Manley was dressed to the nines in his best man's attire—a crisp white shirt under a sleek black vest, his eyes shimmering like stars as he gazed intently at her without blinking.
The girl stood with her back to the light, donned in a flowy bridesmaid dress that accentuated her slim waist and her skin as pale as snow. Her makeup was on point, her eyes sparkled with life, and her lips were a blossoming red. She was flawlessly beautiful.
He had never seen her like this and couldn't help but stride towards her.
Estelle blinked in surprise, "Manley, what are you doing here?"
Without a word, Manley wrapped his arms around her, his voice slightly hoarse with emotion, "Surprise or not, happy or not?"
Estelle's lips curled into a smile, "When did you get back?"
Manley grinned mischievously, "Magdalen is getting hitched; of course, I had to come back. She wanted to surprise you, so she told me to stay out of sight until now!"
Realization dawned on Estelle; Magdalen had mentioned a surprise last night. It was Manley!
She tried to wriggle free, frowning, "Stand still!"
"Just let me hold you for a bit longer!" Manley whined, resting his head on her shoulder. "I missed you so much, I've lost weight. Don't you care at all?"
"Caring for a playboy who's withering away from his nightly escapades?" Estelle scoffed, pushing him away, "Keep this up, and I'll ship you back to Australia right now!"
The black earring in Manley's ear twinkled as he squinted his charming eyes and said, "I'm not leaving this time!"
"Your dad's okay with that?"
"As long as I find a decent girlfriend, he'll let me stay," Manley chuckled, "Easy! I'll just take you to meet him right now!"
"Manley!" Estelle gave him a stern look, "Stop joking around. Jonathan and I are already married. You should find yourself a girlfriend instead of wasting your energy on me."
"I'm happy, so back off!" Manley's eyes danced with delight, "Just thinking about you makes me happy, and that's my business, not yours!"
Estelle was at a loss with him.
Estelle sneered, "Don't try to stir trouble. Even if Jonathan can't make it back for our wedding, I'll go on with it alone!"
Manley was speechless.
He looked at her with a mix of frustration and disbelief, "You're not out of your mind; you're completely brainless!"
"Now you know how much I love him?" Estelle raised an eyebrow.
Seeing her unashamed, even somewhat proudly defiant expression, Manley felt like he was about to explode with vexation.
"You love him that much, huh? Makes me want to steal you away even more, just to see you love me like that," Manley said eagerly, his gaze intense.
Estelle frowned, "Have you been sunbaked into stupidity in Australia?"
Manley bit his lip, about to play the sympathy card again when Estelle slapped his hand away, "Aren't you supposed to be the best man? Go do your job!"

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Things are looking up for Xavier and Norah. Thank you for the updates....
Woohoo! This was sooooo good. Thank you for the updates....
This was classic updates. Thank you so much...
May we please have updates. Thank you...
I sincerely hope that Gonzalez finds the taped meeting of Hannah and Trevor to throw them under the bus....
How will Gonzalez get back at Hannah, Yvonne and Trevor for the setup and fall from grace....
Adrian needs to safe face and not do this. It will embarrass he and Norah and his family. Thank you for the updates....
This a HOT MESS for them both....
WOW! I didn't see that coming at all for Norah nor Gonzalez, the plot thickens. Thank you for the updates....
Xavier wants to get caught kissing Norah at this point. When will he ask her to call him Xavier and not Gonzalez. Maybe that would bring back her memories. Thank you for the updates....