Luna’s Recrimination

Chapter ten

Daisy’s POV

The wedding was scheduled to be held later that night and we fixed a welcome party so everyone could celebrate before the wedding. It was the party before the party, usually hosted by wealthy folks.

My parents were yet to arrive. They had told me that they’d be around, despite their very busy schedule. Maybe they were caught up with something. “Perhaps, they’d show up during the wedding,” I thought.

“Hey, love.”

I turned around to see Leo. He looked so dashing. I pulled him closer and gave him a long passionate kiss. I didn’t want it to end. I kept going, caressing his hair as we kissed and he seemed to be enjoying it too. I wanted everyone to see that I owned him now. He was mine and no one else’s; not even the stupid Elena.

“Let the party begin!” I screamed as the maids began to serve drinks to everyone around. The voices of many could be heard; beautiful sounds of merriment. The atmosphere was boisterous. Everyone was having a good time.

I heard the sound of music, sweet loving blues; just like I loved it. Leo stretched out his right hand and I grabbed it with my left. Then I felt his arm around my waist as he moved from left to right. I drew closer to him and inhaled his scent. Sweet sweet stuff. We moved in sync and everything seemed fine. It was magical; just the way I had dreamt it to be.

Suddenly, he stopped and I didn’t know why. He took his hands off me and when I looked at his face, he looked like he’d seen a ghost. “What is the problem?” I asked, but he didn’t say a word. He looked like an erring child in the presence of a strict dad. His gaze never shifted. It was glaring that he’d seen something.

I turned around, to see what was going on and I froze too. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Could that be Elena?

A young, red-haired lady and three other people walked toward me. I saw two men walking behind her and a woman by her side, who also had red hair. I turned around to see Leo but he was gone. He was scared to death! I was scared too, but I wasn’t about to let anyone see that. I had to stand my ground. I wasn’t going to be a coward on my special day.

I saw the lady look to her left and then to her right. She seemed unfamiliar with her surroundings. Elena wouldn’t do that. She had been here all her life. Her companions looked just as clueless. I did wonder how they got here and why.

“Congratulations!” They all shook my hands, one after the other, with huge smiles on their faces. They looked so happy. Yet, I couldn’t help but suspect that something was fishy.

“I’m Daisy,” I said, shifting my gaze from one person to the other.

“I’m Ella.”

The others didn’t bother to say anything to me so I just gestured to them to grab a seat. We sat and I decided to ask a few questions. I needed to make sure that I wasn’t talking to Ella. The resemblance was striking.

“So, what brings you here, Ella?” I asked, as soon as I sat.

“Work… I thought it was time for me to come here. I’d been trying so hard to make ends meet and someone suggested to me that I could do well here. That’s when we all decided to come here.”

“Besides, we saw a man with you… Was that the groom and alpha of the pack?”

“He is.”

“Why did he quickly run away on seeing us? I’m not used to seeing alphas run so fast unless they’re attacking someone.” Ella asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t know,” I replied. “I’m sure he had something to do. He’ll be back.”

“I do hope so. By the way, this is my mom, Mrs Stella and this is my brother, Andre and his Beta, Ryan. “

I shot them a cursory glance as she mentioned their names. She did look like Elena. Elena was the only one I knew who had red hair ad this, but here I was, staring at two people who had the same hair colour, and thinking, “Are these really family?”

“My brother and I need a job here. We’ve only just been out of one.”

“For how long? “ I asked, turning to Andre who seemed surprised that I asked him the question.

“Three months,” they both said, almost at the same time. I was convinced. This was not Elena. She was just someone else who looked like her. I had to find Ryan and let him know. We had a wedding at night.

It was 7 pm and everything was set for the wedding. I had met Leo, hiding in his bedroom as soon as I left the strange family. Leo was such a coward. Perhaps, he thought he was seeing someone dead. Be must have thought she had come back to haunt him. For a moment, I thought so too. How silly! There was just no way she could have survived that accident without any help. We were just getting worked up over nothing.

“You didn’t even think of telling me what was going on, Leo,” I had told him. “You just ran. If it were to be Elena, you’d have just left me with her?”

I wasn’t happy about that. I thought it was selfish. While I waited for an answer, I picked up a glass of water and drank as I’d been so thirsty.

“You caused all these,” he said. “You made me do what I did. I thought you could handle yourself. I’m sorry.”

Well, I did handle myself, alright. Yet, it was one of the stupidest excuses I’d ever heard. I could understand his fears though. Courage had never been his strong suit.

Well, on this night, he did wear a grey suit and a neatly polished pair of black shoes. As he drew close to me, a broad smile appeared on his face and he put forward his left hand a bit. “Shall we?”

I guided my right hand through the space between his hands and his ribs and held onto his hand. Then we walked out of the room towards the venue. It had to be the best day of my life. I prayed to the goddess for nothing short of that.

As we got there, we were met with a lot of eyes and a lot of light. We could hear the sound of cameras as shots on shots were taken. The people cheered and clapped their hands as we sat. I noticed two men whom I saw earlier at the welcome party. They were dead drunk, smiling and waving at everyone they saw, and the wedding hadn’t even started. I hoped they’d survive the night.

Ella walked in, her family members with her, and they took a seat almost in front of where I sat. From there, it was easier for them to maintain eye contact with me and they barely took their eyes off Leo and me. It felt a bit creepy and I wondered if it was on purpose. Why would they do that?

I ignored them and focused on what I had at hand. If they wanted a show, I was ready to give them one. I drew Leo close by the collar and once again, kissed him deeply. This time, my eyes were shut and I enjoyed every moment. Leo was such a good kisser. It was as if he learned it in school as a course

After long minutes of intense kissing, we were told it was time for the customary wedding dance. “That dance always strengthens the bond of the couple,” my mom would always tell me. I spotted her, sitting beside my dad, with their hands locked. They came, just as they said they would.

As we stepped down from the high seat and approached the dance floor, I could feel Leo’s hand tremor. He hadn’t gotten over Ella. It was quite clear that he still thought it was her. I must have been mistaken but it looked like Ella found it quite amusing.

I held Leo’s hands and we began to dance. I turned him around, making sure that his back was facing the weird family, so he’d avoid any sort of contact with them. I wasn’t about to let those creeps ruin my wedding night. Never!

As we danced, I heard Leo’s phone beep. He broke the hold and raised his hand to be excused for a while. I nodded and he took out his phone. “It is an email,” he said as he tapped his phone to see the content.

“From who?” I asked.

“It doesn’t say. It’s anonymous.”

His eyes grew wide in a split second and he began to sweat profusely. What could he have seen that got him this way? I wondered.

I grabbed the phone from him to see for myself and it read…

“I know the truth about the death of your wife, Elena.”