The Wedding | 18+

Chapter 2

Adam

"Ain't no fucking way!" I let out a quiet groan, while holding the envelope in my hands.

"Theo, I really hoped you knew better." I put down my coffee mug that says "don't make me use my lawyer voice on you". It was my law school graduation gift from Theo.

I stare at the cup and I start to feel something forming in my chest? Loneliness? The fuck knows.

Theo is the only person who knows me for who I really am. He knows my past, because most of the time he lived through it with me for all those 15 years that we have known each other.

And now he is getting married? At 27? Is he out of his mind? I've never even met the chick. She must have compelled him. Why else would someone want to give up his life, his money, his success and his secrets?

Being the same age as him and just starting my own law firm right after graduating is something that I would never throw away just for some girl.

He talks about her and how in love he is almost every time we call and watch football together.

Love? Ha! It's nothing more than a frivolous distraction, a fairy tale for the weak-minded and gullible. People waste their time chasing after some elusive concept, hoping it will bring them happiness and fulfillment. But let me tell you, it's all a charade.

Love is a hindrance, an obstacle to success. It clouds your judgment, makes you vulnerable, and distracts you from your goals. Why waste time on silly emotions when you could be focusing on your career, building a solid foundation for your future?

And let's not forget the messiness of it all. Love brings with it heartache, betrayal, and disappointment. People change, relationships crumble, and what once seemed like the epitome of happiness turns into a nightmare. It's all too messy and unpredictable for my taste.

I've chosen a different path, one where I control my destiny, where my achievements define me, not some fleeting emotion. I'll take success and money over love any day. And so far, there has been no one who could've changed my mind.

So, forgive me Theo.

I haven't been in love. At least I think so. I just don't ever let it become something more. Cliché? Maybe. But there is no part within me that would wish to love someone. I don't get attached and I don't let myself miss someone the next morning.

Theo says that my cold heart is still waiting for its sunshine.

I miss Theo and the time we have spent together a lot of the time. But I never miss home. The past is in the past and I left it there the second I stepped my foot out of my childhood house. It can't affect me if I don't let it. The same way how it is with my relationships.

I don't even have sex with a lot of girls. But when I do, I definitely don't bring them to my apartment, I get a hotel room. No woman will ever sleep in my bed. However I have every female eyes on me that there is. I enjoy it sometimes, but most of the times I despise it.

I don't drink and my colleagues think that it is why I am always so tense. I have thought about it once or twice, seeing that it doesn't have to end in a nightmare for a lot of people and the past is in the past, yet I never have.

Sometimes I think that I wouldn't want to die alone, have no one by my side when I am old and can't walk anymore. No children, no home.
But people will remember my name, not that I had a wife or children or that I finally found home. So that thought slips away as fast as it gets into my mind. Plus, it will give a more dramatic and mysterious look to my name when I will be dead and the only thing that they will be able to write on my gravestone will be "The best lawyer in New York".

I hear knocking at my office door and I turn my  gaze back to the pile of papers in front of me.

"Come in!" I scold in my professional voice. Actually, that is my only voice.

It is Ashley, of course it is Ashley. That girl won't ever give up.

"Sorry, boss, I was just checking if it's still you or the janitor didn't turn the lights off." She chuckles and touches her hair and tries to straighten her already straight skirt.

I sigh and turn back to my papers. She is right about one thing though, it is getting very late.

"I was just wondering if you would like some of the leftovers from my takeout?" I can hear how she is coming closer to my desk. I look up and her cheeks are flushed.

"I ate dinner already, thank you, Ashley."

She stays silent for a while and I ignore her standing there like a total idiot.

She makes my blood boil. And not in a sexy way.

Suddenly she is leaning over my shoulder, her fingers drawing circles on my left arm. My tie is untied and a few bottons of my shirt undone. I am probably giving her a show.

"You look so good when the moon is shining on you like this and your hair is all messy." She whispers, leaning closer to my ear.

I stop her by slamming my hand against the desk. My coffee spills a little bit.

"If you do this shit one more time, you are fired. Now get the fuck out before I fucking throw you out myself." I hiss in anger.

She immediately backs off, basically hitting the wall. She looks scared.

I never lose my temper in front of them. I always keep it professional. It must be all that thinking about love.

"I'm um.. I'm so sorry, boss." She blabbers and finally gets out.

Maybe this is enough for one night.

I am probably not so much different from my father.

I want to hit a wall.

Instead I take my suit jacket from my chair, fix my tie, drink the remaining of my coffee and head out.

When I walk into my apartment, Vincent is there to welcome me back home. As always.

He jumps up and down and leaves a big saliva stain on my pants. I sit down on the floor, pressing my back against the wall and kiss the top of my dog's head.

I stay there for a while, so Vincent makes himself comfortable on my lap, forgetting his size.

It's dark and cold in my apartment. I have no decorations, no artwork, even no rug.

Suddenly I realize that I don't wish my life on anyone, even if it is the safe option.