Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Jenna’s Atelier
The week breezed by in a flash. Lady Vanity had somehow got the news that there were twin nuptials in the winds for the Hawthornes and Montgomerys, and by Saturday, there was not a single person in Sol City who was unaware of Emmeline’s impending marriage to Aiden.

In fact, Amelia herself was more interested in Emmeline’s future nuptials than her own. Would Emmeline let herself be marched down the aisle? Would Aiden even show up at his own wedding? Would he be the one objecting to the priest?

“Did you leak the news to Lady Vanity?” Amelia asked as news of Emmeline’s engagement was blasted on the radio. Truly, if she didn’t know better, she would think someone was deliberately paying money to publicize this matter further.

Then again, she did know better now. She raised an eyebrow, giving Matteo a side-eye while Matteo drove, humming a little tune. He was in an awfully good mood. How suspicious.

Matteo caught her side-eye and his lips twitched in an effort not to burst into laughter.

“Of course not, I would never be so crass,” he said, pretending to be offended. “How can you think so little of me?”

“So it was Ronan,” Amelia noted without missing a beat.

“Precisely,” Matteo said, “We can’t have her wriggling out of this mess by showing up with another husband. My brother cannot be cucked.”

Amelia snorted; Aiden had sent her a bunch of texts, complaining about his marriage with Emmeline. “He would be willing to cuck himself to get out of it. Do you think he will even show up today?”

“Certainly. It’s his sobriety that will be in doubt, not his presence,” Matteo said easily, and Amelia laughed.

They were now on their way to the dress fitting― it was to take place at a private boutique called Jenna’s Atelier, and a quick online search showed that they boasted bespoke couture and wedding gowns with a six-digit price tag, courtesy of their world-renowned designer Jenna Ruby.

Amelia had taken one look and nearly screeched into her hands. This was a lot of money to splurge on a one-time dress! Meanwhile, Matteo was simply unbothered, bookmarking a bunch of dresses he thought would look nice on Amelia.

He had been fantasizing about his wedding to her for a long time. Finally, his dreams were coming true. With that thought, a smile bloomed on his face.

They arrived at the boutique and were politely ushered inside, only to find that there were no other clients for the day. Horace Hawthorne had booked out the entire boutique for the day so that he wouldn’t be interrupted, and the man in question was already waiting on one of the couches, cane in hand.

Beside him was Annalise, who looked like she swallowed a lemon the moment she caught sight of Amelia’s presence.

It did not miss Amelia’s notice that Emmeline was absent. There were only five minutes left until the start of their appointment.

“Amelia, Matteo, you’re here!” Horace Hawthorne greeted them enthusiastically. “Good to see you are early.”

“We simply couldn’t wait.” Matteo smiled winningly.

Under the bright lights of the atelier, his charisma was magnetic, drawing every eye in his direction. Amelia heard more than one wistful sigh from the staff on duty, and she tried not to be distracted.

“Good afternoon, Grandpa. Sorry that we made you wait,” Amelia said. Her grandfather waved off her apology.

“Nonsense, I just arrived slightly before you did,” Horace said. “Since you’re here and Emmeline isn’t, you might as well get started. Do you have any idea what kind of wedding dress you’re looking for?”

“No,” Amelia confessed. She had been too intimidated by the price tags on the website to even consider the designs.

“How can that be? Weren’t you already married once?” Annalise cut in, her voice grating like nails on a chalkboard. Her eyes darted to the tinted windows of the boutique, and then back to her phone before they focused on Amelia’s face. Clearly, she was stressed over Emmeline’s absence.

Since Annalise was so intent on bringing up the past, Amelia might as well use it to milk sympathy points.

“I did… but back then we were so poor, and I thought Caleb was an orphan. We didn’t have enough money to hold a wedding, or even for me to get a new dress.” Amelia’s lower lip just wobbled the tiniest bit as she made herself blink more quickly, as though her eyes were slowly tearing up.

If Emmeline could do this nonsense every time she was confronted with an inconvenience, Amelia could take a page or two out of her playbook.

“I just wore one of my nicer white dresses and we went to the courthouse to register my marriage.”

“This is outrageous! I will rectify this immediately,” Horace declared, thumping his cane loudly against the polished marble floors. His poor granddaughter didn’t even get a special day dedicated to her wedding, all thanks to that filthy liar. He shot Annalise a dirty look for her comments, before yelling at the walkway.

“Jenna! Your assistance is required!”

The hurried clacking of heels echoed through the hall before a cherubic face appeared. The woman seemed to be in her late fifties, with graying hair at her temples and tiny wrinkles at the end of her eyes and lips, yet her beaming smile radiated vitality, and her polka dot dress made Amelia’s head spin.

Amelia was stunned. She had pictured someone more… severe, colder, to be in charge of such a prestigious boutique, but instead, Jenna Ruby seemed more like a kindly baker who would give anyone an extra croissant because they had a bad day.

“I’m here, Horace, there is no need to fuss. Oh hello, dearie! I’m Jenna, very nice to meet you!” She offered her hand for Amelia to shake, and Amelia could only oblige. Her hand went to Matteo next. “And you must be Matteo. No suit fitting for you today?”

“A pleasure,” Matteo nodded. “I’ll only do my suit fitting if there is time left over from Amelia’s appointment.”

“Excellent, I’m glad to see I have a groom who knows who the main priority is.” Jenna winked at Amelia. “You got a good one right here, I can tell.”

“Get Amelia started on picking her dress,” Horace said, sounding exasperatedly amused. “She has never worn a proper wedding gown.”