Chapter 60 Moans

Ana smiled mischievously as an idea popped into her mind. It wasn't a clever one but the wine in her hand was to blame. What if she didn't go after all? It would the perfect revenge for her sister not making her maid of honor and choosing that well known social climber Lilly. Ana had made her peace with it but not because she agreed with Peggy's decision and she had made that very clear to her sister. Just because she had taken the high road and gone for a bridesmaid dress instead, didn't mean that she didn't feel offended by it. Ana's smile suddenly dropped. Not attending the dinner wouldn't make her sister angry. If anything, she would be delighted. It was no secret that Ana tended to drink too much at weddings and cause a scene. Even now it was a big shuck to all who knew her that she wasn't making a drunken fool of herself. No one had said it to her face but she could still feel those eyes on her all the time. They delivered more of a blow than any scathing remark could. Ana pushed aside her wine glass. She had to get her act together if only for the night. Just because she was mad at Peggy didn't give her an excuse to ruin the wedding. She would push her jealousy aside and be the big sister that Peggy needed despite what everyone thought of her. Besides, she wouldn't have wanted her husband if he were the last man on earth. It was hard for Anna to keep alcohol at an arm's length when her ex boyfriend lurked around with some beautiful petite woman. His hand was on her waist and they kept dancing and laughing as if it were just the two of them in the world. If the thought of dinner had made her uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the feeling now budding in her chest. They'd been together with Chad for so long that it had come as a blow when they had broken up. Apparently, she was just too much for him. Something he had only seemed to realize in the last year of their relationship. She hadn't seen it coming and that was the worst part because Anna always saw everything coming. She had been devastated by the heartbreak unlike Chad who had immediately gone into a dating spree. Watching the couple then, Ana just had a feeling that her sister hated her. She of all people knew how much the breakup had hurt Ana and still, she invited him to her wedding. She had never been the best at these things but even she knew that sisters had to stick together. Instead, Peggy had made sure that this wedding was going to be a nightmare for Anna. Ana hunched back in her seat staring at the wine she'd just decided to give up. Across from her, the couple was doing a dip and a bubble of laughter fell out of the young woman's lips. Deep inside Anna knew that the invitation would come even before it did. Her mother had always been fond of Chad and so were the rest of her family. He had become one of them when they were dating and nothing about her family's feelings had changed even after the breakup. Anna was used to being treated like she wasn't one of them so the luck of support on their side came as no surprise to her. Still, it wouldn't have hurt Chad to turn down their invitation. From then on, Ana sat away from everyone else while staring longingly at the glass of wine she'd put aside. The temptation was strong as she heard the laughter around her grow increasingly annoying but she persevered. That was until it was time for the dinner and she had to go sulk with all those people around her. Ana couldn't help it. She just had never been a big fan of weddings. To her, they were an excuse to stupidly forget one's normal life and live in fantasy for a day. Ana would have rather remained grounded that have to act like nothing was wrong with the world. All around her, no one seemed to notice that Ana wasn't in the mood to celebrate a wedding. She was never in the mood to celebrate anything after all. They could all remember at least one family event where Ana would sit by herself when everyone was in the mood to celebrate. So instead of anyone trying to cheer her up, they went on like there was nothing to it. They made speeches that didn't even acknowledge her as the bride's sister while going on to talk about how Lilly was like a sister to her. Peggy had made sure that Ana wasn't going to give a speech and although it was another thing that she found highly offensive, she couldn't fault her sister for that one. You could never put it past Anna to go crazy whenever she was drunk. But it wouldn't have been too bad if Peggy had had a little faith in her. Like right now for instance, she had made a choice to stay sober and was sticking to her plan. Ana's mood was turned even darker when her ex stood up ready to give his speech. Why would Peggy let him give one when she wouldn't let her own sister take even a small part in her wedding preparations? She sent a dark look Peggy's way and the pretty bride shrunk in horror. She looked away as if afraid to meet her gaze.