Beauty and the Billionaire

Part 14 - Wedding invitation

Chapter 52

That evening in her room, Elysse was still deciding whether to squeeze the life out of Miguel or be flattered by his 'wedding gifts'. Yet she took them despite her protestations. As Jessica put it, she may not have verbally agreed to it, but not saying no to the 'bridal privileges' automatically goes to the groom's point. To which Shine agreed. Head shaking, she hated the thought that her PA was already taking her husband's side. She heard the word again – husband. Her husband, to be more accurate. Instinctively, she buried her face in her pillows in exasperation. A few seconds later, she realized it was of no help, so she decided to look for a distraction outside her room.

She found Shine binge-watching in the living room.

"You can't sleep, Mamajo?" greeted Shine, using one of his many endearments towards Elysse.

"I'm thinking about the shoot at Tagaytay tomorrow," she lied. "Did you advise Manong Bert to be here at 5 am?"

"Yes-terday!" came the response. "And...meron kang cordial invitation, Josako!" Shine picked up the champagne silk envelope at the entryway table and handed it to Elysse. "Totsing ko, borlogz na ang beauty mo so wizel ako nag-knock." (you have an invitation / I thought you were already sleeping, so I didn't knock).

Shine rarely witnessed his goddess showing signs of frustration or annoyance. But barely a minute after opening the invitation, he heard her verbalize both.

"Uurrrghh!" Exclaimed Elysse, then stormed back to her room. Leaving Shine scandalized.

Shine became stock still with eyes glued towards Elysse's bedroom door. It took him a couple of minutes to muster a will to knock and ask, "Mamajo? Are you okay?"

The bedroom door opened after a few seconds. Elysse shoved the invitation to her PA, and before Shine could even say anything, the door slowly closed, indicating she would not entertain any questions.

Chapter 53

Shine was beginning to get worried about Elysse's demeanor; nevertheless, he looked into the invitation for clues as to why his boss was acting odd.

Seemingly, one of Elysse's best friends in the industry, Bianca, fell in love and made true her statement that she would immediately walk down the aisle as soon as it happened. Shine knew that the bride-to-be was eight years older than his goddess, therefore, rather ripe for the wedding rites, so he determined that it certainly was not the reason for the outburst. Besides, his boss just got married. He was a witness to it.

"Could that be it? That she got invited to a proper wedding and hers was..." Shine whispered to himself. Again, he made his mind up that that was not it since only a few people knew about that secret arrangement. He scanned the invitation further and searched for what could be a more plausible cause.

The wedding would happen in two weeks, almost a month before the fun run, and Elysse was part of the entourage as one of the bride's maids. Shine was so sure it was not a billing issue. He knew his boss would not have problems not making the cut to be the primary supporting role as maid of honor. So it was definitely one of the casts. And he found it. A few lines above were the names of the maid of honor and best man. Surprisingly, the role of the man, who would be standing behind the groom, was given to the same man causing all of the stress his goddess was under, Miguel Sevilla. He was the current event. Unless, of course, this one was a different person.

It wasn't.

Chapter 54

With the bride, groom, Miguel, Elysse, and the rest of the entourage, the celebrity wedding became the talk of tinsel town and its followers. One of the prettiest and highest-paid celebrities in the country, Bianca Garcia, and the good-looking cue master, David Martinez, were to unite their hearts and worlds in Santa Monica, California. Not only was Bianca an awarded actress and a celebrated personality, but David, too, was becoming a national treasure after winning a string of pool tournaments in the last five years, locally and abroad.

It was the current event in the entertainment world. Ironically, for privacy reasons, Bianca's camp declined interview invitations from top talk shows and magazines. But she promised to answer all questions after the wedding and the holidays. Although, she swore she would not entertain honeymoon questions except for the location. David, on the other hand, was competing in Cardiff, Wales.

A bit of research from leading magazines answered basic queries regarding the association of the bride with Elysse. Practically neighbors in California, the former in Culver City roughly fifteen minutes away from the pier, while the latter in Pasadena, she and Elysse became good friends after working together in a comedy show a few years back. The two actresses became an act and inseparable ever since. Poor and comical in the local language, their Tagalog conversations became a regular portion of the gag show. The duo turned the segment called Abakada Sisters into a huge hit and a cult that even made the big screens.

It was a little more difficult to acquire information about the groom-to-be and his association with the billionaire. But luckily, a sports magazine published an interview with David before he became a four-time world 9-ball champion. Apparently, Miguel and David had been friends since high school. Miguel and his younger brother used to play at a pool hall owned by the Martinezes. It was where they met and played with David. Miguel was four years older than the groom-to-be and a decent player, but the latter's skills on the pool table were so remarkable that Miguel decided to become a student rather than a challenger. It was the start of profitable patronage and a lasting friendship.