hairdressers in just under an hour and the church in four hours’ time – Julia burst through the front door. ‘Where are you?’ she bellowed, kicking off her trainers and hurrying up the hallway towards the living room.
Catching her breath, with her hands on her hips, her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. Julia was rendered momentarily speechless. There lying on the floor was Anais’s wedding dress cut to shreds, now barely recognisable. Anais was curled up in a ball on the floor, hugging her knees, the tears sliding like a tsunami down her cheeks. Mia was sitting next to her, clutching a box of tissues.
After saying ‘Christ on a bike!’ (twice), Julia dropped to her knees. Anais looked so dejected and Julia grabbed her hands and forced her to look at her.
‘What the hell has happened here?’ asked Julia, not beating around the bush. She wanted answers. ‘Mia?’
Mia shrugged. ‘I was in the shower and came down to this,’ her eyes swept around the room.
Anais’s swollen eyes bulged, and she swallowed. ‘He’s gone. It’s over,’ Anais blurted, taking gulps of air as she tried to catch her breath.
Julia heard the words but didn’t understand. ‘What? Why? How? I’ve only been gone twenty minutes or so.’
‘And that’s all it took. He swanned in here and right back out again after delivering his news.’
‘And the news is…’
‘He’s seeing someone else.’
Julia exhaled. ‘No! Flynn seeing someone else? But he’s devoted to you. You told us he was devoted to you. He was the one, you were the one.’
‘Well, not any more he isn’t.’
‘And he thought the only time to tell you would be today, on your wedding day?’ Julia was perplexed. What an absolute rat. Julia knew that the man was ruthless and not to be trusted. Look at the way he’d conducted business with her, and now this. Maybe, just maybe, Anais had had a lucky escape, even though it really wasn’t the right time to be pointing this out to her.
Through her tears, all Anais could manage was a nod.
‘Who… how long?’ Julia had lots of questions spinning around her head.
Mia held the box of tissues towards Anais who grabbed a handful, blew her nose and shrugged. ‘Some girl and I’ve no idea.’
‘What – you didn’t ask him?’ continued Julia, probing gently.
‘He didn’t give me a chance, he told me the facts then left.’
‘Did you not try to stop him?’ Julia looked towards Mia.
‘I never clapped eyes on him, he was in and out before I’d even finished my shower.’
Julia was shaking her head in disbelief. ‘Ring him, we need to find out the answers.’
‘No,’ insisted Anais. ‘What’s the point? He’s cheated on me… He’s seeing someone else. I wouldn’t have him back now anyway, or give him the satisfaction of thinking I’m bothered.’
Even though Julia hadn’t favoured Anais’s marriage to Flynn she still felt distraught for her friend. She knew in a few hours’ time there was going to be a church full of people waiting to celebrate their marriage. Anais’s mum was already at the hairdressers and her dad was currently on the way to the florist to pick up the bouquets and buttonholes… this wedding had cost a fortune and Flynn was walking away, leaving Anais to cancel everything and deal with the aftermath. What type of person was he?
‘What about all the guests? What do you want me to do?’ Julia’s voice was soft.
Once more Anais broke down and began to wail.
‘Sorry… sorry,’ said Julia apologetically, focussing back on Anais. ‘I didn’t mean to make it worse.’
‘How could he do this to me? How am I ever going to be able to show my face again?’ Anais wept.
Julia slid her arm around Anais’s shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. ‘Shame on him. He’s let a good thing go and one day he’ll regret it. You will find someone who worships the ground you walk on… someone that deserves you.’
‘Believe me, at this moment in time, I’m in no rush,’ sniffled Anais, giving a strangled sob before dabbing her eyes and reaching for the bottle of champagne on the table. ‘I need a drink,’ she said, her voice cracking as she passed the bottle to Mia who popped the cork then poured the liquid into the leftover cups that were still on the table from last night.
All of them took a very large gulp and sat in silence for a moment before Julia spoke. ‘Okay,’ she said, with authority, taking control, ‘we need to