Fran’s hand flew to her mouth in horror. ‘I don’t believe it!’ she squawked, hanging up her phone to whoever she’d been speaking to. ‘The wedding is off! That was Frankie on the phone. I can’t get through to her. Has everyone tried calling Emma? What on earth is all this about?’
Fran was someone Holly would describe as a ‘flapper’. She was a drama queen at the best of times, always looking stunned and concerned by the smallest things. She was the last person you would choose to have around you in a crisis. The type of person that just made things even worse.
Holly tried Emma once more, but she was sure her attempts would be in vain. If Emma had cancelled the wedding, which wasn’t actually a massive surprise after the conversation they’d had, she wasn’t going to want to speak to anyone. ‘Straight to voicemail,’ she said regretfully.
‘Oh, this is just ridiculous,’ Fran said in bafflement. ‘She can’t do this and then just run away.’
‘I can’t believe she’s cancelled it, can you?’ Kim said quietly so only Holly could hear her.
‘I think there’s a lot more to it,’ Holly said carefully. ‘It’s better that she cancelled the wedding than went through with it and regretted it, don’t you think?’
‘I thought she was acting quiet this morning,’ Emma’s cousin said.
‘Yes, she hardly said a word, did she?’ Danni agreed, looking as though she was actually enjoying the commotion. ‘I just thought she was nervous.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever known this to actually happen before. I dread to think how much money has been wasted here,’ Fran tutted loudly, still looking absolutely flabbergasted. ‘I was really looking forward to today as well …’ she tailed off, mumbling to herself.
‘Shall we go try to find her?’ Kim suggested.
‘Yes, there’s nothing else we can be doing really, is there?’ Holly replied. ‘She must be feeling awful.’
They slipped out the room without the others taking much notice.
‘Any idea where she might be?’ Kim asked, as they walked outside.
Holly stood there thoughtfully, remembering the comment Emma had made about the water fountains. If there was ever a time for peace and tranquillity, it was now. ‘Actually, I do,’ she told Kim as they hopped into a yellow taxi. ‘Take us to the Bellagio Hotel, please.’
Ten minutes later and Holly had noticed Emma immediately. It wasn’t as though you could miss her. She stood out like a sore thumb with her disconsolate expression and the fact she was still wearing her wedding dress. She was attracting stares from everyone.
‘Oh my God, she’s still in the dress,’ Kim whispered in horror.
‘Come on, let’s go over there,’ Emma said, making her way through the chairs and tables.
Emma’s eyes flicked up at them as they sat down, but her expression stayed the same, as though she’d been expecting them to come all along.
‘So,’ Holly began slowly, ‘you changed your mind.’ It was a statement rather than a question.
‘How are you feeling, Em?’ Kim asked.
Emma sniffed. ‘You both probably think I’m a terrible person,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I mean, who actually dumps their fiancé just before they’re supposed to get married?’
They sat in silence for a few moments.
‘I actually think it’s a very brave thing to do,’ Holly told her honestly.
‘Charlie probably hates me, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go through with something I knew was wrong. I have to trust my gut,’ Emma told them, staring into space, deep in thought. ‘My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing and ringing, and I’m just ignoring it. I’m ignoring everyone, running away. I’ve even had to delete my Instagram temporarily because of the messages from people I don’t even know, wishing me a happy wedding day,’ she let out a light, caustic laugh, ‘which as you can see is going just to plan. Everyone thinks I have an enviable, perfect life when in reality, I was about to marry a man I knew wasn’t right for me. Now I’ve broken up with him and am sitting in a hotel looking like a complete nutjob in my wedding dress, which still isn’t even done up at the back.’ She gave a real, genuine laugh then and Kim and Holly couldn’t help but smile back, despite the sadness of the situation.
Emma’s face darkened. ‘I just wanted to be happy and settled, you know? I want so much to have my own children like you girls, start a family. The sad thing is, I actually did think Charlie was my future at one point. I’m not sure when I started to question whether I could be with him forever, but I should never have let it get this far. I love him, but sometimes love just isn’t enough. When I first met him I was so self-conscious about my weight, so down about myself, and I felt so elated that he liked me anyway and wanted to be with me. But then when I lost all the weight, he was constantly putting me down; reminding me that it was him who had helped me get to where I was. He was continually pointing out how much I needed him, to the point that in the end, I believed it. I felt like I couldn’t be without him, but I know now that he’s just controlling and manipulating me. Even being thinner, I’m not the most confident person in the world, and that’s just something that I need to work on. I need to learn to love myself for who I am inside, and I’m fine with that.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Kim asked. ‘We’ll help in any way we can.’
Emma looked at them both gratefully. ‘Thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming to find me. I don’t know what to do now really. But I do know the first thing I need to do is get this dress off,’ she half smiled. ‘I’m aware of how peculiar I look.’
‘Nah,’ Holly smiled warmly, and squeezed her hand. ‘We’re in Vegas. Seeing women in wedding dresses at all hours of the day is the norm.’
They stood up, making their way to the exit.
‘That reminds me,’ Emma said sheepishly. ‘There’s something I have to tell you about what happened last night.’
Kim’s phone started ringing and she answered it, looking pleased to see it was Andy calling.
‘Hi, everything okay?’ She stood still as she listened to Andy speak. ‘I’m at the Bellagio Hotel. Something has happened. Why?’ Kim turned her back on them and walked off to talk alone.
‘I forgot all about that,’ Emma said as they waited for Kim.
‘Forgot all about what?’
‘Andy. It was supposed to be a surprise. He was coming to the wedding. He’s here in Vegas.’