I shot to my feet to chase after him, only catching the faintest hint of a smug smirk from the blushing bride to be as I whirled on my toe and followed after my husband.
My stomach lurched, nausea boiling up inside my stomach. Butterflies wildly danced like tiny little kickboxers all over my insides.
I couldn't be sure, however, if it was from the baby or from Sebastian's shocked response to the startling news.
Had that just been surprise in his reaction? I couldn't help but to feel as though there were much more going on behind the scenes of this wedding than I was privy to.
I couldn't help but to feel as though Sebastian were hiding away something deep in his heart.
Chapter Four
I woke early the next morning, alone in the room I was supposed to share with Sebastian.
Last night, after unexpectedly hearing the news of Alissa's pregnancy, my husband had all but vanished into a mysterious cloud of smoke. He refused to answer questions, refused to wait for me to catch up with him, and refused to acknowledge what was going on.
In the end, he’d gotten away from me, ignoring my calls of his name. His back remained steadfastly turned. He didn’t even glance in my direction.
Whether or not he was even on this island anymore or had booked a spontaneous flight back home was something I didn't know. I'd slept clutching the cellphone, waking constantly to check if he was beside me, but both the hallway outside our room and the phone in my hands remained silent and unbothered. I'd even worked up the courage to call him myself, dozens of times actually, but those continually were sent to voicemail.
Now I was going to have to go to that wedding all by myself.
Slowly, I spread my arm out next to me, running the length of the undisturbed blanket on the left hand side of the bed.
Why had he left so abruptly?
...Was it possible that he had something to do with Alissa's baby, was that his child growing inside of her?
I turned onto my side, grabbing the pillow and squeezing it against me for dear life, as though it were a life raft and I was slowly sinking into an ocean of despair. What would I do if that was the case? What could I do?
If that was the course of things, there was literally nothing that could be changed at this moment. The only way to keep Alissa from having Sebastian's baby was to go back in time.
No, I'd just have to suck it up and deal with it. Sebastian and I were married, after all, and though there was nothing going on between us that I could speak of, we were bound together in this union forever.
Besides, it could have been George's baby. Though he was an older man, that didn't mean anything. Perhaps Sebastian's reaction was solely of disgust.
After all, he was so distraught when he found out about their engagement... or was that only because he was so attracted to Alissa and had already slept with her?
If that was the case, why didn't he marry her then? Why did he have to marry me and drag me into all of this?
Tears were building frantically inside of me, breath coming short and harsh.
I so badly needed answers, I so badly needed Sebastian to walk in that door and set everything right again.
I didn't want to sit and watch Alissa walk down the aisle all by myself.
My needed my husband, I needed Sebastian right now.
Unfortunately for me, my mental pleading cries did not reach him, and he did not come to me.
Somehow, I managed to gather myself together take a shower. The entire time the warm water rushed all over me, caressing every inch of my exposed body, I listened closely for the swing of the door or the sound of Sebastian's firm feet on the carpet.
All that I could hear, however, was the occasional call of a seagull outside our balcony.
As I dressed in a knee length aqua colored sundress that I'd chosen because it matched the color of Sebastian's eyes, I gazed out the open doors of our balcony, inhaling the salty taste of the air.
I'd always liked the beach, though I'd rarely ever gone growing up. I could count on a single hand how many times I'd stood on sandy dunes, letting the cool rush of water swallow my feet whole.
I could remember, vaguely, going with my parents. They both held my hands, swinging me over waves as I shrieked with laughter.
Would I still remember that fond recollection next time I went to the beach, or would I only think of how painful this experience had been?
I supposed it all depended on when Sebastian returned to me. If at all.
Walking out onto the balcony, I gazed down at the golden sand glittering like yellow diamonds below. Even from up on the balcony, I could see the soft scuttling of a crab creeping away from where a large white arch had been set up. Blue flowers tangled intot the ivory drapes as the softly billowed in the warm wind. I couldn't help but to relax under the watchful gaze of the sun as it kissed my shoulders as gently as a lover, warming me.