Chapter 412 Let Only the Best Man Drink
It promptly went quiet outside.
Half a beat later, after Gale had seemingly chastised and calmed down his rowdy entourage of cousins and friends, he spoke good-naturedly. “Of course I’m sincere. My cousins were just fooling around just now. Whatever you want me to do to prove my sincerity, I’ll do it. I’ll even go out and pluck the stars from the sky if that’s what you want me to do.”
“You’re being a pushover, Gale.” A round of laughter sounded outside.
“Shut it… If you ruin my wedding, you little brats, I’m going to choke you all to death.”
“Stop yammering. Words alone aren’t going to prove your sincerity,” Courtney said to the men outside. “If you’re really sincere, you wouldn’t have just brought these envelopes with you.”
“So, what do you want?”
His question had Courtney stumped. She immediately looked at Natasha for help.
Natasha was busy counting their spoils. After some quick thought, she pretended to lift a wine glass and drink from it.
“Drinking?” Courtney said without thinking.
“How much to drink?” the men outside yelled back.
Courtney was stunned. She hadn’t actually intended to make them drink. Now that she had made her bed, she had to lie on it. Courtney immediately shot a look at Natasha, signaling for her to help clean up this mess.
Once she was done counting, Natasha put the envelopes aside. Clearing her throat, she yelled to the men outside, “Simple. We agree on a lucky number, of course. It’s a wedding, right? So, one glass to prove the groom’s heart, and two glasses to prove the love between both bride and groom.”
“Two then. Two glasses.” Gale’s voice emerged from the crowd. “I’ll prove that we’re a match made in heaven.”
The sound of wine being poured out and glasses clinking together could be heard from the outside.
Courtney pricked her ears up as she listened.
“Hey, we should let just the best man drink. If the groom himself falls over drunk, it’s going to be a pain since we still have to survive the rest of the day,” someone said.
Before Courtney could speak, Natasha answered, “Sure, just the best man is fine.”
Gale only had one best man, and that was Alexander.
And fortunately, since he would only be drinking two glasses, Courtney also relaxed.
“Two glasses down,” said Bill. He was Cameron’s friend, so he was considered her eyes for the entourage outside the apartment. He definitely was speaking the truth.
Do we open the door? Courtney mouthed to Natasha.
Natasha shook her head, a meaningful smile appearing on her face before she raised her voice and shouted out the door, “If two glasses is to prove the love between both bride and groom, then three glasses is to show your determination for the life you two will have together in the future.”
The outside of the apartment went quiet for a bit before the raucous laughter started up again.
“What’s one more glass? Three glasses, go.”
“All finished.”
“Four glasses for fortune and a lovely family.”
“Done.”
A while later.
“Nine glasses for a life that’s as long as a cat’s nine lives added together.”
“Done.”
“Ten glasses for a ten-out-of-ten married life.”
“Done.”
“Eleven glasses to prove the groom’s heart.”
“Hey.” Someone noticed Natasha’s phrasing and suddenly fought back with her on this. “Didn’t you say that one glass was for that?”
“But you guys started with two glasses!” Natasha said languidly.
The people outside had no choice but to accept their fate.
They finished eleven glasses of wine, but Natasha had a way with words. Soon, they made their way to the twentieth glass.
Courtney could vaguely hear Gale’s voice through the door. “Alex, are you okay?”
Her heart suddenly clenched. While Natasha was distracted, Courtney secretly unlocked the door.
“Hey guys, we can open the door now…”
With a loud crash, the door swung open. Gale’s entourage gushed in like a raging river, instantly crowding the entire room. Caught off-guard, Natasha shrieked as she was forced over to a corner.
Courtney, on the other hand, had already retreated to the side before this. Once everyone was inside the apartment, she stood on her tiptoes and surveyed the crowd. The pungent smell of alcohol hit her nostrils, but she didn’t see Alexander inside. She had no idea where he was either.
They had a wedding emcee come in for the rest of the wedding ceremony. Gale carried Cameron out of her bedroom.
Since Cameron had no family attending her wedding, they simply skipped over any parts that involved her family. No one mentioned this ‘oversight’ throughout the ceremony, probably because Gale had brought this matter up beforehand. He left the apartment with Cameron in tow to head straight for the Langley residence.
As Cameron’s bridesmaid, Courtney followed Gale and Cameron. She watched as Cameron completed the rest of the wedding ceremony with Gale’s parents and accepted the wedding gifts they offered her. Cameron remained smiling under everyone’s gazes as they gave her their blessings. It was the first time Courtney had seen Cameron have such a calm and sincere smile on her face for the entire day.
The wedding banquet was held at a holiday resort in the suburbs. Because of the delay when Gale went to pick up Cameron, they arrived at the venue later than expected, so the program was a little rushed. The emcee also skipped over all the fluff and went straight to the highlights: the exchanging of rings and the bouquet toss.
A group of young women stood on a white stage that was decorated with roses, waiting to catch the bouquet.
Cameron stood with her back to everyone. Lifting the pure white bouquet of flowers, she tossed it over her head. The bouquet sailed in a perfect arc in the air while the crowd cheered and hooted, and it struck Courtney, who had just walked off the stage to retreat from the bouquet toss.
She had no idea who started it, but the crowd began clapping.
Natasha poked her head out from the crowd and yelled, “Miss Hunter, those who catch the bouquet have to get hitched within three months. If you don’t get married by then, you’ll remain a spinster.”
The crowd followed her lead and laughed.
Courtney forced herself back onto the stage. “Why don’t we do the toss again? It seems like the bouquet is wasted on me…”
“How is it wasted on you? Are you actually worried that you won’t be able to find someone to marry?” Cameron shoved the bouquet into Courtney’s hands. After looking around, she grabbed the emcee’s microphone. With one hand on Courtney’s arm, she addressed the crowd, her voice loud and clear. “This lady by my side is my bestest best friend. I’m sure many of you here know her. Her name is Courtney Hunter, and she’s the kindest woman that I’ve ever known. You all saw her catch the bouquet. There’s a saying out there: if you don’t get married within three months of catching the bouquet, then you will remain unmarried forever. So, on her behalf, I’m going to make this announcement: Courtney Hunter is currently single. Gentlemen, feel free to shoot your shot. No f*ckboys allowed.”
The crowd below whooped and cheered the moment Cameron finished her speech.
“Sign me up!”
“You think I have a chance?”
Soon, the crowd went into a frenzy.
Courtney was a beautiful woman in the first place. Her aura was especially out-of-this-world, so she had long since attracted the attention of many men here.
Now that Cameron had announced that it was open season for Courtney, she had sicced a whole troop of men on Courtney, making Courtney wish for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Without waiting for Cameron to finish, she rushed off the stage, running faster than anyone there could.
“Sorry, but where’s the washroom?”
“Over there.”
Courtney lifted the front of her dress and made a mad dash for the washroom. When she saw her red face in the mirror, she got exasperated. She had just whipped out a tube of lipstick to reapply her makeup when she heard a loud thump from further inside the washroom. She jumped from the shock, and she turned around to see a cell phone had fallen and slid out through the crack under the stall. However, the person inside seemed to have not noticed this, for there was no sign of activity from them.
She hesitantly put her lipstick away to pick up the phone. Then, she knocked on the door. “Hi there, you dropped your phone.”
There was still no sound inside the stall. Just as Courtney was about to knock again, she realized that the door was unlocked. A dark figure could be seen slumped next to the toilet bowl when she peered past the crack in the door. The air was filled with the scent of alcohol.
She pulled the door open and looked inside. Instantly, she recognized the occupant.
