THE SPITEFUL BRIDE: Marry To Rival's Son novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87

The walk to the get-together was short. Just a few steps from their side of the resort. The sky had melted into a deep navy blue, stars freckling the horizon, and the subtle scent of coconut oil and firewood hung in the air.

She could already see the glow from the small bonfire. Six people sat around it, their laughter rising softly with the night wind. Three women. Three men. But no sign of Matteo or Aidan. Their heads turned as she and Stefan approached.

Before either of them could say a word, one of the ladies stood. Her face was warm, her smile even warmer.

“Hi!” she greeted, her tone light and friendly. “You must be Mia and Stefan?” Her eyes flicked between them with

ease.

Mia nodded politely. Stefan said nothing, but the subtle lift of his chin was enough.

The woman stepped closer. “I’m Samantha. Everyone calls me Sammie. I’m Aidan’s older sister,” she added quickly. “He and Matteo forgot to pick something up…. again. They tend to forget a lot.” She chuckled softly. “ Please, do make yourself comfortable.”

She gestured towards the group, ushering them forward.

There wasn’t an obvious seat around the fire. Mia half-expected Stefan to insist they remain standing, maybe pull away because he doesn’t want to stain his clothes, but he didn’t. Instead, he walked right up to the small gap made for them, sat down, and without saying a word….. gently pulled her between his legs, settling her back against his chest. Just the way they sat at the beach.

It startled her. But even more so, it warmed her. Her mind drifted to what had happened at the beach but she pushed it away immediately. This wasn’t the time and place for that.

She looked around at the circle. All the couples were seated the same way….. comfortably, like they’d done this a million times. It made sense.

Stefan was on a mission and he wouldn’t let anything come between it, not even this sand.

One after the other, introductions began. They already knew Sammie, whose energy practically lit up the space around her. The man next to her, who looked much younger with a calm confidence, gave a casual wave.

“I’m Kenny,” he said. “Sammie’s husband.”

“Five years strong. I think this one’s sticking.” Sammie added with a wink, nudging his side.

Everyone laughed.

The next couple spoke up. “I’m James,” the man said, a bit more reserved. “And this is my wife, James who just spoke, has a striking resemblance to Kenny Maybe they’re siblings Mia thought.

Beth leaned forward with a kind smile. “Seven years married. Still surviving.”

“Barely,” James teased. She slapped his shoulder with a grin.

Lastly, “I’m Josh, and this troublemaker here is Mira.”

Beth.”

“Troublemaker?” Mira scoffed. “You kept me waiting for a proposal for years. I had to leave him for him to grow

up.”

Josh raised both hands in surrender. “She ghosted me for three months. I nearly lost my mind.”

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“She got her sing, though,” Sammie chimed in, malding eveyone laugh again.

As everyone finished introducing themselves, Sammie tured back to Mia and Stefan with a bright smile, “What about you two?” she asked, eyes twinkding “We’ve heard yur names, but you haven’t told us much about yourselves.”

11 Mia smiled, a little shy, not because she was under all the tention, she was used to it. But because, she was in the mist of people who’d been married for years. She felt le a baby couple in their mist. “I’m Mia,” she said will a soft chuckde. “And this is my husband, Stefan.” She tilteder head slightly toward him.

Stefan gave a small nod, his arm still gently wrapped arou Mia’s waist from behind. “Nice to meet you all,” he said simply, his tone calm and composed….. but there was a light softness in it, the kind that didn’t go unnoticed.

Sammie’s grin widened. “Aww newlyweds?”

Mia blushed and nodded again. “Yeah, two days ago,” she said.

That sparked a wave of soft, excited reactions.

“Two days?” Beth gasped with a wide smile. “Congratulations!”

“Wow, still glowing,” Mira added playfully, lifting her drink slightly in salute.

Josh chuckled, leaning a bit toward Stefan. “You two have that energy, you know? That quiet, magnetic kind. Like you’re telling the whole world you’re in love, but without saying a word.”

Mia’s cheeks flushed deeper. She didn’t know what to say, she simply smiled and let her gaze drop to where Stefan’s hand rested gently over hers.

“Thank you,” Stefan said, his thumb brushing her knuckles absentmindedly. The motion felt unconscious, like it was second nature.

Kenny leaned forward. “You guys are good together. Comfortable. Not trying to prove a point. That’s rare, especially for newlyweds.”

“We’re still learning,” Mia said honestly, trying to case her nerves.

“You’ll always be learning,” Sammie added warmly. “Kenty and I, five years in…. this is my third marriage, and I still learn something new about him every week.”

Kenny gave a bashful smile but didn’t disagree. “You just need to want to keep learning. That’s the trick.”

Then one by one, they began opening up. Not all at once, but in the easy, relaxed rhythm of people who knew their stories had value…. not just because they were beautiful, but because they were real.

They found out Kenny and James were fraternal twins.

Then, Beth talked about a time she and James nearly split up after a huge misunderstanding two years into their marriage. “We stopped talking. For days. I thought that was it,” she said. “But then James showed up at my job in the pouring rain with a whiteboard that said, ‘I’ll stand in the rain for you until you forgive me.””

Everyone laughed at that, including Stefan, who smiled with the corner of his mouth.

Mira leaned into Josh. “I left him, you know?” she said, looking toward Mia. “We dated for seven years. Seven. But he was scared of commitment. Said he wasn’t ready.”

Josh let out a breath. “She walked away. Didn’t call, didn’t ext. I thought I could move on. But my world went quiet. And that’s how I knew.”

“So, I flew to her hometown and proposed on the sidewalk in front of a fruit stand,” he added. “She cried. Then

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*THIS WAS WAVE WITHOLDING ON TO

smacked me.” a

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