That One Night Stand

Chapter.2

It felt like the world was tilting around Alicia. “Let’s handle everything gradually.” She whispered, finally lifting her head and seeing if she could make sense out of the situation.

“What do you mean you can’t find him? What if he's just late, or maybe he went for coffee, or—”

“We’ve checked everywhere,” Uncle Marcus replied, quenching any ray of hope. He wanted her to face reality. “The hotel, the parking lot, even the restaurant they ate at last night. No one has seen them.”

“That’s impossible!” Alicia yelled, causing everyone to jerk. Her mind raced with a lot of thoughts. But she refused to believe that Peter would stand her up by the altar. “Peter wouldn’t just… vanish. Not today. Not on our wedding day.” Her voice grew louder. “Did you call him? Did you try his phone?”

“We’ve been calling for over an hour,” Jennifer, the coordinator replied, still maintaining a calm tone despite the tension, like she was unfazed by the troubles of the moment. “His phone goes straight to voicemail. Same with the groomsmen.”

“Let me try it myself.” Alicia said, rushing back into the room to pick her phone. She dialed his number, praying to everything that cared to listen that somehow she would be able to prove Jennifer and her uncle wrong. That Peter would pick the call and calm her with his sweet words. That he would apologize for getting her so worked up and probably tell her he was held up in traffic. Anything but ghost her.

But after hearing the same response for the third time, “the number you're trying to call cannot be reached. Please leave a voice message.” She broke into tears as she decided to leave behind a voice message, even though she knew it wouldn't really do any good to the situation at hand.

“Peter please. Call me. I'm really scared. Please.” She pleaded in tears, weeping as she sent the voice message.

Everything seemed to spin faster around her. She felt her head twirling as she tried to unravel what was going on. Peter loved her. He told her that every single day for the past two years. He had proposed with tears in his eyes, promising forever. He wouldn’t just disappear. That definitely wasn't possible.

“No!” She began to yell again. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening.” Alicia’s hands trembled, as she screamed louder. Nora, her dad, Jennifer and Mrs. Chen, who were waiting for her outside, rushed inside to ensure she didn't hurt herself. Her chest felt tight. “Something’s wrong. Something bad happened to them. We need to call the police.”

“Alicia, calm down,” Uncle Marcus said, holding her steady as she swayed. “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

“An explanation?” her voice cracked. “My fiancé and my best friend are missing on my wedding day, and you want me to calm down? What if they were in an accident? What if someone hurt them?”

Memories of her parents' battered body flooded her mind and she shook her head furiously as the imaginations were gradually metamorphosing from her parents to that of Peter and Camilla.

Nora rushed over. “You need to sit down.” she said, trying to get her up and place her on the bed.

But Alicia shook her head. “No. I need to find them.” She got up and began walking toward the door while everyone watched her, wondering what she was doing.

“Where are you going?” Jennifer called.

“To Peter’s apartment. Maybe he went home. Maybe he felt sick or something.” she replied, and one could tell she wasn't joking.

Marcus immediately got up and rushed to the door before she could get hold of the handle. “You can’t go out like this. You really need to relax first.”

Alicia looked down and realized she wasn’t even dressed. But she couldn’t wait around doing nothing. A lot was already happening and there was no way she would be calm when her entire world seemed to crash right before her eyes on her very special day.

“Okay , let me quickly put on something okay. But please come with me.” she begged, tears running down her ruined makeup. “Please. I can’t just stay here not knowing.”

“Okay,” he said after heaving a sigh, guiding her back to the bed. “But first, we’ll call the police.”

Twenty minutes later, Alicia sat in her bridal suite while Officer Martinez asked questions, his notepad open.

“When did you last speak to Mr. Reynolds?”

“Yesterday afternoon,” Alicia whispered. “He called to say he loved me and couldn’t wait to marry me.”

“And he sounded normal? Not upset or worried?”

“No. He was happy. He said it would be the best day of our lives.”

“What about Miss Hudson? When did you last see her?”

“Two days ago. We had lunch to go over the final details. She was excited. She kept talking about her dress.”

“Any recent changes in their behavior? Stress? Money issues? Relationship problems?”

Alicia shook her head hard. “No. Everything was fine. Peter just got promoted. Camila was dating someone new. They were both happy. They wouldn’t just vanish.”

“Sometimes people get cold feet before big commitments,” the officer said carefully.

“No.” Alicia’s voice was very firm. More like she was definite about refusing to believe he would just ghost her. “Not Peter. Peter is a reliable man. He has never been one to break promises. If he said he’d marry me today, he meant it. Something definitely happened to them.”

Officer Martinez sighed, closing his notepad. “We’ll put out a welfare check and call nearby hospitals. But without proof of foul play, and since they haven’t been gone long, we can’t open a missing persons case until 48 hours pass.”

“Forty-eight hours?” Alicia gasped. “You expect me to wait two days not knowing if they’re hurt or worse?”

“I know it’s hard, but most missing adults show up within a day or two. In the meantime, contact friends and family who might know where they are.” He said as he got up and left despite her screams.

That night, Alicia sat alone in the room. This should have been her happiest day. Her wedding dress still hung untouched. The bouquet on the dresser had already started to wilt. Her hair was falling apart. And her already ruined makeup streaked with tears.

The next two days passed by like a breeze. Alicia barely ate, barely slept. She kept making endless phone calls. She had reached out to Peter’s coworkers, college friends, distant relatives, Camila’s family, even her ex-boyfriends. But with each call she made, her disappointment worsened as no one knew anything.

Uncle Marcus and Nora stayed by her side, trying to keep her together. The hotel quietly canceled the reception and returned the money, but Alicia barely noticed. All she cared about was where Peter and Camila could be and what might possibly have happened to them.

On the third day, Officer Martinez finally called.

“We’ve found Mr. Reynolds’s car,” he began, knowing Alicia had no time for pleasantries.

Alicia’s heart leapt for joy. “Where? Is he okay?”

“The car was found at a beach resort three hours south. Miss Wyanha… we also found records that Mr. Reynolds and Miss Hudson checked in there together. As husband and wife. On the morning of your wedding.”

Alicia froze. Her eyes shone in shock as the phone slipped from her hand. Checked in together. Husband and wife? On the morning of her wedding? That's definitely not possible.

“No,” she whispered. “No, Peter wouldn’t… Camila wouldn’t…”

Then her phone began to buzz with notifications. When she opened it to check, she saw all the evidence she needed to see. The court wedding of Peter and Camilla in a kissing scene. And just then, the harsh reality dawned on her. She was ghosted.

And just like a veil fell from her eyes, the signs suddenly began to make sense. Camila’s mood had been strange recently. Peter was also distant of late but she thought he was just acting that way due to the stress of the preparation of the wedding. She had brushed it off. Now it all came crashing down.

Uncle Marcus found her on the floor an hour later, still clutching the phone. When he asked what happened, all she could whisper was, “They’re together. Peter and Camila are together.” She said, giving him her phone.

With widened eyes, Marcus grabbed the phone in shock and covered his mouth in disbelief as he glanced through the pictures on the phone.

“f**k!!! I should have known that girl was a serpent!” Marcus exclaimed.

The betrayal cut like a knife. Her fiancé and best friend. The two people she trusted most had chosen each other. And found no better time to do so aside from her wedding day. Alicia held her chest in grief as she broke down. And the pain sliced pepper with every tear that she shed. Her cries grew louder as a result, while Marcus just held her to himself, saying nothing.