose from the seated guests did nothing; his interest was piped. And it took a whole lot to pipe Brad's interest…

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