Don't Leave Me, Mate (by AlisTae) novel Chapter 51

51

+25 BONUS

Tan kept looking at Ava. He could not take his eyes off her. In the blue dress, she looked like a princess.

When she entered the hall, everyone’s eyes were on her mother, who was the bride. But his eyes were fixed on her. Surprisingly, she was more beautiful than he thought. That gorgeous makeup gave her a stunning look to bloom her magnificence and show her beauty to others.

When she caught his gaze, he did not look away from her. As if he did not care what she or others would think, he stared at her.

Ava averted her gaze from him and started to talk with his friends.

Ian was observing her every move. The way she was talking and laughing with her friends caught his eye.

A hand appeared in his sight, waving, and he had to take his gaze away from Ava. He turned to the person.

It was Ronald. He winked at Ian and asked,

“Lost in someone’s beauty?”

His friends thought he would deny or roll his eyes in response. But to their surprise, he looked away from Ronald without any reply and shifted his attention to the stage.

Ronald glanced at Cyrus and Paul, who looked stunned by Ian’s silence.

Stephen, on the other hand, stood close to the stairs of the stage. When he saw the priest start to talk, he turned in Ava’s direction and went to talk to her.

“You look so pretty, my sister. Come here,” Stephen pulled Ava into a hug.

Ava chuckled and hugged him in return. “You look handsome as always.”

They laughed together. Stephen glanced at his friends, who greeted him from the opposite side.

The atmosphere was good and cheerful.

Their parents were looking at them with a smile on their faces from the stage.

“Do you, Harper Taylor, accept Angela Adler as your wife?” the priest asked Gamma Harper.

Everyone turned silent, as it was the main moment of the night. The bride and groom were taking vows. Stephen turned his head to his friends and waved at them, indicating that they should come to his side. They made their way toward him. Ava glanced at Ian, who stood next to Stephen.

“Stephen, come here. I have something to talk about,” Ronald said.

Stephen moved to Ronald’s side, causing Ian to move beside Ava. Now they were standing next to each other.

Angela and Debra glanced at Ian, who glanced at Ava.

“Are you okay?” Angela whispered to Ava because Ian was next to her.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Ava replied in a lower tone.

Gamma Harper’s voice emerged as he said to the priest,

“Yes, I do.”

51

+25 BONUS

Ava refocused on the stage with a smile. She could see her mother feeling nervous.

Her mother glanced at her. Ava motioned her hand to her, indicating to take a deep breath and relax.

Meanwhile,

Ian looked at Ava. The way she was trying to ease her mother’s nervousness, he liked it.

A small smile formed in the corner of his lips as they curled slightly.

“Do you, Angela Adler, accept Harper Taylor as your husband?”

Angela took a few deep breaths as her daughter signaled, and then she responded,

“Yes, I do.”

The priest handed them the rings to exchange.

While they were exchanging rings, he announced that they were now husband and wife.

Everyone in the hall started to clap their hands. They began to cheer for the newlywed couple.

Ava bit her bottom lips as tears of joy shuffled her eyes. She felt someone pat her shoulder.

When she turned around, she saw Luke.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” Ava replied, sobbing.

She was overwhelmed with the contentment of her emotions.

Luke tilted his head to look into her eyes.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, pulling her into a hug.

Since Ian was standing right next to Ava, he was watching everything. His jaw clenched when he saw Luke hugging Ava.

“Is she your sister’s boyfriend?” Cyrus asked Stephen about Luke.

“I don’t know. It’s her private matter. We are not that close yet to sharing each other’s private matters,” Stephen replied, looking at Ava and Luke.

Ronald cast a glance at Ian, who looked angry. He

mirked and said,

“Steph, Luke is not that bad. He has a reputation on our campus, you know.”

Ian heard everything that his friends were discussing.

He had no idea why he was getting so mad. He wanted to move and snatch Ava from Luke.

A hand grabbed his arm, and he averted his gaze from Ava and Luke.

“Ian, I was looking for you in the hall,” Nova said with a smile. 1

She had been looking at Ian for quite some time. She saw how Ian was looking at Ava the whole time. She wanted to reach him, but other people gathered close to the stage at the time of the vows, so she could not go to him.

Ian simply nodded at her. She tightened her fists when she noticed that Ian did not even glance at her appearance. She wore a hot black gown today, just to match Ian. But he did not care. Her whole effort went to waste.

2/3

51