The Heartbreak Factor - Part Four

"Now, I think you'll like this one," the wedding planner smiled as she handed a brochure to both me and George as we sat on the opposite side of the desk to her. "It's an original 16th century stately home that's been restored with added modern features, such as the sensory spa. It's got the traditional aspects with a modern day life twist."

Flicking through the brochure, I browsed through the photos. I knew I should have been concentrating on planning the wedding, after all George had cancelled a day at the studio to come see venues with me, but my mind was everywhere but where it should have been. I couldn't help but feel guilty about Chloe after the other day. I hadn't spoken to her since I stormed out of the flat. I knew I should have been supportive of her as she stuck by me through everything, but I couldn't let her get rid of Josh's baby without him even knowing of its existence. 

"What do you think, Sammy?" George asked me as I sat looking at the photos, lost in my own trail of thought.

"It looks lovely," I beamed. 

"We can arrange a viewing for you for this afternoon - if you want, that is," the wedding planner smiled attentively at us. "It's quite local so it shouldn't be too.."

"Let's do it," George said, interrupting the wedding planner before she had the chance to explain the ins and outs of everything regarding the whole wedding. 

"Is that okay with you too, Sammy?" the wedding planner asked me as I continued to look at the photos in the brochure, hardly paying attention.

"What? Oh, yeah," I smiled, returning back to reality from daydreaming. "That's fine."

As I put the brochure down on the desk, my phone began to ring. Pulling it out of my pocket, I noticed Chloe’s caller ID flashing up on the screen. Pressing the ‘ignore’ button, I looked up to see George looking over my shoulder with a suspicious look on his face. Smiling at him, I pushed my phone back into my jeans pocket and looked at the wedding planner. 

“So anything else we should know about the venue then?” I asked, trying to get the attention back to the wedding and not me ignoring Chloe.

*

Walking down the impressive driveway, leading up to the stately house hotel, that was covered in sandy gravel, I looked around at the luscious green lawns that seemed to go on for acres and acres in every direction. We were in the middle of nowhere, but it seemed like the perfect location for our big day. As we got closer to the house, I had to take a few moments to take it all in. It resembled Buckingham Palace, just a little bit smaller and surrounded by gorgeous gardens and water features. Two sets of steps ran up the side of the front of the house to meet in the middle, forming a balcony terrace that led into the main entrance through tall wooden doors. I looked at George as he looked up at the hotel, looking as amazed as I felt. 

"I think this is the one," George smiled to me after noticing me staring at him for a response.

"You haven't seen inside yet," the wedding laughed, leading us further up the driveway and up the steps to the entrance.

Pushing the doors open, the wedding planner led us into a much different setting to the one outside. The whole lobby seemed to be covered in marble stone - even the reception desk at the far end was made out of marble stone. The only thing that wasn't marble was the wooden doors, similar to the great front door, that stood either side of the front desk. 

"Your guests shall be greeted in here by the reception staff and will be checked in pronto to save any delays," the wedding planner began to explain. "After checking in, they shall then be led into the ceremony room."

Before I had the chance to fully take in the lobby, the wedding planner had already rushed through the doors on the left side of the desk and down a corridor that was carrying on the traditional theme of the outside of the hotel. At the end of the corridor was a grand square room. Two staircases ran either side of the room, leading up to the bedrooms of the hotel. In the middle of the room was a range of antique furniture that fitted in with the traditional stately home theme that the room had going on. 

“And in here, is where you two will get married,” the wedding planner beamed, opening the door in the far corner for us to walk through.

Holding hands, George and I walked in, looking scared at the idea of seeing the place where we would finally get married. As soon as I looked around the room, I knew it was where I wanted to get married. Huge windows lined the room which let natural daylight flood the room. 

“It looks a bit bare now,” the wedding planner began. “But just imagine rows and rows of chairs for your guests and flowers of your choice.”

“It’s perfect,” George grinned.

“Yeah,” I smiled.

As I stood looking out of the window at the amazing countryside view, another woman entered the room carrying a clipboard, looking very official. “Ah, Wendy,” the wedding planner smiled to the woman, greeting her with a handshake. “This is George and Sammy – they would love to get married here.”

“Hello,” the woman, evidently called Wendy, smiled at me and George. “What date were you thinking of?”

“As soon as possible,” George blurted out without any hesitation.

I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. 

“We usually have a two-year waiting list minimum for the stately weddings,” Wendy said. “However, we have had a cancellation for the..”

She paused as she flicked through the pile of papers in her hand. 

“18th of March.”

“This year?” George asked.

“This year.”

I looked at George as he turned to look at me. “That’s perfect,” he answered Wendy as he grinned to me. 

*

Laid in bed that night, I sighed to myself, thinking about what to do about the whole Chloe scenario as George checked on Katy. Hearing footsteps that sounded as if they were coming towards the bedroom, I shut my eyes closed tight and pretended to be asleep, just like I did when I was four years old and too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve. I laid in bed motionless and in complete silence as I listened out for any movement in the bedroom. After a few moments, the footsteps stopped and I heard the bedroom door shut, followed by another set of footsteps. I then felt the bed at George’s side go down, as if he was getting in. 

“I’m not stupid, Sammy,” he whispered to me. “I know you’re not telling me something, and I also know that you’re not asleep.”

I waited for a few moments before opening my eyes to see George sat on the bed looking at me. 

“How’s Katy?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“She’s asleep which means we can talk.”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to talk about,” I smiled, reaching my hand up and pulling George down to kiss him. 

“No, Sammy,” he said assertively, pulling away from my grasp. “You’re hiding something from me. I know you are. You cancelled Chloe’s call earlier.”

“Because we were in a meeting with the wedding planner. I called her back earlier and told her about the venue,” I smiled. 

“I’ve spoken to Josh,” George paused. “He said you guys haven’t spoken since Saturday.”

I rolled my eyes and turned over in bed to face away from George, pulling the duvet above my head. 

“What’s happened between you two?” he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

Thinking about everything in my mind, I broke down in tears. As soon as George heard the silent sobs, he pulled the duvet away from me. 

“I just feel so alone,” I sniffled after a few moments with tears rolling down my cheek.

“Hey,” he said, laying beside me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close to him. “You’re not alone. You’ve got me.”

I turned to face him. “It’s not the same,” I sobbed. “You’re amazing but it’s not the same. Elle’s on her honeymoon with JJ and I can’t be around Chloe until..” I stopped myself.

“Until what, Sammy?” George asked, looking confused. “What’s going on with you two?”

“I just can’t tell you,” I said, collapsing into his chest. “I wish I could but I can’t.”