Chapter Forty-Five When the Crazy Shows
Mirabelle
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.” There were some half-hearted cheers and clapping, and then Eddie and Casey led the way down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen to “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right.”
“Sweet baby Jesus,” Mirabelle muttered as she stood up and filed out with the others. “They're just going all out with the songs about affairs, aren't they?”
“They are leaning into it.” Bastian grinned, taking her hand and keeping her close to him. “But there are a lot more songs about cheaters getting their comeuppance than there are about them getting what they want, and I have a feeling the DJ will take requests.”
“The dance is gonna be so much fun.” Mirabelle laughed, making a mental list of all the songs she knew about cheaters getting the boot as they headed to the bar and lined up to get a drink.
“I don't believe any of this will be fun, Dear.” Francesca sighed, folding her arms and glaring at the line-up for the bar.
“Don't worry, Mother.” Eleanor took her mother's arm. “Let's find a nice quiet corner where we can all sit and let Dad and Robert get our drinks for us. Mirabelle glanced at Bastian, who nodded and let her go so she could take Francesca’s other arm and help Eleanor get her to a sitting area.
“I'll be back shortly. I have something I need to do.” Benji kissed Lila and disappeared into the crowd as Eddie walked up.
“The photographer is wondering if you'll be joining us for pictures.” He said stiffly to his family, avoiding looking at Maribelle and Bastian.
“Nope,” Eleanor said cheerfully, and Eddie sighed, hurt flashing across his face.
“Really Ella? He asked quietly.
“Yeah, really. I'm happy you think you're happy, but it came at the cost of other people, so I won't be celebrating it.”
“I don't know that it did; she seems pretty happy to me.” Eddie rolled his eyes, and Maribelle felt her temper flare.
“That's it. Eddie, come with me.” She let go of Francesca and grabbed his arm. He yelped in surprise and resisted her.
“What? I don't have time...”
“You're gonna make time.” She pulled him toward the door to the side patio and shoved him through it.
“What the hell, Mira!” Eddie stumbled a little as she let him go and caught himself on the wall, turning to face her quickly.
“Shut up!” She folded her arms and glared at him. “Did I seem happy when you spent four months snapping at me for everything? When nothing I did made you happy? Did I seem happy when I walked in on you? Did I fucking seem happy when you two harassed me for months? When you and your wife threatened me?”
“We didn't threaten you!” Eddie protested weakly, avoiding her eyes as his cheeks turned red.
“The judge thought you did, didn't he?” Mirabelle taunted him, anger rushing over her as he denied their harassment of her. “Would you like to hear the recordings? Maybe I should give them to the DJ, and we’ll let a court of your peers decide.”
“Mira!” He looked genuinely panicked, and Mirabelle felt a small measure of satisfaction.
“What? If you didn't threaten me, it shouldn't be a problem, right?” She watched as he swallowed nervously and decided to let him off the hook. “Eddie, If I'm happy now, it's because Bastian has never had anything but my best interests in mind. I'm incredibly lucky he's never given up on me, even when I had given up on him.” She could feel her anger building as she tried to make him understand how he messed her up. “I was happy with you, Eddie. I loved you, and you broke my heart. There were so many days that if Bastian never got me out of bed, I wouldn't have gotten out. So don't take my current emotional state as an indicator of what it was.” She turned and started to walk away, pausing at the door. “You brought this on yourself, Eddie. Better get to your pictures.”
“Mira...” He quickly followed her back in, reaching for her arm, but she pulled it free of his grasp.
“Nope. I need you to know and understand that you and your whore messed up my life, and everything that comes out of this wedding is karma.”
“WHAT THE HELL, EDDIE? What were you doing outside with her?” Casey stormed up to them, red-faced and very upset.
“We were just having a little chat about the past, Casey,” Mirabelle smiled and went to Bastian, who grinned and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and kissing her cheek. “Don't get your panties in a twist; he's your prize. Take him away.”
“Relax, Casey.” Eddie’s voice was much more reassuring than Mirabelle’s, and he went over to take her hand. “Let's go get those pictures. Mom? Are you and Dad coming?”
“What for?” Francesca said dryly as Robert and Victor joined them and passed Eleanor and Francesca their drinks. “The happy memories?”
“Right.” Eddie nodded, looking even more upset. He started to turn to walk away, but his temper got the best of him, and he turned back around. “I mean, why even be here if you're just going to have that attitude?” He snapped angrily.
“We paid for it, so we might as well enjoy our... investment. “Francesca eyed them both with distaste. “Because I doubt we'll see any returns on it.”
“Come on, Casey, let's go get the pictures done.” Eddie gave her a gentle tug. “Did you talk to your dad?”
“Yeah, He won't come either.” Casey sniffed. “Said I was lucky he was staying for the father-daughter dance…” Their voices faded as they walked away.
“Funny, I wasn't asked to do a mother-son dance.” Francesca downed her drink in one shot. “Excuse me; I need another.” Victor shook his head quickly.
“You sit with Eleanor and Mirabelle, Love. I’ll get your drink.” Francesca nodded and let Mirabelle and Eleanor lead her over to a seating area in the corner as Benji came up wearing a huge smile.
“Package delivered. He murmured as he passed Mirabelle and Bastian. “Hey, Darlin'.” He hugged Lila from behind. “Things are about to get real fun.”
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When it was announced they could return to the ballroom, they entered to see it had been set up with round tables of ten surrounding a dance floor in the middle. The guests found their seats and began talking among themselves as they waited for the reception to start and dinner to be served. The DJ got on the microphone and introduced himself as DJ Elevate. He said he would be doing double duty as both the Master of Ceremonies and DJ, and then he announced the Bridal Party and began playing Every Time We Touch.
Mirabelle had to hand it to them. The bridesmaids came into the room dancing and clapping to the music, trying to get the energy in the room up and reminding people it was supposed to be a happy occasion, but all it did was make the groomsmen's blank faces and direct walk up to the head table so much more obvious. There were a couple of boos, but they ignored them and sat at the head table, staring straight ahead.
We Are Family began to play, and the DJ started to announce the parents, but the Maid of Honor made a quick and frantic cutting motion across her throat, and he hurriedly moved on to announcing “The Happy Couple.” Eddie and Casey walked in to Crazy in Love . Eddie looked upset, but Casey was obviously angry. They took their seats, and dinner was served almost immediately.
It was pretty quiet throughout dinner. The food was actually really good, and Mirabelle thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the dinner conversation with the others as they discussed their plans to go to New Orleans and Dallas. Bastian even managed to get Francesca to perk up and banter with him a little bit by trying to convince her and Victor to join them.
By the time they finished dinner and the DJ announced the cake cutting, Casey seemed to have collected herself, and she and Eddie were posing for pictures by the cake when a woman a few tables over from theirs let out a shriek. YOU FUCKED HER!” And burst into tears. One of the groomsmen's faces drained of colour, and he quickly stood up and ran down to her, trying desperately to get her to calm down.
“Oh, Dear.” Bastian picked up his scotch and adjusted his seat so he could see everything. “Seems Charlie had a secret he didn't want to get out.”
“What are you talking about, Brittney? No, I didn't, I wouldn't.” He reached out and tried to hug her, but Brittney wasn't having it.
“I have the fucking emails, Charlie!” She yelled, shoving him away from her hard. Charlie stumbled backward as she ran crying from the room; he watched her run for a minute, shock on his face, then began chasing her. Mirabelle saw groomsmen look at each other nervously as the DJ tried to smooth things over and keep the party going.
“I guess it's time to get to the speeches.” He announced, sounding unsure about what to do. “First, we have a good friend who couldn't be here but called to congratulate Casey and Eddie. I've hooked her into my sound system, so just one second...” He typed a few things. “Okay, Jillian, go ahead.” The DJ left his booth and walked over to the bar, clearly in need of a drink.
“Well. Where do I begin when it comes to Casey and Eddie?” Jillian's voice came over the sound system. “Casey and the guys have been friends since university, and I always wondered why. Why the hell did these guys put up with this bitch of a woman? Well, thanks to Casey herself, I now know.” Jillian took a deep breath, and it seemed like everyone was frozen. No one was moving, and the room was dead silent.
“ It turns out dear Casey has an appetite for drunk, married men. Charlie Hofner, Billie Marchand, and Kevin Carter have slept with her.” Mirabelle watched as two more groomsmen froze, and another woman broke down into sobs, while another just got up and walked out. The two groomsmen jumped off the stage where the head table had been set up and hurried to try to damage control with their significant others.
“ And, of course, let’s not forget the one who bit her disgusting worm hook, the groom, Eddie Shea, and most recently, my soon-to-ex-husband.” Zeke began to shake his head as Eddie turned to him. “Yeah, see, she waits to approach them when they’re drunk, then fucks them and tells them she will scream rape and tell their wives if they didn't do what she wanted. What a peach, ladies and gentlemen!” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, but nobody moved to disconnect Jillian, and Mirabelle could see Casey was sitting with her eyes closed, her fingers in her ears and swaying back and forth. She was mouthing something, and after observing her for a bit, Mirabelle realized she was literally doing the “La la la” thing like a child.
“Oh, and Eddie? According to Casey's email, there is a chance that the child she's carrying is Zekes, and if you don't believe me, check your email. It appears she sent this to all her contacts.” There was a flurry of movement as people began pulling out their phones and opening their emails, wanting to see the proof for themselves. “Thanks for all this evidence, Casey. I'm not sure why you decided to sell yourself out, but it made my lawyer's job very easy. Zeke, all further communication will be through my lawyer.” The line went dead, and everyone stayed frozen for a few minutes; then Eddie whirled around to face Zeke.
“Did you fuck her?” He demanded quietly, but the room was so still that his voice travelled clearly. Zeke looked at him apologetically.
“I was drunk, Eddie, and she seduced me.” Zeke shook his head, his voice shaking. “I never would have touched her otherwise. I don’t even like her, you know that; it was nothing more than a hate fuck.”
Eddie nodded slowly. “I guess I can't be mad at you; she did the same thing to me the first time.” He turned to Casey and pulled her fingers from her ear impatiently. “So this has just been one big, what? A joke? Scam? What?”
“No, Eddie.” She gasped, tears streaming down her cheeks. “No, it’s not any of that. It's not true!”
“You did try to sleep with Greg! You bitch!” one of the bridesmaids shrieked suddenly and threw her bouquet at her. The other bridesmaids grabbed her and kept her from launching herself at Casey as a man Mirabelle guessed was Greg came up and pulled her out of the room, repeatedly telling her he didn't and wouldn't. Casey was trash, and everyone knew it. Everyone began talking at once as they read the different parts of the email.
“Looks like Helena finally believes Greg.” Robert leaned back in his chair. “I’m glad we were able to do that for him.” Mirabelle smiled as she understood Greg was the one who sent the screenshots to Bastian and made a mental note to send a fruit basket as a thank you.
Eddie shook his head and began to laugh. “OH, this is just... Fuck. FUCK! He slammed his fist onto the table, the bang echoing, making people jump and quiet down again. “All right, I'm really fucking curious. How many of you has she tried to sleep with? Show of hands, come on!”
Bastian put his hand up, and so did Robert, Peter, and Benji. All over the room, hands went into the air. “Oh, for fucks sake, are you serious?” Eddie shook his head in disbelief and began to laugh again. “You fucking whore.” He laughed harder. “Hey, Dad? It looks like you're getting that paternity test after all.” He stood up, and Casey grabbed his hand.
“Where are you going?” She sobbed. “It's your baby Eddie, I swear! I never, I wouldn't cheat on you!”
“I need a little space from you right now,” Eddie informed her and started to walk away, still chuckling and shaking his head. Maribelle watched in amazement as Casey began screaming and throwing things when Eddie walked away from her. Anything she could grab, she threw at Eddie as she cried.
“I really fucking hope this baby isn't yours! You're a broke piece of shit, Eddie Shea!” The other people in the bridal party moved quickly off the stage, wanting to get out of the way of Casey’s rage. Mirabelle was watching everything with morbid curiosity. She really wanted to see how it would end and was practically sitting on the edge of her seat in excitement.
“I'm broke? I'm broke?” Eddie turned as a wine bottle flew past his head. “If I'm broke, what the fuck does that make you? I've been funding your life for the last year and a half! Creditors are breathing down your neck! My parents funded this whole thing! Your parents haven't put a dime toward this whole farce of a wedding because your father is about to be indicted for tax fraud!” He ducked a plate and backed off the stage. People were almost running for the door. Mirabelle guessed the Chalet's staff had called the police to minimize property damage because she could see them trying to get in.
Bastian
“Okay, I think we've seen enough.” Victor stood up and helped Francesca to her feet. “I have a private jet on standby for us all at the Ann Arbor Airport. Maribelle, Bastian, that includes the two of you if you'd like.”
Bastian looked at Maribelle, who was still sitting in her chair, watching Casey scream and throw things at Eddie. “Bunny?” he gently shook her arm.
“Yeah. I think we'll take you up on that.” Maribelle nodded, tearing her attention away from the show and smiling at Victor. “Thank you.”
“Of course, dear. Don't even mention it.” Francesca smiled wanly at her. “Let's get out of this godforsaken place.”
The rest of them stood up to leave as Casey flipped the head table and spotted Maribelle and Bastian. “YOU!” She screeched, and a bottle of champagne came sailing through the air and landed on the floor beside Maribelle. Bastian spun around. Seeing her about to throw something else, he quickly moved Maribelle back behind him. “You fucking Whore!”
“Well, considering you're the one sleeping around, I think you're confused.” Maribelle laughed, which, of course, enraged Casey further, and she started toward them, sitting on the stage and hopping off to stalk across the floor.
Bastian shook his head and rolled his eyes. Leave it to Mira. “Sure, Bunny, antagonize the crazy pregnant woman. Get her out.” He instructed Robert, who nodded and moved to usher Mirabelle out. Eleanor grabbed Maribelle's hand and pulled her in front of her. The others immediately closed around and ushered her toward the door.
“Officers!” Bastian called as a bunch of them finally got into the room. “That woman just attempted to assault my girlfriend, and she also assaulted her two nights ago at the Weber Boutique Hotel.” Seeing Casey chasing after the Sheas as they attempted to leave, the police quickly moved to intercept her.
“I'm pregnant! You can't arrest me! Let me go!” She yelled, struggling to get free. Bastian could tell the police officers were holding her tightly but were trying to avoid using too much force so they didn’t hurt the baby or her. “Eddie! Help me!”
Eddie snorted and wiped his face. He had a cut over his eyebrow and a split lip from not ducking a plate fast enough. “No, I'd like to press assault charges too.”
“Daddy!” Casey screamed. Bastian turned to see Casey's father helping his wife toward the door. He stopped briefly and looked over his shoulder, watching as the police handcuffed her.
“My wife has gone into labour. I'm afraid you'll have to figure this out alone.” Casey let out a string of curse words and tried to get to them, too, before just sitting on the floor and scream-crying. Finally, the police heaved her to her feet and frog-marched her from the room. Bastian spoke briefly to a police officer, gave him his card, and sent him the security footage the desk clerk at the Weber gave him when he returned for the first aid kit. Eddie was being looked at by a paramedic when he was done, and Bastian turned to leave.
“Hey Bastian! I know you had something to do with all this.” He held up his phone. “I don't know if I want to thank or punch you.”
“Honestly, Eddie, I'm kinda hoping you punch me, then I could do what I want and knock you out, and it falls under self-defence.” Bastian regarded him seriously. “But since I also hope you aren't that stupid, you're welcome.”
“You really think you're better than me, don't you?” Eddie shook his head with a scoff.
“No, Eddie. I know I'm better than you.” Bastian laughed and left the room. He spotted everyone waiting in the lobby, and he headed over to them. “When are we leaving?”
“A car will be here in two hours,” Victor said calmly. “We'll pick you four up at the Weber and head to the airport from there.” Eddie came out of the ballroom and looked around. He spotted them and started to come over. “Excuse us. My wife and I need to have a word with our son before we leave.”
Bastian nodded. “Come on, Bunny, let's go change and pack.”