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Chapter Sixteen

“What do you think of these?” Alaura asked, holding up a small bouquet of roses that were such a light shade of pink, they appeared to be almost white.

Adonica looked over at her friend from where she was, and scrunched up her nose in distaste. She thought that they were beautiful, but not for her wedding. That’s what that particular day was dedicated to: working on the beginning stages of Adonica’s wedding. That included picking out bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers, the cake and of course, the wedding gown. So far, they were only on stage one. Her and Rich had set the date for their one-year dating anniversary. That was only six months away, meaning that she had a lot of planning and cramming to do.

“Nah,” Adonica replied, “Not really the color I’m looking for.”

“I think they are pretty,” Alaura replied, putting her nose in them to sniff them.

“Then you can have them for your wedding,” Adonica laughed.

Alaura stuck her tongue out at her friend playfully, placing the sample bouquet back in the vase.

“How about these?” Dulcia asked.

Adonica looked up and saw her walking over to with carnations that had the tips and edges died a bright green. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of it. How was she going to tell Dulcia that they were absolutely hideous for anything else other than Saint Patrick’s day?

“I, um, I don’t think that those will work,” she replied, making sure of choosing her words carefully.

“Don’t you like green?” Dulcia asked with a wicked grin. Adonica’s thoughts automatically went to her friend’s car that she had as a teen. It was a small Toyota, which she had painted a bright neon green.

“It’s, um…nice,” Adonica said, “But for wedding flowers? It’s not exactly…um…”

“I get the hint,” Dulcia replied, turning around and walking away to return the flowers.

Adonica shook her head, laughing slightly. She wanted to keep things simple and traditional. She was looking for something white. White roses, white carnations…maybe a combination. Who knew...maybe she would go with white and the subtle pink that Alaura had picked out, but she wasn’t sure yet. She knew she would have to decide soon though. There was still so much planning to do. That day was specifically intended to get some of it out of the way, not to just look and leave without spending a single sent on things towards the wedding.

“I still can’t believe you’re getting hitched,” Dulcia cracked, appearing back at Adonica’s side seconds later.

“What is so wrong with it?” Adonica laughed.

“Nothing. Just always knew you’d be the first to go,”

Adonica didn’t know if she should be insulted or not by Dulcia’s words. The girl was always spouting off her thoughts. Dulcia proved a good point though. She was always getting hung up on her boyfriends quickly and longing for something serious. Now she had that.

Dulcia, on the other hand, was thinking of how her plan to separate the couple wouldn’t be necessary. Kevin was doing a good job himself. Sure, his intentions may not be to break them up, but she had a feeling that it might happen eventually. If Kevin kept obsessing, Rich would get sick of it. If Rich got sick of it, he would pick up and leave. Yes, Kevin was definitely taking care of things on his own. Dulcia knew that she was being evil, but she honestly didn’t think that Rich and her best friend were right for one another. Adonica wouldn’t listen to her if she told her what she was thinking. That was why something drastic had to happen to prove to her friend that Rich wasn’t the best that she could do. Sure, he was a nice enough guy, but Adonica needed somebody who she was more compatable with. Hence the whole reason she was picking out things that were off for the wedding as suggestions. It was all to set Adonica back to give Kevin more time to mess things up, without realizing it of course

Sure, Dulcia knew that it was mean of her to use Kevin during his weak points to ruin her best friends relationship. She had to take advantage of what she could though before the opportunity passed her by.

“You know,” Adonica sand thoughtfully, “I think I’m going to go with white and that pink that Alaura picked out.”

Alaura grinned with pride that her friend was going to go with something that she had picked out. She and Dulcia waited as Adonica went and put an order in for the flowers. Adonica ordered way more than she thought she would need, but it was better than not having enough, so she figured that she was safe. The florist told her that she could pay when it all came in the night before the wedding. When she was finished, she rejoined her friends and they left the store, on the way to the bridal shop.

“So, what did you think of the show a few nights ago?” Dulcia brought up.

“One of the best yet,” Adonica replied, “I swear, being out of the USA does stuff to all of us. I don’t know what, but we all perform much better.”

“It’s the weather. It’s consistent here. In the USA, we can be in the same city, go to bed with it being eighty, and wake up and it is snowing.”

Adonica shrugged. She made a good point. Where they were all from, in the middle of November, it was quite common to be warm and sunny one day, and cold enough for three winter jackets the next.

“I can’t believe that Kevin actually went through all that for you though,” Dulcia exclaimed, changing the subject back to what it was originally intended to be.

“Huh?” Adonica asked, confused by her statement, “Kevin didn’t do anything special for me.”

Dulcia snorted. She wasn’t sure if Adonica was playing stupid, or if she truly didn’t catch on to Kevin’s obvious motives.

‘That little solo that was added in to the show,” Dulcia replied, “That was for you, duh.”

Adonica looked confused as she raised an eyebrow. She seriously had no idea what Dulcia was trying to get at.

“Oh, don’t give me that,” Dulcia said in exasperation, “If you are serious, then you are seriously blonder than I thought.”

Adonica shrugged, picking through the racks of bridesmaids gowns. Since she’d already ordered pink flowers, she figured it would look best if the dresses were a shade of pink.

“I am so not wearing pink,” Dulcia stated, shaking her head rougly when she saw the pile of dresses in her friend’s arms, “If you expect me to wear that color, then count me out.”

“Dulcia,” Adonica whined with a pout, “You have to be in my wedding. You’re one of my bestest friends ever.”

“But I despise pink. It’s such a girlie girl color.” She protested, “And I am not a girlie girl. Can’t you pick, oh, I don’t know, lime green?”

Adonica laughed at her friend’s humor. Little did she know, Dulcia wasn’t joking around about the lime green dress. She’d already started her scavenger hunt to find her one. Minute later, Adonica and Alaura joined her a few rows down, finding her holding a dress in the brightest shade of green they’d ever seen, and to make matters worse, it was so short, it would hit mid thigh.

“Put it back,” Adonica laughed, glad that Dulcia had decided to join them for the day. She always knew how to make them laugh and lighten the mood, no matter what the situation.

“Can’t you at least do black?” Dulcia muttered loud enough to be heard.

“It’s a wedding, not a funeral,” Adonica reminded the blunt, small blonde.

“I happen to like the pink,” Alaura said with a grin, taking the gowns that Adonica had gathered in her size from her friend, “I’m going to try these on.”

Dulcia glared at Alaura for supporting the idea, while Adonica helped hand over the dresses, and then gave the remaining to Dulcia, which were her size. Dulcia groaned as she took the pile of what had to have been about twelve heavy bundles of pink material, all of which were completely different styles and shakes of light pink. She muttered unkind things under her breath as she took them into the dressing room beside Alaura. She was completely going against one of the things she believed in by putting on an article of that particular color. Oh, the things she would do for her friends.

“Pink doesn’t look good on me,” Dulcia yelled minutes later.

“Let me be the judge of that,” Adonica laughed, “Come out here and let me see it…both of you.”

Dulcia and Alaura both stepped out of the dressing room. Alaura felt like a princess, showing off the full gown. She twirled around in front of the mirror, having a good time. Dulcia, on the other hand, felt like Little Bo Peep. All she needed now was that stick thingy to heard the sheep with. Adonica crinkled her nose, not liking what she was seeing. The dress was more for a prom.

“Um,” she said, “Go try the one that’s not quite so full, but not straight either…in the middle.”

Both girls stepped back in to their dressing rooms as Adonica looked into the mirror that took up an entire wall. She tried to picture herself in all white, walking down the isle. The image was hard for her to come up with, and almost didn’t seem right. She shrugged the feeling off, looking forward to picking out her wedding gown. Suddenly, her mind were jerked away from the thoughts when a voice she recognized very well yelled from her dressing room.

“Shit,” Alaura cried out, “Just peachy."

“What,” Adonica asked, panicking slightly, “What’s wrong?”

“None of these will fit me once the wedding comes,” she stated, coming out of the fitting room wearing the dress that Adonica had been speaking of.

“Why is that?” Dulcia asked, stepping out of her own room in the same dress.

Adonica, for a moment, forgot that Alaura was upset. Both of her friends looked stunning in the dress. She didn’t even want to look any further because she thought that it was perfect. She then remembered her friend’s angry shouts and asked the question that Dulcia had seconds before.

Alaura looked at both of them nervously. Neither knew yet of her little secret. She had to tell them now though.

“Um, I’m kind of…pregnant. I’ll be six months along at the time of the wedding…too big to fit in to any of these.”

Adonica’s eyes widened. Dulcia just looked dumbfounded. She definitely hadn’t been expecting this little confesion.

“Wow, I didn’t know that you and Devin…” Adonica began, but was cut off

“It’s not Devin’s,” Alaura said sheepishly.

“Then who’s…” Dulcia asked, and then her eyes widened wider than Adonica’s had, “Please don’t tell me.”

“A.J.” Alaura almost whispered.

“A.J?” Dulcia and Adonica said in unison, and then Adonica finished by saying, “A.J. McLean?”

Alaura nodded, feeling shameful about the ordeal for the first time since she had found out herself. She wished that her friends wouldn’t make her feel like a criminal.

“How did Devin take it?” Dulcia asked, looking at Alaura skeptically then, “I assume he does know about this?”

Alaura nodded, “He’s being good about it. His exact words were something like it would have two fathers that loved it very much.”

Adonica found that to be really sweet. Most guys’ would have taken off running after finding out his girlfriends child wasn’t his. She made a point to find out more details later on the situation. She wanted to know why she was having A.J’s child in the first place, along with having many other questions answered.

“No problem,” Adonica stated, “We’ll pick out the dresses…and have one altered for you a week before the wedding.”

Alaura smiled gratefully at the plan. Maybe she could still be in her best friends wedding after all.

“As for those dresses…I love them. What do you two think.”

“I love it too,” Alaura gushed, “It’s gorgeous and perfect.”

The two then turned to Dulcia expectantly.

“Forgetting the fact that I hate wearing dresses and the color pink, I guess it’s all right.”

Adonica grinned. Dulcia saying something was all right was a major compliment. She had made up her mind. She just hoped that the other bridesmaids would feel the same. They would all come in for the fitting later on.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent on Adonica trying on wedding gowns. The sea of endless white fabric was sprawled all over the extra large fitting room she had gotten. She loved them all, and her friends weren’t much help either, saying that they thought that they were all great too. The three had ruled out a few though, which helped to narrow the selection. Finally, after at least fifty dresses later, Adonica had found one which she knew that she could not live without. All it needed was a little bit of alterations, and it would be perfect. She would have it altered when the bridesmaids had theirs done as well. Adonica sighed in complete content beings. Everything was turning out just as it had in all of her childhood fantasies.

“You’d better not dye that dress any off color,” Adonica warned of Dulcia, pointing a finger at her as they were putting the gowns’ in lay away.

Dulcia looked guilty, as if that were exactly what she had been planning all along. She would have loved to see the reaction on Adonica’s face, finding many pink gowns, and then one out of place one.

“I want all of my bridesmaids to look the same…not tacky. You do, and I’ll make sure that you walk down the isle with Thad as your groomsman.”

Dulcia’s eyes widened before she stuck her tongue out in disgust, faking gagging noises. Thad was Adonica’s old boyfriend from long ago. He wasn’t exactly what Dulcia or Alaura had expected Adonica to date, but she’d found reason to love him despite his big flaws. He and Dulcia had never gotten along, and she had been happy when the three of them got the positions as dancers and Adonica had to leave him. The couple had lost contact soon after due to their hectic schedules.

“You’re inviting him?” Dulcia asked in shock, “Why the hell would you want to do that?”

“Just for you,” Adonica smiled sweetly at her friend, “If…and only if… you do anything to this dress.”

“Fine,” Dulcia said, “I’ll behave. Cuz ya know, if Thad show’s up, I’ll kill him walking down the isle.”

Sadly, Adonica knew that she probably would.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What did you do today, baby?” Rich asked Adonica as he walked in to the room and sat next to her on the loveseat.

Devin, Brad and himself had been at a photo shoot and autograph signing all day. This was the first he'd been back at the hotel since early that morning and hadn't seen Adonica since the night before.

Adonica shrugged, taking him sitting next to her as an invitation to snuggle in to his side. This was obviously one of his good days.

“Me and the girls went out and did some wedding planning.” She informed him, “Nothing too big.”

Adonica smiled at the thought of picturing her wedding dress in her mind. She couldn’t wait for Rich to see her in it.

“What kind of wedding plans?” Rich asked, hinting around a little for her to clue him in on what she had been up to.

“I can’t tell ya,” Adonica giggled, “That’s bad luck.”

“It’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride-to-be in her dress before the wedding, silly,” Rich laughed, tickling her sides.

Adonica squealed in laughter, feeling the way she had when their relationship had still been new and fresh. Maybe they were getting back that feeling. She could only hope that was it. Adonica tried to push away to escape his torturous tickles, but she wasn’t getting far and he wasn’t letting up.

“Richie,” Adonica screamed in laughter, “Stop it, now.” She pleaded with him. It was getting to the point where she could not breath. Rich saw this and finally stopped tickling her. Adonica sighed, getting closer to him again, a little cautious at first, and then realizing that she could trust him.

Adonica closed her eyes, breathing in the bitter-sweet scent of his cologne as she thought of that days events again. Dulcia’s comment came to her mind about Kevin’s special song to her. She hadn’t thought anything of it, and decided that Dulcia was making things up in her creative mind again. Then another thought came to her mind, making her think that maybe Dulcia was right.

“Hey, Rich,” Adonica asked, “Do you know why Kevin’s been ignoring and avoiding me again lately?”

“Because I told him to stay away from you,” Rich stated simply.

Adonica pulled away from Rich, looking at him with confusion in her eyes. She didn’t understand…

“I don’t like the way he looks at you,” Rich added, “He’s trying to get to you. He’s trying to break us up, so I told him unless he wanted me to beat him again, he’d better stay away from you.”

“Rich, that is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” Adonica told him, “He doesn’t like me in any way other than friendship.”

Adonica knew that this probably wasn’t true, but she was with Rich, not Kevin. Rich had no excuse to be this paranoid.

“He’s after you,” Rich argued again.

Adonica rolled her eyes. Couldn’t they go one day without starting to argue anymore, or one of them being in a sour mood? She was beginning to think that it was impossible. Things had started out so good that evening too.

“You had to right to do that,” Adonica cried out, “He’s a good friend of mine, and because of your bully attitude, he’s afraid to talk to me.”

“Maybe because I love you,” Rich yelled.

Adonica couldn’t believe this. Rich’s way of thinking was well past twisted. She didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before.

“Love trusts, Rich,”

Rich felt as if he had been slapped in the face at her last comment.

“Maybe I don’t fully trust you,” he spat, just to get even with her.

“I don’t have to take this,” Adonica yelled, standing up.

“Then get out,” Rich said in a voice so low and cold, it sent chills down Adonica’s spine, and then it rose to a shout when she didn’t move. Just stood there staring at him, “Get the hell, now.”

Adonica just stared at him for another moment, trying not to let out the wracking sobs that she knew where wanting to come out. Instead, she just yelled her anger and frustrations out at him.

“Maybe I’ll go sleep with Kevin, since you seem to think that I whore around with him anyways,” Adonica screamed, grabbing her purse and a pillow, heading towards the door, knowing very well that she would end up with Dulcia or Alaura instead.

“Go ahead,” Rich shouted, “I don’t care.”

“I will,” Adonica cried shrilly, “I’ll be sure to scream his name just so you can hear us in the night.”

Rich’s face grew red in fury as he watched her leave the room, letting the door slam shut behind her. He didn’t even try to stop her as his body shook violently from his raging anger.

“Stupid bitch,” Rich yelled, hoping that she heard him through the door, “Go ahead. Fuck his brains out, you little slut.”

Without thinking, Rich looked around, picking up the first thing that he saw and thrusting it at the door. It hit with a loud bang, shattering before falling to the ground. His knees began to buckle as he sunk slowly to the ground in misery and being irate with his fiancé. Painful tears started to fall from his eyes. Her words had stung him worse than alcohol on an open gash. Where did things start to go so wrong between them?