Liar Liar

The Rehearsal Dinner (Chapter 23)

First of all I want to say oh my god I'm SOOOOOO sorry for never ever updating!!!! I suck :( I just got busy with school and college applications and scholarship essays and AAAAAH. Also, I started writing more stories (which I honestly should have waited to do). Nevertheless, I promised I would finish this, and I don't break my promises. I'm so excited  for you guys to see what happens. Thank you for sticking around no matter how long I take to upload. I love you all so much :)

xx luvitgirl

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Anna's POV

Ring....ring.... ring...

That was odd. Drake wasn't picking up his phone. Normally, I would have brushed one missed call off—I wasn't a possessive, clingy girlfriend that needed to know where my boyfriend was every second of the day— but this wasn't the first missed call.

This was the 22nd.

I hadn't talked to Drake since the 17th of July. At first when he didn't pick up any of my calls, I figured that he was busy studying or was out of the house, spending time with Matt. The next day came and went with still no response from Drake. Four days later and still no reply.

My immediate reaction was that Drake was pissed at me for fake-dating Lucas, but there was no way he could know about that. He was still in Florida, and I was all the way in Chicago. My next thought was that something horrible had happened to him and he was missing, but then I figured that I was just overreacting.

When I went on Facebook this morning, the side chat bar informed me that Drake had been online seven hours ago. Clearly, he was fine if he was scrolling through his social media. While it was good to know that Drake hadn't been murdered by a psychotic serial killer and was in fact perfectly safe, him ignoring me made it obvious that I had done something wrong.

Even though I was extremely worried about the whole Drake situation, I had bigger problems right now. This was the eve of my wedding.

I was supposed to be marrying Lucas tomorrow. Well, not actually marrying.  I was going to be standing him up at the altar—in front of all his friends and family and dying great great grandma Lucy —and leaving for Florida. I felt so guilty about it, which was ridiculous because Lucas didn't mind at all: he appreciated what I was doing. He believed I was helping him. But I felt like I was wasting Lucy's time and money. She was so invested in this wedding. Lucy had come to our cake testing and our florist appointments; she'd even helped book the venue. Not to mention Lucas' mom Susanne. She was ecstatic that her son was actually in a committed relationship. How could I betray all of these kind people who had been nothing but nice to me?

Lucas always justified our plan by saying that once I stood him up at the wedding, his parents would finally back off his life a bit. Afterwards, he'd finally get to relax. Lucas' family only wanted the best for him, and Lucas promised that abandoning him in the church was  the best for him. He was trying to make me feel better, but his efforts were in vain. When I first agreed to Lucas' crazy plan,  I never imagined how emotionally attached I would become to his family. No matter how he tried to explain it to me, I still felt guilty.

I threw my phone on the bed and stared at my reflection. The mirror displayed a gorgeous, well put-together girl—someone that looked the exact opposite of how I felt. Not a strand of hair was out of place on my head. The hair dresser had done a fantastic job of pulling it into a tight chignon. The natural highlights in my hair were further accented through a tastefully positioned braid that wrapped around the base of my bun. My makeup artist had used a special airbrush to apply my foundation. It looked like I had no pores. My smoky eye shadow and thick, false lashes gave my eyes a sultry look. Bright red lipstick was used to shade my full lips.

Aunt Lucy had picked out my outfit for tonight. I was wearing a black cocktail dress [A/N: click on the external link to view the dress. It's the third from the bottom :) Okay, keep reading!] . It ran towards the base of my knees, hugging my hips. The neckline plunged deep between my breasts, leaving little to the imagination. My favorite part of the dress was the short sleeves. They capped off my shoulders through sharp lines and angles. I was definitely dressed to impress.

"Anna, hurry up! We're going to be late to our own rehearsal dinner," Lucas called out from downstairs. I sighed, throwing my phone into a black, satin clutch before exiting my bedroom and hurrying down the staircase. Lucas was waiting for me by the front door, his iPhone in one hand and his car keys in the other. We made eye contact, and Lucas seemed to freeze for a moment. His jaw went slack, and the keys he was holding slipped out of his grasp. A dark blush consequently graced my cheeks, and I looked down towards the hardwood floor.

"Wow, uh, you look, um...fantastic."

I regained control of my emotions and looked up, smirking at the blonde boy. "How eloquent."

His cheeks tinted light pink before he smacked me on the arm. I caught him mutter "Hurry up," before he walked through the front door. As I slipped on my heels, I wondered what Drake would say if he could see me. Would he be as flabbergasted as Lucas?

My heels click-clacked against the pavement as I hurried toward Lucas' red Camry. A chilly wind nipped at my legs, and my teeth chattered as I rushed towards the warmth of the car. Why was it so cold? It was summer in Chicago.

"How far is it to the restaurant?" I asked, slipping on my seat belt.  Lucas placed a hand behind my headrest, looking back out the window while reversing. I took a second to appreciate his appearance.

My fake-fiance looked quite dapper. He donned a classic black tuxedo and a satin black bow tie. His suit jacket was fastened together with one button, allowing him to emanate a sort of easy-going confidence. As he switched gears, my eyes locked on the silver band around his ring finger—an engagement ring we'd selected a few days ago.

"It should only take us about fifteen minutes. Hopefully there won't be too many people waiting on us."

As it turned out, there were quite a few people waiting for us. As soon we entered the Chinese restaurant, Lucas and I were somehow separated amidst the gaggle of guests. I spent the first hour or so making my rounds, thanking Lucas' family for coming. I figured that Lucas got caught up doing the same. A few people wondered where my side of the family was, to which I responded with the truth: my parents had passed away, leaving me behind with no family members: no aunts, uncles, grandparents, or siblings. At least I didn't have to involve my family in this mess of a lie.

Just before it was time to sit down and listen to the toasts, Lucas' mother pulled me aside. She guided me over to the empty dining room next door, and we both sat down at a table for two. A wave of seriousness crossed her face, and my stomach flipped.  What was going on? Had she found out the truth?

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CLIFFHANGER! This chapter wasn't nearly as long as I thought it would be, but I thought this was a good place to end it.  We're fast approaching the end of this story...the next chapter MIGHT be the second to last. Maybe. Anyways, if you enjoyed reading this, please vote and drop a comment. I know it was kind of boring, but trust me, there will be a lot more scheming and deviousness in the next chapter ;) Thanks for reading, I love you guys!

luvitgirl