“Adelaide Belle, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together according to God’s law in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”
Adelaide couldn’t contain the smile on her features as she looked at Leo, her eyes fixed upon his as the Archbishop spoke those famous words. Perhaps they were surrounded by hundreds of people, watching her every move… but honestly in this moment, it only felt like it was her and Leo, her husband to be. There was the softest twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her – it was that very look that made her fall in love with him. Okay… perhaps it was more than just a look, but… well… she could see everything in his eyes. Leonardo didn’t always wear his heart on his sleeve, but he did for her and she could see the depths of his emotions reflected in his eyes - and she adored him for it. The way he loved her so… bloody much and she loved him just as… if not more. She loved him. Adelaide Parker… correction… Adelaide Azure (well… in practically another 5 seconds) adored this man with her entire body, heart, and soul.
“I will”
This felt effortless. It was almost funny… the fact that when growing up, she always found the words in a wedding strange as she attended so many of them for family and friends. How could someone love another so much, that they would forsake all others. She never saw that kind of love in her parents. Hell, she hadn’t even known that type of love existed until she met Leo but now she understood. She would do anything for the man standing in front of her. While the rest of the Archbisihop’s words were a blur, what Addie did hear was the end – far after Leo had already said I will was the sentiment of kissing her new husband, and Addie did not hesitate as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his as applause fell around them.
After a moment of melting into her husband’s lips, Addie pulled away, looking at Leo with so much love that her heart truly could burst at any moment. No honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if her heart simply popped out of her chest and did a little bloody shimmy because she was so damn happy. Bringing her thumb to caress his cheek, Addie let her head rest against his. “I do believe that I’m utterly in love with you, Mr. Azure.”
She heard a laugh leave his lips as he kissed her again before pulling away moments later “Well, Mrs. Adelaide Azure. I love you more.”
Adelaide woke up from her dream with the biggest smile on her face. While her eyes were still closed, she could feel her engagement ring on her finger and it only confirmed the fact that her dream would soon come true. With the smile she couldn’t wipe off her lips, Addie turned to cuddle against her fiancé. Well… she would have cuddled her fiancé if HE WAS THERE. Opening her eyes, Addie found herself alone in bed with Leo’s side of the bed being noticeably cold.
What the bloody hell?
Rubbing her eyes, Addie got off the bed and changed her clothes… which was needed seeing as she wasn’t wearing any after… well… celebrating with Leo last night. What? LAST NIGHT WAS WORTH CELEBRATING OKAY. It’s okay, the rooms in Leo’s home were pretty sound proof - trust Addie, she had yet to hear her brother and Natalia do anything which was a bloody gift from god because she never wanted to hear that.
“Leo?” Addie shouted followed by a soft yawn… indicating to Addie that she honestly should still be asleep and would be if Leo was in bed. Walking towards the bathroom, part of her was looking for Leo, the other part knew she could at least wash her face and brush her teeth before actually looking for her idiotic love who LEFT HER THE FIRST MORNING AFTER THEY GOT ENGAGED. Who bloody does that? Ohhhh was he going to owe her later for that one. After a few minutes, Addie made her way towards the kitchen - her smile returning as she heard someone using the blender “Darling, how bloody dare you. Who leaves their fiancé the MORNING after they get engaged? We’re supposed to be having our first morning sex as engaged peop…” Though Addie stopped talking as she found Natalia at the blender instead of Leo.
"I would say too much info, Addie… but honestly I agree. Leo should be fcking… mind my language… your brains out right now, " There was a mischievous smile on her lips as Natalia poured what looked like a protein shake into two glasses.
Feeling her cheeks redden, Addie coughed slightly to… maybe bring attention away from the fact that talking sex with Leo while sober was not her bloody cup of tea… especially not with her brother’s girlfriend who was 2 years younger than her. “I’m so sorry Natalia… I thought you were…”
“Leo? I got that. Not sure if it helps but I haven’t seen him and I’ve been down here for like… ten minutes? Let me know if you need help looking for him, but for now, I think I should go bring your brother this… trust me, he needs it after last night” With a wink, Natalia grabbed the protein shakes she had been pouring and walking back towards her guest bedroom leaving Addie quite literally gobsmacked because… WELL DIDN’T YOU HEAR HER MORNING MIND RANT ABOUT NOT WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT HER BROTHER’S SEX LIFE? GOD FCKING DAMN.
Leo.
You so bloody owe her now. MORE THAN YOU DID BEFORE.
Where could he be? Honestly, more than anything else, Adelaide just missed him. Look, she knew she just saw him less than 24 hours ago but that didn’t mean she wanted to be away from him. Rather, what she wanted was to be in his embrace and that’s what she would be bloody DOING if she could find him.
At this point, she had practically walked around the entire house… and even outside to look if she could see him coming back from a run or something but nothing. With a sigh, Addie grabbed the landline in the living room and was about to call Leo before hearing a soft bark from Holly’s bed. Putting the phone down, Addie walked towards where Leo and her had set up Holly’s stuff only to find her… playing?
Though, as she walked closer, Addie could see that Holly wasn’t playing with a toy. Rather, there seemed to be shredded paper all around her. Running towards her dog with worry, she dropped to her knees to pick Holly up and grab the paper out of her mouth… and boy did Holly put up a fight. Honestly, Addie just didn’t want Holly to choke, and after finally wrangling the paper out, she made sure there was nothing else in Holly’s mouth before bringing her to the kitchen and filling up her bowl to keep her distracted while Addie could clean up.
How Holly got a hold of something like this? Addie had absolutely no idea. What even was this? Bringing the bigger…er… ripped piece of paper and the smaller pieces to the kitchen counter, Addie got a napkin and started dabbing everything first to get excess drool off of it. Which granted, was kind of disgusting.
But after a while of it finally drying off a little, she carefully opened what was left of… what looked like a letter? Well, she assumed it was a letter… but honestly it was pretty bloody unreadable with all the smudges, and half of it having teeth marks, or rips.
With a sigh, Addie attempted to use her detective skills, matching smaller pieces of the letter with the bigger one - and the best she could get was a few words here and there.
“Hey” that’s what the letter started with at the beginning, and then a few words down she could read "Got… surprise…er… celebration". Hopefully - the “surprise” word was looking a little wonky, and she was having to do a lot of assuming so far.
Okay, the next words she could read clearly was “boys’ trip” and then a little after that was day or two. Alright alright, we’re getting somewhere. Maybe? This was perhaps a 1/10th of the letter that she could read… and a lot of the words were hopefuls. The final thing she could read on the note was take care.
Okay that was it… so the note… with a few missing pieces said “Hey. Got surprise… celebration… boys’ trip… day or two… take care.”
Hold up.
HOLD UP.
DID LEO WRITE HER A BLOODY LETTER TELLING HER THAT HE WAS GOING ON A BOYS TRIP FOR TWO FCKING DAYS THE DAY AFTER THEY GOT ENGAGED? EXCUSE ME? What the actual bloody hell.
Addie had spent about an hour on that table, attempting to see if there was any other variation of those words, but no. The only think she could get was the fact that her fiancé had gone out on a boys trip and didn’t have the bloody audacity to wake her up and let her know? It wasn’t even the fact that he went. Addie didn’t care that he went, she just… expected him to at least tell her in person if he was. That’s all she wanted…
Suffice to say, it was an upsetting morning… and afternoon to be honest. Addie had tried to get it out of her mind that Leo hadn’t just randomly left sometime early in the morning and keep herself distracted… but the lack of calls, or anything… send a bloody pigeon for god’s sake Leo… it only reaffirmed the fact that he did leave WITH A BLOODY NOTE.
AND DID YOU KNOW HE LEFT HIS BLOODY PHONE AT HOME? Addie had attempted to call the man to get an answer… any answer but no. He left it in their room meaning his take care message was all she got. Take care? Is that what you say to your fiancé? Really? You know what she was regretting? Saying yes to this bloody ring. Okay fine she wasn’t regretting it but she was more annoyed with Leo than she had ever been before.
Every bloody landline call she got, Addie would hope it was him. You know… for at least some sort of explanation to his disappearance but no. Most of them were strange accidental calls who hung up after she answered, and then there were a few telemarketers. Aka - nothing of value. So yes, Adelaide spent the entire day at home while her brother and Natalia had fun roaming the town.
At the very least, she had Miranda to keep her company. And honestly… she knew she should have gone out with Miranda and painted the town red but… she was sad and partially waiting for the idiot she was in love with to call. So instead, Addie had spent the day lounging around with Miranda on the pool chairs while reading a book… or making a mess baking in the kitchen… or simply pacing around the huge house waiting.
“Let’s go out Miranda.”
“Go out? It’s 9 Addie.”
“Exactly, it’s the perfect time to go out. Come on, we’ve been home all day, bored out of our minds and yes, I know that’s my fault but, let’s go.”
“And where would we go this late?”
“I don’t know… a party? I’m sure someone’s having a party… or we could go to a bar… or… you know what, let’s go to a club. If Leo can go on a boys trip and be too bloody busy to call me back, we can go have fun too.”
"I don’t know Addie… "
“Oh come on. Pretty please? I’ll call Justin and tell him to meet us there with Natalia. I promise we’ll be fine. We’ll watch out for each other.”
It took a little convincing… a lot of pleading… and a sprinkle of begging like there was no bloody tomorrow but Addie finally got Miranda to agree. What took longer was picking out something to wear… mostly because Miranda kept saying no to everything in Addie’s closet but finally she chose a black romper because… in her words “It covered the most”… at least it still made her boobs look amazing so you know what, a win is a win.
And after leaving a little… rude note to Leo which practically mimicked his in the small chance he came back while she was gone, Addie left - with Justin driving since he had returned with Natalia a little while after they had made the plan. And after that - the four of them were off to the night of their bloody lives. Take that Leo.
~2 hours later~
There were probably only a handful of times that Adelaide Parker was drunk. And I mean completely, mind numbingly drunk - and honestly, today, it was a good feeling. It was a feeling that helped her forget the reason she was here in the first place. It was a feeling that allowed her to dance her heart out with Natalia, Justin, and Miranda until of course, her feet got tired and she needed to sit down - hence dragging Miranda to the bar. It was a feeling she honestly didn’t want to end… especially after she got a bloody rude call from Leo like 20 minutes ago asking her where she was?
Where was she?
Excuse you? WHERE WERE YOU?
Which is pretty much what she said before adding a few curses and then a re…reaaad my note you baboon before hanging up on him. Okay maybe it wasn’t the best come back to call her fiancé a baboon but she was bloody drunk, and that was the best she could come up with on the spot. If he had the bloody audacity to party for an entire day and not call her, she didn’t need to talk to him - hence turning her phone off after the call. I mean, at least she knew he was alive and okay… but that also pssed her off more.
“I’m so bloody annoyed Mirandaaaaa.”
Sure, Addie was drunk and she had been taking down shots since the two of them had gotten there. But Miranda, she was probably closer to sober than the other three. Justin had a few drinks, Natalia was probably as drunk, if not more than Addie, and Miranda … well she was probably just a hint of tipsy. Or… maybe she was more tipsy than not tipsy… who knew? Addie was a little too drunk to figure it out.
"Leo? "
“Yes Leo that bloody arse. Did I tell you he finally called? AFTER LIKE 15 hours he decides now is the time to finally call me back. God.”
"You did tell me that… maybe you should turn your phone back on? "
“No…no…no I can’t do that because if I do that, then I’ll hear his voice, and if I hear his voice, I’ll listen to him because I love him so bloody much and god his voice… have you heard his voice? He can literally bring me to my knees with one word… well that and… god I just love him.”
Addie found a frown meet her lips as she put her head in her arms - a groan escaping her mouth as she thought about Leo. “I’ve never met someone like him you know? I mean, you know… like… god why is this soooo hard to explain. I mean, I’ve dated in high school and It never felt the way it feels now. The way he makes me feel is different… like… he’s confident, he’s sweet, he’s so bloody smart it’s annoying, and I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“He’s also really handsome.”
“God he is - I get lost in his eyes every time I look into them and and his lips… oh god his lips…”
“It’s almost like… he’s a greek god or something. Like Zeus… he’s what I’d imagine Zeus would look like. I think that’s what I thought when I first saw him… well technically I thought he was god because you know… drowning. I honestly think he’s probably the most handsome man I’ve ever seen… he looks like he was chiseled from stone… almost like a work of art…and…”
Addie looked at her friend who seemed lost in her own world, though when Miranda realized Addie was looking in her direction, she turned a bright red. Perhaps if Addie was less drunk, she would have realized in that moment that her friend might have had a little crush on Leo. However, the only thing in her mind as she looked at Miranda was the thought that she missed Leo… fck. No. We’re not doing this. We’re not missing men who disappear for an entire day. Nope.
Turning towards the bartender, Addie smiled before putting her hand up “TWO MROE SHOTS EACH LOVE,” Addie screamed, smiling as the man brought them over, sending her a wink and saying it was on the house… though he had been saying that all night. Without a second thought, Adelaide held her nose and quickly took one shot after the other, shaking the jitters out as she got used to the burn that coursed through her body. She saw Miranda take both two… possibly due to the words that left her mouth, but Addie paid no attention as she jumped up from the stool asking Miranda to go dance with her again.
Though this time, Miranda told Addie she’d sit for a little while longer and with those words, Addie nodded before making her way back towards the dance floor. She did love this - dancing. Maybe it was all the ballet and ballroom classes she took as a child, but there was something about simply closing her eyes and letting the music take over. Addie simply allowed her body do what it wanted, her hands touching her arms, waist, and all over her body as she moved to the beat.
It was all great… perfect… amazing… until, of course, she felt an unwanted presence behind her. For a while, she tried to ignore it, dancing as if it didn’t matter. What did bloody pss her off was when whoever was behind her attempted to put his hands on her waist to pull her closer against his… well… you know.
Turning around, Addie immediately pushed the man away. Her frown deepening when she realized it was the same man who had hit on her earlier TWICE and she had shut him down every time. Did he really think third time was the charm? Like what? Addie would be drunk and suddenly she wouldn’t be engaged?
“What the actual fck do you think you’re doing? Don’t fcking touch me, prick.” Addie yelled over the music. Look… she had tried being nice to let him down. Tried politely telling him no and that clearly didn’t work. Instead, she found him only laughing as he forcefully pulled her body against him for the second time - bringing his lips to her ears before whispering “Stop pretending you don’t want it. Your fiancé never has to know… and let’s be honest, you’ll be begging for it later anyways.”
Addie quite literally wanted to throw up… and honestly, perhaps it wouldn’t have been the worst idea to do it on him. She was almost considering it as she pushed him away again - but this time she found his body went further than she expected. Go Addie - maybe those afternoon workouts with Leo were doing something after all. Strong gorl over here.
Or maybe not.
Addie found an angry Leo had stepped between her and the arsehole. In the time her mind took to comprehend the situation, she found Leo was already talking to the man in a conversation that went a little like.
“Who the fck do you think you are.”
“Her fiancé.”
Okay maybe it was a little longer, but that’s as fast as her mind could comprehend at the current moment. Addie could see the color dropping from the man’s face who instantly apologized to Leo. Did you hear her? TO LEO. “ARE YOU BLOODY FCKING KIDDING ME? YOU PIECE OF SHT LET ME AT HIM.” Addie screamed, attempting to punch the idiot in the face - though she was held back by Leo. “You’ll listen to him? Why? Because he has a fcking pen!s? Because he’s a fcking man? I’ve told you to stop like 4 times and you bloody ignored me each and every time and you have the bloody audacity to apologize to him? TO HIM? I’m going to bloody murder you.”
Was Addie causing a little scene? Sure. Were their females in the cloud cheering her on? Also yes. But Leo would NOT BLOODY LET HER GO.
Frowning, Addie stopped trying to scratch the idiot’s eyes out and stilled for a second.
She heard that the man was saying something like thank god I didn’t get with her, she’s crazy and as she turned, she found one of the woman who was cheering her on handing her a drink and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why she was handing it to her.
"Fck you… Addie yelled, throwing what looked like a Long Island Ice tea on him - and yes, she had drenched the arse from head to toe. Handing the girl the drink back, she saw another girl handing her another drink and with a smile, she obliged, ready to do it again. "…and fck the bloody patriarchy.
Here’s the issue though…
You see, Addie was drunk. And her mind… well it was working a tad bit slow. So by the time she had thrown the first drink on the man - Leo once again got in between her, probably telling the piece of sht to leave… which he had after getting dragged out by security.
And…
Well by the time she had thrown the other drink… Leo was facing her… meaning that… this time, Leo was the one who got drenched by the drink she had just thrown… and suffice to say… it wasn’t a small drink.
Sht.
Ironically, her words of fck the patriarchy and throwing the drink on another man had caused a bloody riot of cheers from almost all the females in the club. Though, the issue was that man was her fiancé and he did not look too happy with her.
Covering her mouth out of shock, Addie looked into the man’s eyes as others in the club resumed dancing - and it was clear he didn’t look happy. Was it bad that behind her covered lips she was also smiling a bit because this whole situation was a little hilarious? Okay… maybe she wasn’t even hiding it that well, because the glee in her eyes were clear as a few chuckles escaped. Her chuckles soon turned into full on laugher as Addie let her hand go to his cheek, trying to wipe the liquid away.
“We’re going home Addie,”
Part of her wanted to argue… but a bigger part of her knew it was useless seeing her drenched love looking at her with his I’m not playing right now eyes. With a sigh, Addie let him walk her towards the exit… only pulling back when she realized Miranda was still at the bar.
–
It took a few minutes, but after a bit - the two of them had found her and they were all settled into Leo’s car as the man silently drove home. It was a bit of a drive, and Miranda had fallen asleep in the back… which was probably a mixture of the alcohol and it being wayyy past the time they usually went to sleep. It was only when Addie had sobered up a bit that she heard Leo talking.
“What was up with that note you left?”
"Oh you want to start this conversation with my note? Really? After the sht you pulled Leo?
“Addie…”
"No, you wanted to get into this so let’s get into it. You left me the same exact note this morning, so I decided to do the same to you. What? It’s only wrong when I do it? But you’re exempt from it?
“I didn’t…”
“Didn’t what? Call? Tell me you were leaving? Hell, tell me you were okay? Yeah, I noticed Leo. It was painfully clear when I was home alone waiting for anything from you”
At this point, Addie was painfully reaching sobriety again… and god did she not want to be there.
“Adelaide, will you let me talk? Please?”
Addie was silent for a second, and thankfully, she found the two puling into Leo’s home.
“Can you help her into her bed?” Addie questioned, motioning towards Miranda who was still passed out in the back seat, before proceeding to unbuckle herself and walk towards the door. Addie went straight for the liquor cabinet. If she was going to have a talk with Leo about this, she honestly rather be drunk so… here we go.
Did she know how long it had been since Leo left to drop Miranda off? No. Did she care? NOPE because she was back on her high - thank god for vodka and limes. Yes, Addie was currently sitting on the floor in front of the fridge cutting limes in forths so she could have one with her shots… okay chugs of vodka.
“I’m cutting you off,”
“BOO LEOOO” Addie yelled as Leo came up behind her, grabbing the drink and putting it out of reach. How bloody rude.
“We need to talk, and that means you need to sober up.” Addie watched as Leo grabbed the bag of limes in front of her and put them away and grabbed the knife out of her hands. What Leo? YOU SCARED? Hmph.
It didn’t look like he was making an effort to talk - perhaps waiting for her to say something as he took a seat next to her on the floor, handing her a large glass of water that she just left to the side as she said the words that had been on her mind all day. “You left Leo”
“Not on purpose, Addie.”
“What does that mean, *not on purpose how do you accidentally leave?”
“My best friend, Harry, decided to kidnap me in the morning when you fell asleep. I didn’t want to go.”
“… and you didn’t have a second to call? Or leave a message longer than the bs you wrote me?”
“He kept hanging up the phone every time I tried… and honestly I don’t know what he wrote in that letter but I’m sorry.”
“Well tell your friend I hate him… and that Holly ate his letter and from what I could understand, you were telling me you were going to go have a boys’ trip for a few days and I should take care”
“I’d never say that to you Addie. Look at me, I’d never do that. And I would never leave you like that, I promise. Do you trust me?”
A pout met Addie’s lips as he asked the question she did so often. Do you trust me? She did… and maybe she was a little confused with the revelation, but she did trust him. Watching him lean in towards her, he placed a kiss on her lips that left her aching for more. She didn’t know how long it lasted, but she found him pulling away and placing another kiss on her forehead before he stood up.
“I’ll be right back. Drink your water.”
WAIT A MINUTE DID THIS MAN NOT JUST SAY HE WASN’T GOING TO LEAVE HER? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?
Getting up a few seconds after him, Addie followed the man towards what seemed like the Laundry room. “Wait… you can’t just bloody leave in the middle of a conversation Leo. We were talking.”
“Technically we were kissing,”
Addie didn’t have to see Leo’s face to know that idiot was smirking.
“You bloody ars…” Did she get to finish her words? No. Because the moment she started saying them, she found Leo taking his shirt off and she… lost her train of thought. Don’t blame her… have you seen him? It wasn’t fair.
“WE are not having sex right now Leo, I’m still mad at you.”
Addie heard him laugh, and she watched has he put his shirt in the washer before turning towards her and leaning against the machine.
“When did I say we were having sex? I’m just trying to change my clothes after my fiancé ruined them by throwing her drink at me.,”
“I… well you deserved it…” Addie added - but her eyes were still not on his face.
“Well now, Addie, I’m sticky… and wet” Leo whispered, pulling her towards him and pushing her against the machine so she was now pinned against him. She found him bringing his lips towards her neck, and his hands slowly going down her body making her shiver. AND THEN HE PULLED AWAY BEFORE ADDING …“and not in a good way so I will have to at least change and take a shower before we continue this conversation.,”
Addie knew exactly what he was doing, and she watched as his hands went to his belt, unbuckling it in front of her. Bloody arse. Honestly she didn’t know what pushed her to do what she did next, but she found herself throwing the glass of water he had handed her all over him. Was he shocked? Yes. Was she shocked at her actions too? Honestly, yes. Did she burst out into laughter after she did that? Also yes.
And instantly, when she saw a look in his eye screaming that he wasn’t going to let her get away with it, she started running, and she heard Leo close behind her. Addie had ran all the way to the kitchen - laughter leaving her lips until she felt the cold RAIN of water that hit her. Apparently, Leo had grabbed the sprayer from the sink and… well clearly you know the aftermath.
THAT BLOODY ARSE.
Addie was soaked… and technically so was he. And she found him smiling as he wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t start a war you can’t win”," “I can win… Just let me go.”
She found Leo pulling her against him tighter, to the point where she was pinned against his body and with a sigh, she gave up, wrapping her arms around him. She found him pulling her legs up so she had them wrapped around his waist within seconds. “Never, Addie. I’m never letting you go. I love you.” And with those words, she knew she was done for. She couldn’t hold back anymore and… fine… maybe she was wrong about the sentiment she made earlier in the Laundry room. Damn you Leo.
Original Note
"Hey thereeee! It’s your fiancé’s best buddy (you knowwwwww… well, you better know. HE BETTER HAVE TALKED ABOUT ME). So, guess what? I’ve got a super-duper surprise plan for Leo’s belated birthday celebration since I couldn’t make it before. We’reeeeeeee going on this epic boys’ getaway trip, just for a day… or two… not sure yet.
Don’t you worry, my dear, I promise to take good care of him, or well, I’ll at least try realllyyyy hard. wink So go on, enjoy some well-deserved relaxation while we’re away, and oh, I can’t wait to finally meet you!" Take Care :).