The roar of a motorcycle caught almost everyone's attention. Someone rode in on a navy blue Ducati Desmosedici D16RR NCR M16. She had a guitar case on her back and a duffle bag on the seat behind her. She took off her helmet, shaking her head side to side so her hair could flow down. She dismounted from the bike, letting one of the stewards take her bag and guitar case. Araminta excitedly went over to greet her as the woman took off her fingerless gloves.
"Who is that?"
"That would be Araminta's older sister, Abigail," said Amanda as the bachelorette hugged her sister.
"'Older sister'?" Rachel repeated.
"She may be shorter than Araminta, but that is her older sister regardless."
Araminta drew back and began to talk with Abigail, as the latter put her hair up in a ponytail.
"She seems... different," said Rachel.
"Oh, she definitely is," said Amanda. "She's got the cool looks, but she's got a heart as big as Astrid's."
That's when Rachel noticed Araminta's sister was heading for a separate jet.
"Is she not riding with us?" Rachel asked.
Amanda shook her head. "She doesn't really enjoy party girls, so she rides by herself sometimes."
"Why don't we go with her? I'd like to get to meet her anyway."
Amanda shrugged. "I don't see why not. I could use the quiet anyway before all the excitement."
The two women walked over to the two sisters, who noticed them.
"Rachel, I'd like you to meet my sister, Abigail," said Araminta. "Abigail, this is Rachel Chu, Nick's girlfriend."
Abigail smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, Rachel. It's nice to meet you."
Rachel returned both gestures and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you too. And I hope you don't mind me asking, but would it be alright if we rode with you to the island?"
"I wouldn't mind at all," she said. "I'd appreciate the company."
A little while later, both jets were in the air. Rachel was reading a book she had brought with her, Amanda was scrolling through her phone, and Abigail was strumming her acoustic guitar. All three women were enjoying the comfortable silence along with the music from the guitar. Rachel looked up from her book when a familiar tune reached her ears.
"Is that 'Bless the Broken Road'?" she asked Abigail.
She nodded as she kept strumming. "It's one of the first songs I learned to play. One of my favorites too."
"Do you sing as well?"
"Occasionally. But should the need arise, Araminta tells me that I do seem to brighten everyone's day with my singing." She scoffed. "Which I doubt."
It was Amanda's turn to scoff. "You're being modest again. I'm surprised she didn't ask you to sing for the wedding."
"Oh, she did, but I declined the offer. As long as Araminta's happy, I'm happy."
"A shame that most of the Young elders don't really approve of who you're dating."
Abigail stopped her strumming abruptly and frowned a little.
"Wait. What?" Rachel said confused, looking back and forth between the two. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Abigail sighed. "Well, since they're still so into tradition and not as open minded as the people today, they don't really approve of me being gay."
"What about your family?"
"My parents and sister don't mind. In fact, they support me along with everyone else."
"So, are you bringing anyone to the wedding?"
"Unfortunately, no. I just came for my sister and my girlfriend is in the States."
"How long have you two been together?"
"A year and a half now."
"Wow. I'm surprised you haven't proposed yet."
"Oh, I'm planning on it. Just haven't found the right ring yet."
Rachel smiled. "Well, I wish you good luck then."
Some time later, they landed at Samsara Island.
As all the women raided through the dresses and jewelry, Rachel and Amanda stood away from the crowd.
Rachel had just come back out from changing into the dress she wanted as Amanda put on the earrings she was able to grab. Rachel adjusted the sash around her waist, looking upon the other women as they fought for the clothes. Amanda turned to them as well.
"Yep," she said. "No one loves free stuff more than rich people." She turned her head to Rachel. "Just the one dress for you?"
"I don't want to lose an arm," Rachel joked, looking at the others.
Amanda chuckled and looked towards the tables. "Ooh. Well, in that case..." She went over and picked up a necklace, turning to Rachel. "One last touch."
Rachel smiled and turned to the mirror as Amanda put the necklace on her.
"Well, isn't Nick a lucky guy?" she said.
Hours later, Astrid and a distraught Rachel were entering the latter's hotel room.
"Let's just forget about those girls," Astrid said as they entered the room. "We'll camp out here and order room service."
Rachel was heading to the bed and let out a scream. Both women looked on in horror at what was before them.
"I'll call security," said Astrid.
"No," said Rachel, stopping her friend. "I'm not gonna make a scene. I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction."
The sound of running footsteps was heard. They both turned around to see Abigail run in.
"I heard a scream," she said. "What ha--"
She saw what was behind Rachel. On the first two pillows was a dead barracuda fish with its guts spilled out onto the bed and blood on the sheets. And on the windows behind the bed were words written in red paint: "Catch This You Gold Digging Bitch." She looked towards the woman it was meant for, who looked upset.
"Oh, Rachel," she said in sympathy, pulling the woman in for a hug.
Rachel hugged her back as Astrid rubbed her shoulder in comfort.
Once night fell, the three of them went to bury the fish carcass with the rest of the party some distance away.
"This weekend was supposed to be mani-pedis," Rachel said as they began to push the sand back into the hole to bury the fish. "Cocktails served in pineapples. This definitely wasn't on the menu."
Astrid and Abigail chuckled.
"Why would Araminta even have friends like that?" Rachel continued. "They're so mean." She took a glance up at Abigail. "No offense."
"None taken," Abigail said. "They're not really my friends. The only ones out of all of them who are my friends, are the twins, who I know wouldn't do this sort of thing. But I'm just as surprised as you are that everyone else would do this."
Rachel nodded. "And I mean, I know Michael didn't have to deal catty, fish-killing sociopaths. How did you two get through all of this?"
Astrid finished up and sat down on the sand. "Well, I didn't have it quite this bad, but it wasn't pretty."
"Well, at least me it gets better."
"Of course it does."
Rachel and Abigail finished putting the sand back, the former looking down at Astrid. She noticed the far off look on her face. Abigail smoothed out the sand to make sure there wasn't any trace of them digging a hole.
"You okay?" Rachel asked Astrid.
Abigail looked up as Astrid answered with a "Yeah."
Rachel sat on one side of Astrid while Abigail sat on the other. Abigail grabbed her guitar that she had brought with her and set it in her lap.
"Actually, no," Astrid said after a moment.
Rachel moved closer until their shoulders were touching. "You could talk to me."
Abigail put a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.
Astrid let out a sigh. "Michael is having an affair."
Rachel turned her head away and looked towards the ocean. "I'm really sorry, Astrid."
Abigail held her cousin's hand, intertwining their fingers. Astrid looked at both of them with tears in her eyes. She rested her head on Rachel's shoulder.
After another moment of silence, Abigail let go of her hand and began to play a tune on her guitar. Both women turned their heads to her as she began to sing.
"Waking up knowing there's a reason
All my dreams come alive
Life is for living with You
I've made my decision
You lift me up, fill my eyes with wonder
Forever young in Your love
This freedom's untainted with You
No moment is wasted
See the sun now bursting through the clouds
Black and white turns to colour all around
All is new, in the Savior I am found
This is living now
This is living now
You take me higher than I've been before
It's Your perfect love that sees me soar
God your freedom is an open door
You are everything I want and more
You lead the way, God You're right beside me
In Your love I'm complete
There's nothing like living with You
This life You created I choose
See the sun now bursting through the clouds
Black and white turn to color all around
All is new, in the Savior I am found
This is living now
This is living now
You take me higher than I've been before
It's Your perfect love that sees me soar
God your freedom is an open door
You are everything I want and more."
As she sang, she managed to get both women to smile.
"Thank you, Abby," Astrid said.
"Anything for my cousin and best friend," she said. She looked towards the dancing women. "I'll make sure to talk to Araminta about this in private." Her eyes went towards Rachel. "No one should be treated in such a way for loving someone."
Rachel smiled with tears in her eyes and gave Abigail a nod.
(Abigail POV, The Wedding Reception)
I watched with a smile on my face as Araminta and Colin danced happily on the dancefloor. I knew that he would definitely make her happy and wouldn't hurt her in any way. That's all I want for her just as she wants for me.
As the reception went on, I stuck by Astrid to make sure she's distracted from anything about Michael. I saw Eleanor giving me disapproving looks with the tux I wore, so I stayed away from her. I also made certain that my cousin had a genuine smile on her face throughout the entire party. After what Michael had told her, she definitely deserved it.
While Araminta and Colin were cutting and eating the first slice of cake, I noticed Rachel running. I frowned at the look of complete distraught with tears running down her face. I quickly pushed past everyone to catch up with her. Reaching the edge of the party, I managed to reach her before she ran off completely. I caught her in my arms, holding her as she tried to escape from me.
"Rachel, Rachel," I said. "Hey, hey, hey." I began to speak in a soothing tone. "It's okay. It's me. I've got you."
She began to sob in my shoulder as I held her.
"Come on," I told her. "I'll take you home."
She nodded.
I led her to my white Challenger, helping her into the passenger seat. I sent Astrid a text, letting her know that I had left and where I was going. I then hopped behind the wheel and drove to where Rachel wanted to go. I had asked her what had happened and she sadly explained how Nick's mom hired a private investigator to look into her past and found out about her father, who she had never knew about.
I drove up to the front of her friend's house then helped her out of the car. Her friend came out and comforted her. Once I explained everything and was reassured that she would be taken care of, I left.
The next day, I went back to see Rachel to make sure she was okay. Her friend, Peik Lin told me that Rachel had gone into the guest room and has not moved from there since. I went to see her, finding her lying on the bed. She was so depressed, and I completely understood why.
For the next week, I would visit Rachel and try to comfort her or cheer her up. But it seemed like nothing worked. I didn't even try singing because this was definitely something I couldn't help sing away.
After that week, I was getting ready to go see Rachel again when there was a knock on my apartment door. I opened the door to find Nick there with a concerned look on his face. I frowned and was about to shut the door.
"Wait!" he said, putting his hand on the door to stop it. "Please. Just... let me explain."
I opened the door. "You have one minute."
He explained how he had no idea that his mother hired the investigator and that he loved Rachel for who she is, not her status. He even told me how he was going to propose to her. I understood everything. So, I proposed to him the idea of bringing her mother here so she could talk to her. I also told him that he should talk to his own mother. He agreed on one of the two things.
A few days later, I learned that after Rachel talked with Eleanor, he got her mother's blessing and proposed to her before she could leave to New York. I went to go celebrate the engagement with everyone. When the happy couple arrived at the balcony where everyone was, I stood with my sister. We all cheered when Nick showed his fiancé the surprise. She hugged me tightly after hugging my sister.
"Thank you for everything," she said as we hugged.
"Just be ready for me to be by your side more often now that you're family," I told her.
She just gave me a smile as she drew back.
During the celebration, I went to find Astrid. She was at the bar and was exchanging glances with Charlie Wu. I just smiled at this. I whispered words of encouragement to her to give him a chance. From what I knew about him, he definitely will make her happy.
The next day, I was on my family's private jet, heading back to California. I knew that things would be alright now with my sister, my cousin, and soon-to-be cousin.
I looked down at the ring box and opened it to see the beautiful silver ring with a beautiful pearl surrounded by smaller diamonds.
"Yeah," I said to myself with a smile. "Everything's going to be just fine from now on."
Author's note: I don't own the Crazy Rich Asian characters or the song lyrics to "This is Living" by Hillsong Young Free; only my OC
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