Chapter 409

Olivia

As I stood in the middle of the bustling park, on a sunny day just when it seemed as though things were looking back up after a tumultuous morning, I felt my heart sink.

I couldn’t believe the call I had just received from Kylie, our wedding planner. I had just had a meeting with her not long ago and it seemed as though things were going perfectly fine, but when I heard her tense voice, I could feel my heart beginning to pound in my chest.

“Olivia,” Kylie’s voice crackled through the phone, “we have a problem.”

My breath hitched as I listened to her words. “What’s wrong, Kylie?” I asked, furrowing my brow.

“Remember the beautiful location you and Nathan chose for your wedding?” she asked, her tone heavy with regret.

“Yeah, of course,” I replied. How could I forget? The location was a picturesque venue overlooking the ocean, a place that Nathan and I had fallen in love with the moment we had set foot there. It was basically the location of our dream wedding. I had my heart set on it.

“It was hit by a nor’easter last night, Olivia,” Kylie continued, her voice trembling slightly. “The roof collapsed, and the entire place is a mess. It’s not going to be ready in time for your wedding.”

I felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. Nathan and I had chosen that location because the ocean held a special significance for us, and that venue was the perfect place for our wedding.

Plus, we had set the date for the wedding to be just before my belly began to show too much, as I wanted to wear a specific gown that wouldn’t work with a more prominent baby bump. We couldn’t afford to wait however many months it would take for the venue to be repaired.

I took a deep breath, trying to hold back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me. “Are there any other venues available in the area?” I asked. “Maybe there’s a similar location…”

Kylie’s response was grim. “I’ve already checked, Olivia,” she said gently. “Every other venue in the area is booked solid for the next few months. You were lucky to get that slot at that venue. There’s nothing available for your wedding date.”

I cursed under my breath, feeling completely cornered. I had envisioned our wedding at that specific location, at that specific time, and now it seemed like a distant dream that had been shattered.

I looked down at my belly, which was still small, but I knew it wouldn’t stay that way for much longer. We couldn’t wait too long to get married, as I wanted to avoid showing too much when I wore the gown I had fallen in love with.

The thought of having to postpone our wedding was frustrating and disheartening. What if we had to wait until after the third baby was born? What if the arrival of our third child got in the way, and we kept pushing the wedding date further and further back?

“I’m sorry, Olivia,” Kylie said with regret filling her tone. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“It’s… It’s not your fault,” I assured her. “Let me talk to Nathan, and I’ll get in touch with you.”

We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone, feeling a mixture of anger, disappointment, and helplessness. I knew I needed to talk to Nathan about this, but I also dreaded breaking the news to him.

He had been looking forward to our wedding just as much as I had, and I didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

Turning around, my gaze searched for Nathan. He was on the other side of the park now, helping one of the vendors set up their booth. I swallowed as I made my way over to him, and he turned when he sensed me approaching.

“Hey,” he said, stepping away so we could talk privately. “What did Kylie want? Everything good?”

I tried to shoot him a smile, but it felt forced and strained. “We need to talk, Nathan,” I finally admitted with a sigh. “It’s about the wedding.”

His expression shifted from excitement to concern. “What’s wrong?:

I took a deep breath as I tried to find the right words. “The location we chose for the wedding was hit by a nor’easter. The roof collapsed, and it won’t be ready in time.”

Nathan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Are they going to fix it in time for the wedding?”

I shook my head, feeling a lump forming in my throat. “No, Nathan. Kylie checked, and there are no other venues available in the area for our wedding date, either. I’m not sure what to do.”

Nathan’s face fell, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes. “But we had our hearts set on that location at that time, Liv,” he said quietly. “Surely there’s something we could do. There has to be another venue open for our timeframe.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I fought to hold them back. “There’s nothing. Everything is booked for months.”

His shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh. “That blows. What are we gonna do?”

I hesitated before answering, because I didn’t even know how to begin. I placed my hand over my belly, shooting him a sad look. “We might need to wait until after the baby is born,” I murmured. “And who knows how long it’ll be until there’s a good time for that, between postpartum stuff, breastfeeding…”

As I spoke, Nathan reached out and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, his eyes filled with understanding and love. “Liv, I don’t want to wait to marry you. Are you sure you don’t want to…?”

I felt a lump forming in my throat at his words. I knew what he was referring to; we had discussed briefly at one point the idea of having a small courthouse wedding so we could take our time on the ceremony preparations. It was an idea I had been vehemently against.

“But I wanted to save our marriage for the actual wedding,” I whispered. “The idea of a courthouse wedding…”

Nathan sighed and nodded, dropping his hand back to his side. “I know, Liv,” he said gently. “But I want to make you my wife before the baby is born, you know?”

“I wanted that too,” I said quietly. I bit my lip, thinking. The idea of a courthouse wedding broke my heart, but if it meant getting the chance to make our marriage official before the baby was born, then maybe we had no choice.

“Listen,” Nathan said, “we’ve got a little time. Let’s think clearly about this, and sleep on it. Okay?”

I nodded, even though it felt like the world was tilting beneath my feet. “Okay,” I murmured. “We’ll think about it.”

But even as I walked away to continue the festival preparations, I couldn’t deny the tears that were filling my eyes. It felt as though the wedding of my dreams was slipping through my fingers, and I couldn’t have been more disappointed.