Chapter 422 It Is Warm Wherever You Are
“Can you stop that, Matt? It’s your bachelor party, for Pete’s sake. Can’t we have some fun?”
After he was done replying to Clarissa, Matthew said, “What bachelor party? I’m already married for years.” In other words, he was no bachelor anymore.
Yarick and the gang thought he had a point.
Matthew looked at the photo Clarissa sent him. Leia and Damian were sleeping together, while Clarissa was beside them, making a peace sign.
That’s so adorable.
The more he looked at it, the more he wanted to be with them and hug them all. It was a shame he couldn’t see them at the moment though.
Henry came over to see what was making Matthew smile. When he saw the photo, he clicked his tongue jealously.
“Can you stop that, Matt? Have some mercy on the bachelors. I can’t even get hitched.” The more he talked about it, the sadder he looked. He tried to drown himself out with alcohol, but it only made him feel worse.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? I mean, yeah, I dumped Yaala, but that’s just a one-time thing. I regretted it and treat her like a queen now. Isn’t that enough? Why won’t she marry me? Why won’t she have my kids? Do you have any idea how painful that is, Matt?”
Matthew frowned, while Jeremy quickly dragged Henry away.
Hey, this is a bachelor party. Why are you guys talking about women?
Yarick piped up, “Man, I want a girlfriend too. At least someone who can cook and clean so I don’t have to fuss over my dinner.”
“Oi, shut up, will you? This is a bachelor party. No women, only guys.”
Out of everyone here, only Justin didn’t have any relationship problems. Everyone else wanted a partner.
Ryler, Yarick, Henry, and even Luke insisted on attending the wedding, but they seemed to have something else planned in mind.
Jeremy was rather annoyed since he wanted to have a bachelor party, but everyone else wouldn’t stop talking about women. I’m so done with their sh*t.
…
Matthew texted Clarissa after he came back to the hotel. Once he realized she was still awake, he immediately called her. He was feeling annoyed that night, but the sound of her lovely voice calmed him nerves. “I miss you, Clare.”
And then all the women burst into laughter, with Ellie laughing the loudest.
Matthew frowned. “You think that’s funny, don’t you, Ellie?”
Ellie realized Matthew was getting angry, so she quickly defended herself, “Calm down, Uncle Matt. That’s unbecoming of the groom. We just wanted to know how you guys can stay so deeply in love. Now I see why.
Clarissa blushed. “They wanted to listen in, so…”
“I know, Clare.”
“I think that’s enough for us, Uncle Matt. It’d get too mushy for us if we stay around, so you guys keep up.” Ellie laughed and left with the other ladies, leaving Clarissa alone in the room.
Once she was alone, Clarissa apologized softly, “Don’t get mad. Ellie and the girls really wanted to listen in, so…”
Matthew smiled. “I’m not mad. It’s not a bad thing letting them know how in love we are.”
“Hey, I am not in love with you,” Clarissa retorted, but Matthew only smiled.
Eventually, Matthew’s silence made Clarissa blush. Both of them were silent after that, but it was a warm, lovely silence.
Clarissa broke the silence first. “You came back early. I thought it’d be an all-nighter.” Since she heard Jeremy’s all-night party plan, she wondered why Matthew was back so early.
Besides, with how playful Jeremy was, he wouldn’t let Matthew go until it was late at night. She wondered why it ended so early.
Matthew smiled. “Because they don’t want me around.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a family, and they’re jealous.”
Clarissa laughed happily. She could imagine how they complained about Matthew, and the thought alone made her smile.
“They have a point, so you should keep your love life to a minimum whenever they’re around. Who knows, they might gang up on you if you go too far.”
“They won’t. Besides, why can’t I share my happiness with them? It’s the truth.”
Wow, he can be insufferable.
Clarissa thought Matthew would end up getting ganged on one day, but then she realized nobody would try to beat him up.
They chatted for a long time, so Clarissa eventually yawned, and Matthew ended the call reluctantly. “Um good night. And sleep tight.”
Clarissa smiled, but she didn’t end the call yet. “Are you nervous? Excited?”
“Yeah,” Matthew admitted. “I look forward to seeing you in the gown.”
“You’ve seen it before, haven’t you?” Clarissa had tested out the gown, and Matthew saw it before too. But she still thought his reaction was a bit exaggerated.
Matthew was really surprised, though he did exaggerate his reaction. But Clarissa liked it. Not to mention Damian also gasped in surprise like Matthew did.
Leia was the only one who didn’t show any reaction. All she did was glance at Clarissa for a moment longer.
“It’s not the same this time. It’s the real deal tomorrow. You’ll be looking your best then, so it’s something to look forward to.”
“Alright, fine, I get it. Thanks for the praise, okay? Get to sleep right now, or you’ll be looking like a sleep-deprived vampire tomorrow. Just to make it clear, I’m not gonna walk down the aisle if you’re looking like a vampire.”
Matthew blurted, “Hey, do you really like me? Or do you only like me for my looks?”
Clarissa chuckled, but she kept quiet for a moment. “Nope. I only like your money.”
Matthew laughed. “Good, because I’m filthy rich.”
Clarissa laughed too.
……
Matthew wasn’t tardy on his big day, nor did he lose any sleep. He woke up refreshed and dressed up nicely for the occasion. But when he saw how flamboyant his friends were, the corner of his left eye twitched.
“Hey, I’m the groom here. Can you guys not take the attention away?”
Yarick and Jeremy, his best men, were wearing a white tuxedo, a pair of white leather shoes, and a red bow tie. Obviously, they were going for the Prince Charming look, and white was the best color to go with the bride’s gown.
Goddammit.
Jeremy smiled. “Hey, cut us some slack. You’re already married anyway, so this is all just fluff. But we’re still single, and you’re still the hottest guy around no matter what you’re wearing.”
“Yeah, he’s right!” everyone agreed.
Matthew snorted, but he left the room without a word.
Part of the wedding planning team was following the groom. Once they were done, it was time to set out. On the other hand, the rest of the team was on the island, where Matthew carefully decorated with all his love for Clarissa.
The makeup artists were doing Clarissa’s makeup and dressing up the kids. The bridesmaids were already here early in the morning, preparing the place with the games they came up with the night before.
The most important part was the place where they hid the bride’s shoes.
“Don’t tell him where the shoes are, Clare. Don’t even have eye contact, or we’re no longer friends,” Ellie said seriously, but Clarissa was amused.
“Alright, fine. No eye contact.”
“As if I’ll believe you. I have my eye on you, Clare.”
And they went to work, leaving Clarissa alone in the room. As the moment drew nearer, Clarissa felt her heart pounding faster. A wedding was an important ceremony, which was why it was so nerve-wracking.
Even though they were legally married after they got registered, a wedding still marked the official start of a marriage.
For the moment, Clarissa was waiting for Matthew’s arrival.
“They’re here!” Everyone started cheering and shouting all of a sudden, and the guests were teasing the groom and his best men. When Clarissa heard all the noise, she wanted to see what was happening herself.
However, her bridesmaids’ games weren’t so easy to pass, so it took the men a long time to get upstairs.
Eventually, the laughter reached her room, and Matthew suddenly barged in, almost toppling Ellie and Roxanne.
Clarissa wondered what was going on, but then Matthew suddenly made a beeline for her. His eyes sparkled as if he wanted to say something. However, he kept quiet and took her away.
“Uncle Matt! The shoes! The shoes! You’re getting ahead of yourself!” Someone started laughing, and everyone laughed along.
Clarissa blushed, but she laughed along too. “Alright, calm down. You still have to find the shoes.”
Matthew put her down reluctantly and kept quiet. He had to clear this last obstacle himself, but he couldn’t locate the shoes even though he had scoured every inch of the room.
Then, he looked at Clarissa. Clarissa smiled at him, but Ellie came in between them. “No eye contact.”
Matthew was silent for a moment, then he suddenly pushed Ellie away before putting his hand into Clarissa’s gown, much to her embarrassment. A moment later, he fished the shoes out from under the gown.
“Hey, you guys cheated!”
Matthew ignored Ellie. He quickly wore the shoes over Clarissa’s feet and kissed her feet as per everyone’s request. After that, he held her in his arms and went downstairs.
The guests were already waiting to welcome the couple. Eventually, the music started playing, and the couple walked up toward the officiant, hand in hand.
They had gone through a lot to get to this point, but from then onward, they would go on together side by side.
Even though the place was grand, romantic, and gorgeous, all they cared about was each other.
“This love of ours shall go on forever until death do us part.”
“I shall stay with you until the very end, no matter when the end maybe.”
“I love you, Clarissa Quigley.”
“I love you, Matthew Tyson.”
Home was where the ones who loved you were.
