Beauty and the Bridesmaid

Chapter Fourteen

My gut instinct following Lela’s confession is to call Ash. I could call him right now and tell him the truth about her, tell him not to marry her, tell him that he deserves so much better. But where would that leave me? It’s not like I want to be with Ash. I wouldn’t gain anything from him calling off their wedding. And I can’t do that to either of them out of spite.

“Who was it?” I ask, breaking the awful since.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lela says.

“Do you think that’s how Ash would see it? That it doesn’t matter who it was?”

“Oh God,” Lela cries, her eyes watering like a little girl who’s about to get caught stealing the last cookie. “You’re going to tell him, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s not fair to enter into a marriage without telling him something like this, Lela.”

“But…but it only happened once,” she stammers. “And it didn’t mean anything, I swear!”

That’s when the real sense of conflict sets in. Because she’s still my best friend. And because I believe her that it was only one mistake. Ash can be quite hot-headed. Telling him that his fiancée cheated on him wouldn’t be something he could just forget easily. Why cause that sort of damage on their relationship if it wouldn’t help anyone except my own conscience?

Why did she choose me to reveal this to? Couldn’t she have picked one of the other girls? I imagine that Kerry would just fix her ruined makeup, tell her that everybody makes mistakes, and get her back into the living room ready to tackle the pyramid.

Out of anyone she could have picked, I’m the only one who has any sort of personal feelings towards Ash (aside from his mother, obviously). Anyone else would have totally taken Lela’s side, but I know that’s it the right thing to do to tell him. I just don’t know if I can do that.

“Maybe you ought to tell him that,” I suggest.

She frantically shakes her head in response. “I can’t! You know what he’ll do. He’ll cancel the wedding. It will all be over because of one stupid little weakness.”

“Are you going to tell me who it was?” I repeat.

She hesitates, turning her body until she’s almost standing with her back to me. That’s how I know that whoever she cheated with isn’t just some random guy. It has to be someone she knows. Maybe someone they both know. Maybe even someone I know.

My mind races through a list of potential men, starting with Ash’s friends. Johnny, the best man, has been Ash’s best friend for years, but he’s hardly been at any of the wedding events recently. Could he be feeling guilty? Then there’s Neil, the quiet one. Maybe he’s got something to hide. And Ste seems very flirty, though I imagine it would take more than one bottle of wine to find him attractive. That only leaves Damien. I know I should consider him as a possibility just like everybody else, but the thought of him with Lela churns my stomach. It can’t be him.

“It was nobody,” Lela insists, rubbing at her eyes. “Nobody I’ll ever see again.”

It might be different if I was confident in her answer that whoever she slept with was just any guy. But I know that she’s lying. I just don’t know why.

***

Damien is taking me out to that little wine bar where I first met him. I’m not sure if he’s trying to be romantic and sentimental or if it’s just the only drink-serving place he knows that isn’t the local pub. Either way, I know that it is definitely a cocktail-dress-approved location for any first date. And I would be looking forward to it if it wasn’t for Lela and her confessions.