Married To The Mafia

5. It Makes No Sense

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|| OLIVIA SMITH ||

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"I refuse!"

I rolled my eyes as soon as I heard it. I had told Stella very clearly that Joanne will be completely against wearing the pastel shaded dress. Though she was not much of a tomboy, she was also not a girly person. And matching with others were just not her thing. Joanne Lake stood out wherever she went - it was simply in her personality.

"Oh come on, Jo." Stella pouted as she chased Joanne around the room. "Won't you do it for me? Your best best best friend?"

"Hey, that's me!" I called out. Stella looked over at me and stuck her tongue out while Daniella, Anika and I laughed. Joanne, on the other hand, was looking for an escape route, all the while glaring at the peach colored off-shoulder bridesmaid's dress.

"Pretty please!!!" Stella pleaded with her puppy eyes. No one could say no to Stella's puppy eyes but Joanne was immune to it.

'I raised a puppy, remember?' was her argument, but I would say the real reason was that she was a bigger baby than anyone else.

Joanne was adamant. She did not want to be a bridesmaid. But Stella wanted her there. And it was obvious who was going to win in the end. No matter how much she tried, Joanne almost always gave in to whatever Stella wanted because Stella was pro at emotional blackmail, and Joanne was a sucker for it.

Stella was not inviting any of her blood relatives. She made that point clear. They were never there for her. After the split and the remarriage, the only way they kept their contact with her was by sending her money every month. It was Stella's grandmother who raised and the sweet woman passed away last year.

So it was the three of us now.

My two girls really were crazy.

And I, Olivia Smith, was the maid of honor. This had been finalized ever since Stella and I were in college. We met as roommates but then became best of friends within no time. And we met our Joanne once we started working at Her. She was renting out the rooms in her apartment and we were searching for an affordable place to stay. It is safe to say that all of friendships began as roommates or flat mates.

But I had to walk with Leon and that made me sad. I wished Zach was here. The Kings have a custom where the bridesmaid and groomsmen walk out together as the married couple walk out. Joanne was lucky. She got to walk with Ava because she liked 'Aunt Joey', and because she was the odd one out. I smiled looking over at the bundle of cuteness playing with her toys.

Leon was the best man so I had no choice but to walk with him.

Don't get me wrong; Leon indeed is a nice person. It's just that I miss Zach.

"It makes no sense. I have to walk with Ava." She pointed at the three year old sucking on a lollypop and playing with the two dolls she had brought. "Not that I am complaining but that's plain stupid. Ava should have all the attention to herself."

Daniella rolled her eyes and walked over to the duo to persuade her.

I sat back, shaking my head laughing. Joanne will always be like that.

I turned to look at Anika who was sitting there quietly, her eyes never leaving her daughter.

"Hey." I said, giving her my warmest smile.

"Hi." Her voice was so low that I wouldn't have known she replied if I hadn't seen her lips move.

"You are awfully quiet." I said. I know I am supposed to have more tact while talking to people considering I am a health and relationship advisor but the country side stays with me and we in the countryside are pretty blunt.

"Don't the rest of my family make up for it?" She said tiredly, though I swear I sensed some bitterness in her voice. Please tell me I am imagining it.

"I am sorry." I started but she cut me off.

"No, I am." She said. "But I just want to tell you and your friends that-"

She stopped and I turned around to see where she was looking. Daniella was looking at us intently, her face wearing an expression I couldn't quite decipher but it was definitely not something I thought she could make. She flashed me a grin when she saw me looking at her and turned around. I looked at my friends and Joanne looked back at me with a suspicious look on her face and tilted her head towards Daniella. She had seen the exchange.

'Distract her. ' I mouthed.
She gave me a thumb up behind her back and approached Daniella, saying something.

I quickly turned around to Anika.

"You were saying?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"Please. If it's something my friends and I should know, you should tell us."

"It's just that the Kings are not -" She stopped as she looked at where the three women were and then at Ava. "- very open to new ideas. They are kind of.. Orthodox. We are kind of orthodox." She corrected. Her eyes didn't meet mine and her hands were clampy. She was definitely lying.

She quickly got up and made her way to her daughter, not turning back or letting me say anything.

I remembered that even at the dinner, she didn't talk. She was quietly feeding her daughter. And she and Gregory didn't have the kind of relationship Xander and Daniella or Anthony and Stella did. Maybe I was wrong to stop myself from overthinking. Maybe overthinking was just what I was supposed to do so that I could figure out if something is wrong with this picture perfect family.

But they had such a lovely family. I thought they were just the quiet kind. But something is definitely fishy.

Stella sat down next to me.

"Where's Jo and Daniella?" I asked.

"Ahh.. Joanne finally agreed after Daniella persuaded her and now she has gone to try on the dress."

"Aren't you trying yours on?" I asked.

Joanne had 'pulled some strings' to get some exquisite dress for her.

We hadn't even seen it.

"Let the two of them get back." Stella said.

"Hey Anika!" She called out to the mother .

Anika turned around looking scared and alert and I turned to my best friend. She didn't look phased by it.

"I gotta go out with Ava for a while. She is getting cranky." She scooted with the child.

What is happening?

"Did you see how scared she looked?" I turned to my best friend.

"Yeah." Stella sighed. "She's not really comfortable with new people. Anthony said it will get better once we are married."

I nodded though something inside me said it was going to get a whole lot worse.

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