The feast in honor of the wedding, which replaced the official reception, lasted until late at night.
“You can’t even imagine how bad it was for me!” - Genevieve babbled, sobbing and stuttering.
"Um...yeah, I'm sorry too." - Adaline responded tiredly.
[Even if the angel gets drunk, listening to his nonsense is still not easy.]
“Why are you doing this...why-uh...” she almost hiccupped.
"..."
"If you would just ask..."
"..."
“I would do anything for you...”
[I didn't want to see you anymore. No way.]
[I needed to stay away to survive.]
Even now, Adaline's heart sank with anxiety. She still didn't know when the nightmares would hit her next.
[I didn’t want this either...]
[I didn’t want lies, I didn’t want secrets.]
[If Shane ever betrayed her, she wanted to be the one who could just hit him and leave without leaving a trace of pain.]
[Until then...she just wanted to live in peace, without unnecessary injuries.]
[She wanted to be close to Genevieve, to support her, this lonely but strong girl who did not have a family.]
[And how nice it would be for them all to just laugh, remembering how she was once Shane's fiancée...]
[But stronger than all these desires was one thing - to survive.]
[Probably it’s all the alcohol talking...] - she thought sadly, slowly opening and closing her eyes, squeezing Genevieve’s glass in her hand. Shane made her tea, but she still took the wine.
[This is why you should not drink when your soul is heavy.]
"If it was so hard for you..."
"Sorry, Genevieve..."
"I don't need excuses..."
Her forehead dropped to the table with a dull thud. Adaline, too, could not fight the surging drowsiness.
[She wasn't weak on alcohol, she was just... really tired.]
[No surprise. This day was a real hurricane from the very morning.]
[And even though she changed her wedding night to drinking, Adaline was still a bride. And just got married.]
[As Shane said, she hardly slept, she was tense since the morning. The body came to the edge.]
[She didn't even wash her face. I wanted to brush my teeth, I knew that I would regret it if I fell asleep, bent in half. Tomorrow your shoulders will ache...your back too...]
[Ah, to hell with everything.]
Adaline closed her eyes.
[But not even half an hour had passed when she was awakened by the feeling that she was being carried somewhere. Like a boat rocks and then gently lays down.]
[What a comfortable mattress...]
[Mattress? Bed?]
[It's definitely not Lloyd. He would have just covered her with a blanket instead of dragging her.]
Shane seemed to notice that she was awake. His voice came from somewhere above:
"Just sleep."
Warm lips touched her forehead - a soft, barely perceptible kiss.
Adaline wanted to get up and go to her room, but her body seemed to be filled with lead. She furrowed her eyebrows and a quiet laugh was heard above her head.
[Be angry, call me a bastard.]
[But why be kind then?]
[You stole me. And now you keep it at a distance, as if you’re afraid to even touch your earlobe.]
The bed dipped a little and Shane sat down next to him. And then his strong hand slid under her neck.
"Go away..."
"I won't do anything."
"..."
“I just want to cuddle you and fall asleep.”
He kissed her on the cheek. Adaline struggled to open her eyes.
She barely managed to raise her head, and then only to see his chin, but then Shane's palm gently but firmly returned her face to his chest.
The dream, from which she never really woke up, pulled her eyelids down again. And, oddly enough, the warm, strong hugs made my soul feel calm.
“You still won’t run away, Adaline.”
"Ugrr..."
“Humble yourself and sleep. If you don’t sleep now, you’ll have a fever tomorrow.”
[Yes, she already was...]
[Alcohol, heat... No wonder she couldn't resist anymore.]
[To be honest, she was just tired.]
Emma cried today. I cried almost all morning, saying: “It’s like I’m in a dream, you got married...”
Gregory's eyes turned red.
Patrick said again and again: “If anything happens, contact me right away.”
Jeff kept saying that she looked very beautiful and promised to keep in touch through Lloyd.
Adaline could barely contain herself.
[It's all because of Shane.]
[Even if he had nothing to do with it, I wanted to blame him. Simply because there is no one else.]
"I really hate you, Shane..."
"I know."
"I hate..."
The last words barely escaped my lips. And when his arms hugged her tighter, she simply closed her eyes.
[I hate you. True.]
And right next to her ear, almost imperceptibly, they whispered:
“That’s why I won’t let you go. Even if you cry."
She had no nightmares that night.