Found a spare hour so I came up with this! Sorry if it's not that good, but i was in kindo of a hurry :( by the way, I just want to thank all the people who have reviewed, it really makes my day to hear that some people are enjoying my story :D Much love x


Chapter 9

The wedding, unbeknownst to Cutter at the time, was to take place outside in the hotel grounds. He had only become aware of this when the team had met up in the Lobby, and Abby and Sarah had lead them out of the front doors and into the sun drenched garden. There were spindly white chairs sitting in rows, with a big gap down the middle to make the aisle. The chairs faced a magnificent white arch way that had been erected down at the bottom, with lilac flowers and green leaves entwined around it. That was obviously where they would become 'man and wife', Cutter thought bitterly.

He filed down one row of seats near the back, as it was family and close friends that were probably to be seated at the front. Conner sat next to him, and the rest filled the remaining seats in the row.

"I've never been to a wedding before," Conner informed them, bobbing with excitement.

"Never?" Abby's voice asked him; she was sitting on the other side of Conner.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Oh, I love weddings," Sarah sighed from the seat next to Abby. "Especially this one; they've spared no expense, have they?"

"I don't think her mum would have let her from what we heard last night," Abby replied to Sarah in a hushed voice, although Cutter caught it. "She seemed very high maintenance, didn't she?"

"Well Jenny's not exactly easy going," Conner pointed out, his comment earning him a slap on his arm from Abby. "Ouch! I only meant that it sounds like Jenny and her mum are a lot alike."

"Believe me, they're not," Sarah said abruptly. "Look, that's her there."

She pointed over to the front of the aisle to the woman Cutter had seen the previous night, and the warm light of day had apparently done nothing to make her expression less cold. She was dressed very proper, and surveyed the growing crowd with a cool impassiveness. As Cutter stared at her, he could have sworn that her gaze met his, and for a moment, she narrowed her eyes, before looking away.

"She looks like Jenny though, doesn't she?" Conner said.

"They may look alike, but they're poles apart," Abby whispered, giving the woman a cold look.

"I've heard Jenny talk about her mum before in passing, but I'd always though she was over-exaggerating," Conner said, playing with the cuffs of his jacket impatiently.

"Believe me, that woman needs no embellishment," Sarah chimed in, opening her programme and burying her nose in it.


Helen reclined casually back onto the bark of a tree, watching everyone from a distance as they took their seats. If she squinted her eyes, she could make out the vague figure of Nick, next to who she assumed was Conner and Abby. Chuckling to herself, she noticed how Nick had chosen seats near the back, all the worst to see. That was Nick all over; bury his head in the sand, and pretend it's not happening. He was the same when their own marriage was going down the plug hole. It was obvious to Helen that he had fallen for Claudia Brown; she bitterly recalled his refusal to join her in her quest to the future for that woman. And now that she was . . . what was her name now? Ah, Jenny, that was it. Well, it was clear that the fact she was a completely different person now had done nothing to quash Nick's feelings for her. And now she was getting married. How completely and utterly brilliant. It seems that Nick had been served his revenge without Helen having to lift a finger. Still . . . something troubled her. In truth, it had been rather amusing to watch her husband pine over someone he couldn't have. But knowing Nick, as soon as Jenny was married, he'd back off. He was so overbearingly noble; there was no way that he would ever chase after a married woman, even if she was interested. It was something they had often fought about throughout their own marriage; frankly, it bugged the hell out of her that Nick was so conservative. Is it any wonder she set off in search of more adventurous pastures? Anyway . . . this all seemed a bit too easy. Helen had always had the view that people were master's of their own fate, and so it bothered her that her revenge was being carried out without a helping hand. And it also bothered her that she was about to lose her main form of entertainment. So what could she possibly do to rectify the situation?

She paused, tapping her fingers on the bark impatiently. If she disrupted the wedding, then she'd be doing Nick a favour surely? He'd be free to pursue this Jenny to his hearts content. But then there was the possibility that she'd still turn him down. Now that could be fun . . . handing him a life line, only to have it snatched away ever so cruelly. He'd be broken . . . and then and only then would he know what he had put her through. It had never been said that Helen Cutter handled rejection well.

Smirking, she stood up and pulled the anomaly opening device out of her torn pants. She knew an old friend who'd be more than happy to come and offer his congratulations to the happy couple . . . Helen herself had had a few lucky escapes from him. She couldn't wait to see what Nick made of him.


Most people seemed to be in their seat now, and a hush had descended over everyone as the anticipation grew. Mark had taken his station at the side of the arch way, grinning at the crowd, and offering the odd wave every now and then. Just looking at him made Cutter's blood boil, forcing him to abandon his previous conviction of keeping his emotions in check. For the millionth time he felt himself wondering what on earth Jenny saw in him. Sure, he was good-looking in a conventional sort of way, and yes, he was loaded, but other than that, there seemed to be nothing beneath the surface. And he knew he didn't know her as much as he would like, but Jenny didn't seem like the type of woman to marry someone who was about as deep as a puddle. But that was probably wistful thinking; just because Cutter had enough baggage to fill a warehouse didn't mean everyone did.

Delicate music echoed around the grounds, and everyone stood up and turned to the door of the hotel. Jenny stood, arm in arm with her beaming dad, carefully stepping down the stairs, and smiling graciously. Behind her, five bridesmaids in elegant lilac dresses followed, a bunch of purple flowers in their hands.

"Wow," Conner whispered from beside him. "She looks beautiful."

Beautiful, according to Cutter, was an understatement. There were no words in the English dictionary to do justice to her description; the way she glowed with illuminance as she walked down the aisle, the way her smile shone brighter than the sun, the way the pure white dress complimented her creamy skin. She was radiant. Completely and utterly perfect. To Cutter, it felt like a kick in the stomach; he suddenly realised that he couldn't be there, he couldn't watch this. But he stood rooted to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away from her. As they reached the archway, Jenny's father planted a kiss on her cheek and disengaged her arm from his, taking a seat. Everyone else followed suit, and Jenny turned to face Mark, and smiled again, although for some reason, the warmth of her smile didn't seem to spread to her eyes. Again, Cutter supposed that it was just wistful thinking on his part.

"Dearly beloved," the Minister began, grinning at the crowd. "We are all gathered here to witness the union of Mark James Banks to Jennifer Victoria Lewis - "

"Are you crying Conner?" Abby whispered, sounding highly amused.

"No, of course not," Conner replied, his voice sounding choked. He glanced around at Cutter, his eyes glistening. "Well okay, maybe I am, but it's just so lovely . . ."

"Mark and Jennifer, the covenant you are about to make to each other is a beautiful and sacred expression of your love for one another. As you pledge your vows, and as you commit your lives to each other, we ask you do so with a deep sense of joy; with the deep conviction that you are committing yourselves to a relationship of trust, support and caring love . . ."

Cutter looked away for a moment, trying to control his hammering heart. She's taken . . . it's too late now . . . just let her go . . .

"Jennifer, do you understand and accept this responsibility, and do you promise to do your very best each day to create a loving, healthy and happy marriage?"

Cutter looked up again, willing himself to watch, holding his breath that she would say no.

"Yes, I do," Jenny said, her voice cutting into him like a knife.

Heart sinking, Cutter looked around at Conner, who was now bawling into a tissue Abby had given him.

"Is he alright?" Cutter asked Abby, happy that the sound of Mark's pledge was drowned out slightly.

"He's just a little sensitive," Abby whispered back, patting Conner's arm.

"You people are made of stone!" Conner choked, blowing his nose.

"Now it's time for you to make your vows to each other," the Minister continued. "Mark?"

Mark reached around to his best man and took the ring off him, turning back to Jenny with a smile. He reached forward and took her hand, looking deep into her eyes as he spoke.

"I, Mark James Banks, take you, Jennifer Victoria Lewis, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death parts us."

He slid the ring onto her finger.

"Jennifer?" the Minister nodded at Jenny.

She was handed a ring from one of the bridesmaids behind her. Cutter noticed that she was shaking as she turned back to Mark. She looked up at him and opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. She closed it again, squeezing her eyes together and taking a deep breath.

"Jen?" Mark probed, looking down at her with a raised eyebrows.

She opened her eyes again and looked as if she was going to say something, but this time, something else cut her off. From Conner's bag on the floor, a pronounced beeping echoed out, causing everyone in the vicinity to turn and look at them; even Jenny and Mark looked around. Jenny's horrified gaze met with Cutter's. They both knew what it was.

It was the sound of the hand-held anomaly detector.