But this time, it was a complete miss.
From my clutch, I pulled out an envelope.
“Adrian,” I said, “you need to read this before your bride walks down the aisle.”
“What is it?” Adrian asked.
“It’s a wedding gift.”
Before Adrian could take the envelope from me, his mother Margaret appeared wearing a silver silk gown covered in diamonds.
“Mia,” she said, “this is absolutely inappropriate.”
“Margaret,” I said.
Margaret’s gaze slipped to the baby carrier. “You brought an infant to my son’s wedding?”
“I was under the impression you were fond of children,” I said.
Margaret’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “I like legitimate children.”
Nora gasped behind me.
I again offered the envelope to Adrian. “Read this.”
It was then that Celeste stepped into view at the top of the aisle.
Celeste was beautiful in white lace with a hand resting on her little bump. Celeste held a soft and triumphant smile, as well as one rehearsed.
Adrian smiled warmly at Celeste.
“Mia!” Celeste called out.She walked towards us slowly, clearly relishing the attention she was receiving.
When she arrived at Adrian, she placed her hand gently on his arm and gazed down at the baby carrier.
“Oh, that’s so adorable. Are you babysitting?” she teased.
I replied, “No, I am mothering.”
Her grin froze.
At last, Adrian opened up the envelope.
The first page was the DNA paternity test.
I could see him scanning the test and DNA results. First once, then twice.
I watched as the colour drained from his complexion.
Margaret turned towards her husband. “Adrian?”
In a whisper, he responded, “No.”
Damon moved up beside me. “Mr. Vale, that is not a fake paternity test. The test was legally obtained and verified after the child’s birth. You have the ability to challenge this in court, but you will be unsuccessful.”
Margaret took the page from him, quickly scanned it, and began to shake.
“What’s going on?”
I told her, “This is my daughter.”
Adrian looked to Lily.
Nora immediately stepped away. “Don’t.”
“That’s my child,” he stated.
“No,” I countered. “She is my child. You referred to me as ‘barren’ when I was pregnant with her, you deserted me before I had a chance to tell you, and you ridiculed me while I was in a hospital recovering from childbirth.”
The crowd began murmuring.
Adrian’s facial expression contorted with rage. “You kept her from me.”
“You walked out on me.”
“I should have figured it out.”
“I tried. You blocked me from contacting you. Celeste returned every letter of mine unopened. Your mother told the doorman I was not permitted to enter your building.”
Everyone’s attention turned to Celeste.
“That was a misunderstanding,” she replied.
“No,” replied Damon. “There is written evidence of this.”
Damon then handed Adrian the second packet, which contained:
Records from the bank.
Email correspondence.
Records of the money transfers.
Records from the accountant.When Adrian glanced up from the document he was reading and looked at Celeste, he stated, “What did you do?”
Celeste’s sweet demeanor as a bride faded away with her words.
“Did you say, `What did I do?’ I did what you asked; I helped you get your money, because you did not want to let Mia have it, because her father handed everything to her. You asked for it!” she said, in a fashion that contained the animalistic anger many women possess.
“Shut up!” Adrian replied.
As I scanned the room, many guests were recording everything.
I finally gave Adrian Celeste’s medical history and timeline.
He took the paper and began reading it.
Once done reading the last page of information, his entire body began to shift and he muttered, slowly, to Celeste, “Whose child is it?”
You could hear a pin drop in that moment.
Celeste whispered, “It’s yours.”
“I was in Singapore,” he replied.
Celeste stated, “That date may be inaccurate,” she said.
“It isn’t,” Damon said.
Adrian looked completely shattered by this news.
“You told me I was going to be a father,” he said.
Celeste looked at him with a hard stare. “You wanted to be a father.”
At that moment, Lily began crying beneath the layer of muslin she was sleeping on.
Everyone in the room turned to look at the sound of the baby crying.
Nora removed the muslin blanket to reveal a tiny (pink) face and tiny, waving fists, and Adrian looked at her as if the world had opened up to him.
“Mia,” he said in a whisper.
“No,” I replied.
He took a step forward but was stopped by Damon.
“You don’t get to find fatherhood because your loss of dignity at your wedding day,” I told him.
Margaret reached for my arm. “Mia, darling, this is your family.”
I looked at the floor while she was getting her arm away from me.
“No,” I said. “This child, is Lily Hart.”
Celeste suddenly laughed in a loud manner.
“You think you won?” she said to me.”Are you really relying only on the paper and a baby as your security?” Adrian yelled. He said, “Celeste, quit it.” She slowly grinned. “Did you tell her?” “What are you talking about?” I asked, while Celeste was staring directly at me. “The trust has not been the only thing Adrian has tried to seize from your father.” The walls of the building around us were gone. Two years ago my father died unexpectedly. Just before he died he called me and said, “Mia, come see me tomorrow, I have something that needs to be corrected.” The next day never occurred. I looked to Adrian. “What did he do?” Adrian’s gaze dropped to the ground, fear sliding across his face before he could respond verbally. “Mia, ignore her.” Celeste’s grin turned sinister as she stated, “You should ask Adrian the night your father changed his will.” Without hesitation, Damon stepped closer to me. Following that, Adrian lunged towards Celeste. The room exploded in a flurry of activity. Everyone erupted in screams, and everyone raised their phones in the air. Investigators pushed past the guests to get to Adrian. Adrian realized he was too late to stop everyone from filming and took a breath. I grabbed Lily from Nora and pulled her up against my chest; she immediately quieted to the soft cooing sound of a baby. I looked at Adrian for the last time. I said, “You wanted me at your wedding, now you will remember that I came.” Then I turned, walked past the orchids, past all the cameras and past the guests listening to the whispers like leaves in a storm. As I exited, I felt the cold air on my face. Just then, Damon received a notification that his phone was buzzing. He looked at his phone screen, and I could see his expression darken. “What is it?” I asked. He turned the phone to show me. An email from an unidentified sender. No subject. Just a file attached. Just below the attachment was a single line. “Your father didn’t die of a heart attack.” My knees buckled. Behind us, the walls of Adrian’s Wedding danced with flashes of white light and raised voices. But it didn’t matter because there would be answers to questions I had never dreamed of having. And as I held my baby Lily close to my heart, I realised this was not the end, but merely the start, of what Adrian had done.
