The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn

~ALARIC~

"Aren't you going to the party tonight?" Scarlett asks me when I step into the living room. I pause, not sure that she is speaking to me.

It seemed that she was judging by the look she gave me.

I was surprised that she was even interested in my social life.

"Why would I be there?" I ask her. "I think I've seen enough parties for the year. I don't need to attend another one."

"Oh," she says. "Clara and Jenna are already there. I think a few of your brothers are there as well. Carter and I stayed back because he wanted me to be careful with our baby. I thought for sure that you would be there.“

Clara was at that party? Every word she said after that was not heard by me. I was only focused on the fact that Clara was at another party, and she could be drunk and dancing with strangers.

"Clara's there?" I ask for confirmation.

She nods, "she's there. In fact, I just spoke to her.”

Fuck.

I didn't want to act like I was interested in going now that I knew Clara would be there. I couldn't make it that obvious, especially not when Carter was catching onto me.

I'm about to make an excuse to go to the party when the vibration of my phone catches my attention.

I pull it out of my pocket and stare at the caller ID.

It was Nicole. She was finally contacting me after avoiding me for so long.

I quickly answer, "Nicole, why the hell have you been avoiding me?"

I'm about to say something else when I hear her crying.

"What's wrong?" I demand. I never liked to hear her cry, even though we weren't on the best of terms right now.

"Please come see me at home." She begs. "I need you, Alaric."

"Okay," I assure her. "I'll be there soon."

"Where are you going?" Carter asks me as he joins Scarlett and me in the room.

"Nicole just called," I inform him. "It sounds like she is crying. She asked me to come over and told me she needs me."Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

My brother frowns, "do you really think that's a good idea?"

Of course, I didn't think it was a damn good idea, but I was never one to leave Nicole to deal with any problems on her own. I was always there for her, and I didn't want to stop now.

"I need to make sure she's okay," I answer him.

He sighs, "Just don't let her suck you in again with her lies. If there isn't a good reason for you to be there, I suggest that you leave right away."

I nod and grab my keys from the holder.

"I'll be back soon."

. . . . . . . .

~CLARA~

"I don't think he's coming," I tell Jenna.

"I'm sure he will show up here once he realizes you're also here." She assures me.

I didn't see that happening. He would have already been present if that was true.

"Wait a second," I tell her. "Scarlett's calling me. I'm sure it's to give me bad news."

"Clara?" My sister calls my name as soon as I pick up her call.

"Alaric isn't here," I tell her right away. "I don't think he's showing up tonight."

She sighs, "I told him that you would be there, and I swear that he was willing to come once I mentioned your name. However—,"

She stops talking, like she isn't sure that she should continue telling me what happened.

"Tell me, Scarlett." I insist. "What exactly happened?"

"Nicole called him at the exact time I mentioned that you were at the party." She answers me. "He said that she was crying and said that she needed him. He left right away to make sure that she was okay."

My heart literally shatters at her words. I couldn't believe this. All this time, I waited for him to show up, and he was on his way to see Nicole.

I can't remember the last time my heart hurt this much, not even the time that Carter broke my heart into pieces or when I found out he was seeing Scarlett. Nothing compared to this pain.

All our plans for the night were ruined, and all because Alaric went to care for his supposedly ex-wife.

"What did she say?" Jenna asks me. She could tell that I was having a hard time.

"She said that Alaric chose to go look after Nicole instead of coming to the party," I informed my best friend.

Her eyes widen in horror, "he did what!"

"I can't believe this," I whisper. "I didn't think that it would hurt this much, but it does. My heart is in pain, Jenna. I don't know how to handle the pain. I can't believe he's still running after her."

"I know what can help." She says as she grabs a drink from a server and hands it to me. "This will drown your sorrows away."

The last time I got drunk, I did something incredibly stupid. I couldn't risk doing that again. However, Alaric was nowhere around right now.

As long as he wasn't near me while I was intoxicated, then I had nothing to worry about.

I take the drink from Jenna and don't think twice as I empty it into my mouth. I don't stop there as I ask for the next one.

I'd somehow managed to break my own heart again.

"I guess we got our answer, Jenna," I say to her with tears in my eyes. "Alaric never liked me to begin with. It's always only been Nicole."