CHAPTER 25: PLEASURE TO MEET YOU

As the guests came to take photos with the bride and groom, I found myself standing nervously next to Raphael without anything to do. Since my mother didn’t know that many people and we didn’t have any surviving family members, I barely knew anyone at the wedding. Most of the guests belonged to Bennett and members of his family. What surprised me was that there were clearly more men than women at the wedding, not to mention the ridiculous number of bodyguards that were stationed pretty much everywhere, although the church and its surrounding area were quite small. Although their presence was supposed to make me feel safer, it made me feel slightly uncomfortable. I guessed that Bennett was very concerned about safety.

"Raphael, it’s been a while. Why don’t you introduce me to this beautiful lady?" a man who looked to be in his fifties said as he came to stand in front of me.

The first thing that caught my attention was his high-ranking police uniform. I thought for a second that I recognized his face, but I was certain that I hadn’t met him before. Despite his age, the man stood tall and proud, and I could tell that he was quite fit.

"Let me introduce you to David. This is Abigail, my step-sister," Raphael introduced smoothly before turning to smile at David. It suddenly made sense that I had somehow seen this man before because I must have seen him on television.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Abigail," I introduced myself again while trying to sound as polite as I can.

David had two very tall and bulky bodyguards standing right behind him, and that only made him appear even more formidable.

“David is Cheif of the Police. That means that he’s the head of the police in this country to put it in simple terms,” Raphael explained to me casually.

“Oh, I see...” I murmured.

"It’s great to meet you. I’m one of Bennett’s close friends. We do a lot of business together," David said before showing me a friendly smile. Given that it was Bennett’s wedding, I shouldn’t have been surprised to meet some prominent figures in society. That didn’t mean that I felt comfortable in their presence.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you," I said again before smiling politely.

"I should introduce you to my daughter as well. Rosie, this way!" David said to me before turning to call out to a lady who must have been his daughter.

He waved her over with his hand. The blonde woman, dressed in a classy-looking rosy pink dress that seemed to match her name, bid farewell to the few people that she was talking to before quickly making her way towards us. I could tell from miles away that she was an outstandingly beautiful young woman. Unlike her father, who had a tense air around him, Rosie was all smiles. Looking at her felt like taking in a breath of fresh air and basking in the warm sunlight of spring. Her smile was sweet and very contagious, as if it could trigger flowers to naturally blossom in her presence. Her eyes were a soft blue color, and her eyelashes were so long that I started to feel envious.

"Hello," she said sweetly before smiling brightly at all of us.

Honestly, I was too stunned by her beauty that I was speechless for a moment.

"This is my daughter, Rosabella," David introduced her to me, and that made me realize that Raphael probably already knew her.

"You can call me Rosie for short. I’m so happy to meet you," she said before showing me another one of her gorgeous smiles.

"It’s nice to meet you too," I said before trying my best to smile politely.

It felt like my response didn’t quite matter to her because by the time that I looked at her again, her attention had already shifted towards Raphael. I could tell that she was staring at his face as if she was expecting him to say something.

"How have you been, Rafa? It feels like it has been such a long time ago since we last met," she said before flashing him a very charming smile.

"Has it?" Raphael replied shortly.

She called him by his nickname...

I sensed that they were close although I didn’t quite understand why Raphael was acting quite cold nad distant towards her. Then again, perhaps it was because he wasn’t a man of many words. Suddenly, I felt quite out of place, as if I didn’t belong in their conversation. It also didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t have a connection with any of the people that were present. Since it also looked like the two of them had something that they wanted to talk about, and I couldn’t exactly start off a conversation with the chief police of the country, I decided to slowly excuse myself under the pretense of needing a restroom break.

The air around me felt lighter now that I was able to roam around alone. I glanced over at my mother, who was still standing by Bennett’s side as they seemed to be enjoying and engaging in conversation with a few of their guests. I smiled with relief because I could tell that my mother was having a great time, and that was the whole point of this wedding, at least for me. I thought that everything about the wedding was perfect and proceeding smoothly until I heard someone call my name.

I turned around to find three men standing behind me. The way they stared at me made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly they wanted from me. I didn’t remember seeing them before, so I figured that they must be from Bennett’s guest list.

"Hello," I greeted them while trying to sound polite.

"So you’re Abigail," one of the men said as his eyes flickered down my body while the others stared at me with intense interest.

"Yes, I’m Abigail," I replied, wondering what they wanted. The three men were clearly older than me by around 10 years, more or less and I had to say that they had a very intimidating air around them like they were looking for trouble.

–To be continued...