“Yes. The two of you have a scheduled honeymoon starting tomorrow.”
“Well, you can cancel that.”
“Are you sure, Mr. Wilder? It’s a beautiful honeymoon.”
“I’m more than sure. Cancel it, right now.”
“You put down a deposit on it. You’ll lose that deposit.”
“I don’t care. Cancel it now,” I said.
“Give me just a second, Mr. Wilder.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Holy fuck. No matter who I talked to and no matter what I did, it seemed as if this wasn’t a prank. It seemed as if this wasn’t something concocted by my brothers or by Jessica or by anyone else. I reached down for my cell phone and quickly opened up my mobile banking application. If I had put down a deposit on anything, it would be logged away in my transactions. While the woman typed away in my ear, I entered in all my information and pulled up my bank account statement.
And my eyes bulged when I saw it.
“The exclusive premium honeymoon package has been cancelled, Mr. Wilder. Is there anything else I can do for you this morning?”
Rewind last night.
“No, ma’am. Thank you for your discretion and your cooperation.”
“My pleasure. If there’s anything else I can do for you during your stay at Mandarin Oriental, please don’t hesitate to call.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
I dropped the phone back to its cradle as my eyes scanned my bank statement. I mindlessly sat on the edge of the bed, raking my hand through my tangled hair. Holy shit. Andrea and I had gotten up to a lot more than a simple bath and some good times in my hotel room bed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
My head whipped over to her and I saw her standing in the doorway. Her eyes were filled with worry and she was fidgeting with the ring on her finger. I patted the bed next to me and she came to sit down, and with each step she took she looked as if she grew smaller and smaller. More and more meek as she came to get the truth. She sat down beside me, her legs stretched out, and I tilted my phone for her to see.
“What’s all this?” she asked as she took it.
“My bank transactions for the last few days. Take a look,” I said.
Andrea’s eyes fluttered over the screen as her jaw slowly dropped. She scrolled and scrolled, becoming completely familiar
with the massive amount of transactions that had taken place. There were numerous charges for drinks at several different bars. There was one very cheap charge from a pawn shop, which I can only imagine is where the rings came from. There were three places where we apparently stopped to eat. Or at least did something. There was the charge for the exclusive honeymoon whatever bullshit that woman had been talking about. The deposit alone was ten thousand dollars.
But it was the wedding chapel expense that had caught my eye.
And I could tell it caught Andrea’s as well.
“Cupid’s Wedding Chapel?” she asked.
She didn’t even bother to look at me. Just settled my phone back in my lap before she sighed.
“What happened on the phone conversation?”
“Andrea, I think we—”
“What happened on the phone, Everett?”
She turned her eyes up to mine and I watched them water with tears again.
“The first time I called, I got a man by the name of Derek downstairs. He informed me that we had gotten married last night, which was why I asked for your last name. He said I married an Andrea Faith.”