Dark Secrets of the Blind Husband

Ariana’s face flushed. “Don’t be ridiculous! These are my friend’s family. They were kind enough to give me a ride home, so I invited them to the wedding. It’s not what you think!”

The woman in red just laughed. “Sneaky, sneaky! Who offers a casual friend a ride home and then gets invited to a family wedding? They’ve never even met the bride! All this fancy treatment for a random friend? Doesn’t add up, does it? Don’t insult my intelligence. Who brings a random person home? Let alone to a family thing like a wedding?”

Just then, Damien was in the car, hung up on Jacob, and stepped out.

Shawbury wasn’t exactly known for luxury cars or glamorous people. So, when Damien walked out in his khakis and sweater, looking like a million bucks, everyone stopped and stared.

The woman in red who’d been grilling Ariana practically had her jaw on the floor. After a stunned silence, she squeezed Ariana’s hand way too hard.

Dressed in a vibrant red dress, the woman’s eyes lingered covetously on Damien as she leaned in to whisper to Ariana. “Age ain’t nothing but a number, honey! Look at him… I can practically smell the money bags! Come on, spill the beans. How’d you snag him? Check out the car, the clothes, the whole package! This guy has gotta be at least a department manager, right?”

Cherise, catching wind of her covetous tone, couldn’t suppress a smirk. “Oh, you have no idea you’re selling him short.”

“Really?” The woman in the red dress instinctively turned towards the voice.

Only then did she notice another woman standing behind Ariana. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she called out Cherise’s name in a stunt. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Do you know me?” Cherise was surprised that this stranger knew her name.

“Of course! We went to high school together!” The woman in the red dress pursed her lips. “I used to pick on you back then… I mean, we even sat in front of each other! I’m Stella Page. Hey, don’t you remember me?” Stella frowned.

Cherise’s mind was blank, but she played along. “Yeah, yeah, of course I remember,” she mumbled.

Stella kept rambling, lost in her own world. “The couple getting married today- Savannah and Steve were classmates with us back in high school! Remember graduation? Considering how deeply they were in love, everyone assumed the gorgeous Savannah would marry the class heartthrob.

She paused and then ruefully shook her head, “But who knew the prettiest girl in our class would end up-marrying the biggest dork? Money talks, I guess.”

Stella snapped out of her nostalgic rant and turned back to Ariana, still holding her hand. “Speaking of money, how loaded is this new boyfriend of yours?”

Ariana fumbled, her face flushing. “Wait, no! Not my boyfriend’s car! Don’t jump to conclusions! It’s actually her husband’s,” she explained, gesturing to Cherise.

Stella’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, what? Your husband’s?”

At this point, Cherise couldn’t keep up the pretense of stay out of the drama any longer. She gave Stella a sheepish smile. “Yep, he’s my husband.”

Hearing this, Stella’s admiration for Damien quickly soured into disdain. “Well, that explains the flashy car. It’s probably rented and for show. Seems like he’s just putting on airs with his supposed wealth and sophistication, huh?”

Adding insult to injury, she continued, ‘Who would’ve thought a plain Jane like you would end up with such a vain man for a husband. Quite the surprise. But I guess you two complement each other.’

Glancing towards the hotel entrance where a wealthy relative had just arrived, Stella nudged Ariana. “I’ll go say hi to Granduncle. Since they’re your guests, why not show her in? Today’s Savannah’s wedding, and there’s a bunch of our old high school buddies around. You know the drill. See if you can slot her in with the gang.”