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"I'm dressed," Vince says, going on the defensive.
Robert rolls his eyes. "I was talking to your sister."
Vince glances at Akilah, almost as if he's just noticed she isn't dressed for the wedding. "Oh, right. She's not going."
"No, you're going," Robert says, ushering her toward the stairs with a wave of his hand. "Get dressed."
"I just want to hang out here," Akilah insists.
"You mean hang out here and then leave the house? Even though you're grounded?"
"My mom's the one who grounded me. And she skipped town with our deadbeat father."
Robert crouches next to the couch. "Your mother did what she did for good reasons. You may not understand them now, but your mother loves you. And so does your father. He made a lot of mistakes..."
"I'll go get dressed if you just shut up," Akilah snaps, jumping to her feet and stomping up the stairs.
Robert sighs and takes Hunter from Vince, cradling him in his arms and kissing his forehead. "You have to promise me you'll never end up like that, Hunter."
Vince laughs. "Good luck with that."
Half of the church is empty. None of the colleagues he invited seem to have shown up, not a single member of the hospital board either. The wedding seems to have been inundated by lower-level hospital employees and people he barely remembers interacting with.
At least after the wedding, the photos will be splattered across the society pages for everyone to see. They will see that Aaron Maddock has settled down with a wife. And all rumors to the contrary can finally be ignored.
As the music starts up, everyone turns to see Denise Price walking down the aisle, arm-in-arm with Kyle Maddock. Once they reach the altar, they are followed by Simon Holden and Felicia Bale. They take their places and wait as the music turns to a slinky, jazzed up version of the traditional wedding march.
Rebecca Li turns the corner with Kane on her arm. He leads her toward the altar, walking slowly and whispering into her ear. They can't be heard over the loud music, but Aaron can only imagine what it is these two have to say to one another.
There have been several instances where he wished he had just mail-ordered a bride from Russia. It would have been far easier.
"Rebecca... Aaron... we are here to share your joy on this wonder... on this bright, sunny day," Father Ruiz says, forcing himself to smile through his words. "Let us begin."
PRISON DE PARIS
PARIS, FRANCE
"So... we need a new plan," Sean Moore says, addressing Vanessa Watson as they stand outside the Prison de Paris. "Someone needs to track down this Spade guy in New Orleans. He might have the answers we're looking for."
"That should be me," Ryan Phillips insists. "I have all my research already, it shouldn't take that long."
"It obviously didn't happen in however long you were living there," Vanessa remarks. "And besides, I don't trust you."
"You trusted me enough to marry me."
"And look how that ended up," Vanessa snaps. "If you're going to New Orleans, I'm going with you."
Sean takes Vanessa's arm. "I don't think that's wise."
"No, I can handle Ryan," Vanessa says. "And I owe it to my sister to get some answers."
"Then I'll stay here," Sean says. "Marcus gave us Francois' wife's name. If she's still here in Paris, I'll find her."
"Shouldn't you be at home? Worrying about your family?" Ryan asks, rolling his eyes at Sean's bravado.
"My family has managed to survive without me for years," Sean says softly. "They'll be fine."
"Then we're agreed, gang? We're splitting up?" Ryan asks.
"Stop making jokes," Vanessa says, hitting Ryan in the arm. "Let's go."
ST. THOMAS CHURCH
Akilah follows Robert and Vince into the church, carrying Hunter in her arms. They arrived halfway through the ceremony, though for someone who was so intent on getting to the wedding, Akilah noticed that Robert didn't actually mind being late.
She sits in a pew, watching as Aaron and Rebecca trade their vows, counting down until they just kiss each other and end the horrific event transpiring before her eyes.
Akilah manages to make eye contact with her best friend Julia, sitting on the opposite end of the church. She gestures for Julia to follow her outside, and she hands off Hunter to Vince before slipping out into the church vestibule.
"Hey girl," Julia Mitchell says, hugging Akilah. "Some wedding, huh?"
"I just want it to be over," Akilah mutters. "I'm so sad you're leaving. Why the hell do you need to go to college out west anyway?"
"My dad wants to look for Duncan. Apparently he's gone missing... he might be in some kind of trouble again," Julia says.
"Isn't trouble his middle name?"
"No, that might be yours," Julia says, grinning. "Anyway, I want to be closer to where he is, so I applied last minute to some community college in Seattle."
"You're leaving what could be fun college years in Chicago to move out to Seattle?"
"Yep."
Akilah shrugs. "I guess I'll never hear from you again."
"Who knows," Julia says. "Maybe this is like a reality show, like The Hills or something. I'm leaving town to join a spin-off."
The girls hear loud clapping inside the church, signaling that the ceremony is over. They hug again and Julia disappears back into the church, leaving Akilah alone in the vestibule.
"Guess it's back to hell," Akilah mutters.
Before she can go into the church, a hand clasps over her mouth. She tries to squirm, but whoever is holding her seems to have an iron grip. "Don't move, Akilah. Don't move a single muscle."
