Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Coming!” Mia called from the other side.
I faintly heard her make her way across the room, and the door swung open a moment later. Mia greeted me with a warm smile that I wished I could have reciprocated.
Her enthusiasm slowly melted as she took in the mess I’d become. “Oh, Nat,” she said solemnly.
I took my bottom lip between my teeth and swallowed down the emotional storm that resigned in my chest.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go sit down.”
She pulled me inside in her place and eagerly led me over to the small, cozy living room. I finally let my legs give out beneath me and sank into the soft plush of the couch. My face fell into my hands and I let out a frustrated groan.
“Thank you,” I mumbled through my hands.
“It’s more than okay. Now, can you please tell me what the hell happened?”
Slowly, I leaned back and took in a deep breath. I ignored the tears that prickled in the corners of my eyes.
“Okay, well—”
“Oh, wait!” Mia gasped.
My eyes widened as I watched her jump up from the couch and rush into the kitchen down the narrow hall. A few moments later, she came rustling back with two wine glasses and a large bottle of wine. I couldn’t keep myself from giggling as she set it all down on the coffee table in front of us.
“Well, you said on the phone that it’s a long story, so I figured this might help,” she said, gesturing to the glass in her hand.
I gave another laugh and happily nodded my head. “You’re right about that,” I sniffled.
Once the two of us took a tentative sip of our wine, I started from the beginning.
“So, do you remember a while back when Tallon and I ran into one of his ex-girlfriends, Bianca?”
Mia nodded her head.
“At the time, I truly thought nothing of it,” I continued. “I mean, what are the chances of running into the same person more than once in a city like this? Well, turns out that coincidences aren’t as naturally occurring as you’d think.”
Mia raised her brows and gave a questioning look.
“Bianca seemed decent enough the moment we first met. Tallon told her about our engagement, and from that point on, I kept running into her. Her behavior was… off. It felt like every smile was fake and every question was backed by some secret motive.”
I took a long sip from my glass before going on. “The wedding venue I’d checked out with Tallon just so happened to be the same place that Bianca picked for her reception, and on the same date, no less. And then there was the incident about the first wedding dress I’d picked out.”
Mia’s mouth fell open as though she already knew where I was going with this conversation.
“Bianca basically swooped in and stole the dress I initially wanted.”
“Jesus Christ. It’s like she was trying to steal your wedding!” she exclaimed.
I snorted and shrugged my shoulders back. “Yeah, well, that’s what I always thought. But whenever I tried to tell Tallon this, he’d simply brush it off. It was all driving me crazy—I thought I was crazy. So, I hit a breaking point and asked Vinny if he could find Bianca’s address.”
Mia’s eyes widened in shock. “Nat, are you serious?”
I silently nodded my head. “Yes. I went to her place and the two of us spoke. It was actually quite civilized to my surprise. Bianca admitted to everything. She has a friend who works at the venue, and she knew about the dress I’d picked out. Bianca said she’d never officially gotten over Tallon and promised to stop meddling.”
“Well that’s good, right?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I thought so–that is, until I got home afterward and was confronted by Tallon. I hadn’t told him about going to see Bianca or the fact that I had Vinny find her for me. He was monumentally pissed off, and I tried to explain to him why I’d done what I did.”
“But, wasn’t he at least shocked to hear about Bianca’s meddling?” Mia asked incredulously.
Again, I shrugged my shoulders.
“Tallon didn’t seem to care that I was right about any of it. I knew Bianca was sabotaging our wedding plans, but he never believed me. He yelled at me for going behind his back and basically told me that I was overreacting.” I felt my voice grow weak. “He said… that it’s just a wedding and it wasn’t that important.”
Mia’s features softened with compassion. She reached out and rubbed my arm, trying to comfort me from my own thoughts.
“I mean, if this is how he truly feels, then why are we even getting married?” I asked. “Obviously, none of what I’ve been trying to do meant anything to him. Of all the trials and tribulations we’ve faced, maybe this is the true wake-up call the two of us needed.”
“Now, just hold on,” Mia insisted firmly.
She leaned over to set her wine glass down while I went to refill my own.
“Natalia, you and I both know that a lot of what you’re saying is just because you’re still upset with Tallon,” she stated. “But, deep down, I know that you undeniably love him.”
Oh, for Christ’s sake… yes, I did.
As much as he hurt my feelings, I still loved him with all my heart.
“When Tallon said that about the wedding, I’m sure that he didn’t mean that you weren’t important. What truly matters to him is you.”
I felt a long tear trail down my cheek.
“I mean, think about it. There’s really no such thing as the perfect wedding. But at the end of it all, all that matters is that the two of you are together and that you’re happy with each other,” Mia explained.
Thanks to her unexpected words of wisdom, I felt the heavy burden of my feelings lighten tremendously. She was right. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that Tallon and I were together. I was so lucky to have a close friend like Mia to help ground myself in a time like this.
The two of us easily lost another hour in each other’s company, and soon the large bottle of wine was finished. My body was lightly buzzing, and I knew for a fact that I was blatantly tipsy. I reached for my phone, intending to call for my driver to come and pick me up.
The second before I hit the call button, Mia and I heard a sudden knock on her front door.
“I’ll get it.” Mia got up from the couch.
I heard her open the door and fall silent.
“Tallon? What are you doing here?”
*Tallon*
I fucked up. I knew I fucked up before Natalia and I even finished our conversation from when she first returned home.
‘Conversation? More like a total blow-out argument,’ I thought angrily to myself.
The devastated look on her face was enough to make me feel as though I’d just taken a curled fist to the gut. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. That was never my intention. But when I found out about her plans to confront Bianca, I felt my vision turn red.
I was beyond frustrated that she’d let this nonsense with Bianca consume her life. But then I heard from Vinny that she’d asked him to help her find Bianca’s home address. Had she completely lost her mind? What if something had happened to her? What if Bianca tried to attack her on a mere whim?
