My Dad's Bestfriend novel Chapter 25

Evelyn

To be honest, Dad's wedding felt like the longest destination wedding ever conceived. It was my meticulously planned affair, and I had no regrets about its duration. The actual wedding ceremony was scheduled for about a week later, so at this point, the mansion was filled with close friends and relatives. Other guests were expected to arrive a day before the wedding, while some would come on the final day.

However, amidst the people present here, there were a few individuals whom I despised, and one of them was undeniably my mother. The only reason she was here was to face the consequences of her past actions.

"Your father truly cares about you," Jacob said, a smile playing on his lips as he handed me a cup of coffee. He glanced over at Dad, who was massaging my feet as a way of compensating for the upheaval he had caused by inviting my mother to the wedding.

Dad's intentions were not unfounded; he simply wanted to mend the strained relationship between my mother and me. However, that doesn't excuse him from the fact that he invited her to his wedding without informing me. He had done it completely behind my back, making him a culprit in my eyes, even if not in reality.

"I know, right?" I chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss on Dad's cheek. "But sometimes he just acts like a bonehead."

While Jacob and Clara burst into laughter, a deep frown settled on Dad's face, clearly displaying his irritation.

"Excuse me, this foot massage doesn't give you the right to call me stupid. You won't be getting anything else as compensation," Dad retorted.

"You're too cute," I laughed.

"And you're too stubborn."

"That's kind of true," Jacob chimed in, taking a sip of his coffee. A small, almost imperceptible smirk formed at the corner of his lips.

However, as soon as Dad's gaze fell on him, Jacob quickly brushed it off with a laugh. "She's always been like this since childhood, hasn't she?"

Dad's earlier peculiar expression disappeared, replaced by a plain, blank expression.

"Yeah, she has always been like this. Stubborn and a bit childish," he chuckled lightly.

"Excuse me," I frowned, feeling the need to defend myself. "I was never childish."

"Evelyn, hate to break it to you, but that's debatable," Clara interjected, causing a gasp of disbelief to escape from my lips.

She wasn't supposed to side with them, "Clara, you were supposed to be on my side!"

Her realisation seemed to dawn on her as she bit her tongue. "Well, I didn't mean it... What I meant is that..." She searched for the right words but stumbled upon nonsense. "You can never be childish. Yeah, you never act like a child."

"Thank you so much, Clara. That was truly helpful," I replied, dripping with sarcasm.

Though she clearly caught the sarcasm in my voice, before she could respond, a voice interrupted us— the last person I wanted to see at that moment.

"Good morning, everyone," my mother, Danica, entered the hall, and suddenly, the desire to be there vanished from within me.

"Good morning, Danica," Clara greeted her with a smile. "Here, take a seat."

Mom settled beside Clara, exchanging pleasantries with Jacob and Dad before her gaze finally fell upon me. Though I had purposely avoided looking her way, I could sense her hesitation.

She wanted to talk to me. No matter how many years we had spent apart, she was still my mother, and interpreting her emotions wasn't difficult for me.

I observed her exchanging a glance with Dad and Clara, seeking their reassurance before she spoke, "Hey, Evelyn." Her hesitation was palpable, her eyes wavering. "How's everything going?"

Without knowing why, my gaze shifted to Jacob, who sat across from Dad and me on the couch. I felt a strange mix of certainty and uncertainty, as if my body and heart were seeking answers from him, perhaps just some validation.

As if he had read my thoughts, Jacob subtly nodded and blinked, and at that moment, the invisible restraints that had held me back from communicating seemed to dissipate into thin air.

It was astonishing how much I had come to rely on him, almost unconsciously. It had happened slowly, creeping up on me until it became a full-blown dependency, without me even realising it. Now that I finally acknowledged it, it seemed too late to do anything about it, and truthfully, I didn't even want to take any action.