Chapter 3
By the time I got there, the hotel entrance was swarming with people.
I fought my way through the crowd and finally made it to the front, where I saw Andrew with his arm around Rachel, greeting his excited fans.
Andrew said, "That's right, Rachel and I are getting married at this hotel.
"You can all come watch in a week. We'll be handing out wedding candy."
Rachel leaned into Andrew, looking up at him with stars in her eyes.
Andrew caught her heated gaze, held her face in his hands, and kissed her hard, sending the crowd into a frenzy of screams.
When they finally broke apart, a glistening strand still connected their lips, like they just couldn't get enough of each other.
Rachel beamed, her smile full of happiness and contentment. She said, "Andrew, this moment feels unreal, like a dream. Thank you for never letting go of me."
"I made you wait six years. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you," Andrew said.
His eyes grew misty with emotion, and he couldn't help but kiss her again.
"Really, I should be thanking you. Thank you for choosing to come back to me," he whispered.
Everyone was touched by their love story, but nobody realized I'd been holding on for him these six years, too.
I fought my way to the front and yelled out, "Andrew!"
He was quick to pick up on my voice and met my gaze right away.
His lips tightened, and he kept shooting me warning looks, silently telling me to get out of there.
Rachel spotted me, too.
Her smile got even wider, and she practically melted into Andrew's embrace.
I thought seeing them together would rip my heart out, but honestly, I didn't feel a thing.
I pulled out the hotel reservation, marched right up to Andrew and Rachel, and shoved it in their faces.
"Since you're tying the knot here, mind reimbursing me for the hotel bill?" I said.
I'd reserved the entire five-star hotel in Harbor City; seriously, the price was outrageous.
Andrew was so shocked that he totally forgot about the crowd of fans around him.
"Wait, you want me to pay you?" Andrew sputtered, disbelief written all over his face.
I nodded.
His face went dark, and he looked like he was about to say something, but when his eyes landed on the fans, he just plastered on a fake smile.
"Just talk to my agent. He'll transfer the money to you," he said.
Then I whipped out a fat stack of receipts for all the wedding supplies I'd paid for.
Andrew's expression was stormy enough to make it rain. He gritted his teeth and said, "Have my agent cover it."
"And what about the wedding dress? Want it? It's custom-made for me, so you'll have to get it altered," I said.
Before I could finish, Rachel's face fell.
She said coldly, "Ms. Linwood, I know you've been crushing on Andrew, but there's a limit. We're about to get married; can you stop clinging to us already?"
Andrew looked at me and let out a weary sigh. He said, "Claire, just go. Let's not talk anymore."
I stared coldly at the two of them as they tried to smear me, and couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
"Alright then. Hope you two stay happy forever," I said.
With that, I held up my phone and blocked Andrew right there, in front of all those flashing cameras.
Before I left, I turned and met Andrew's eyes. He quickly averted his gaze, too guilty to look at me even once.