Sorry I seemed to confuse a lot of people last chapter. Hopefully this chapter will clear up any misunderstandings.
It's been a few weeks since Brittany and Santana had their discussion about their situation and how Santana developed feelings for Brittany. They haven't talked since unless it was about the wedding and Rachel was present. Santana is slowly getting over her thing for Brittany but she doesn't think it would be wise for them to be friends and hang out with one another outside of business purposes. Christmas is quickly approaching so Santana is trying to get some concrete details for the weddings down before they take a break over the festive period. Currently she is having a meeting with Rachel and Brittany to discuss where they are with the plans so far.
"So you said the venue is completely booked now and you've started organising suites for the guests to stay in?" Rachel asks.
"That's right, the whole venue is booked out for just your wedding" Santana nods. "The only problem just now is the guest lists, if I don't have these finalised soon then I cannot assign rooms to everyone. I know your parents are obviously coming and your siblings so I've got the rooms for them assigned but I don't have many more names than that" she tells them.
"Well I'll email you my guest list tonight, I'll make sure I finalise it tonight" Rachel nods.
"Yeah I mean I would as well but I'm confused, I mean how do I know who is my friend and who is Rachel's?" Brittany asks.
"Why don't you just write me a joint list together then?" Santana suggests.
"We would but I do have other friends that aren't really Brittany's friends and vice versa" Rachel states.
"Ok well write two lists and each write down absolutely everyone you want there and then discuss it and cross out the people that appear twice. Then you can just rewrite the list for me and email it to me" Santana replies.
"Ok we can do that" Rachel smiles.
"So onto dresses, have you ladies narrowed down the choices yet?" Santana asks.
"I have ruled out a couple but to be honest I'm not that much further forward" Rachel replies. "I don't know about Brittany and her suit, what's happening with that babe" she smiles at Brittany.
"I've said before I'm not wearing a suit" Brittany sighs. "I am wearing a dress."
"But I thought…" Rachel tries to explain but her phone rings before she can finish "Oh hold on, I need to get this" she says while answering the phone. After a minute or so she hangs up when she finishes talking to the person on the other side of the phone.
"You have to go to work again, don't you?" Brittany asks.
"Yeah I'm sorry to cancel on you guys again" Rachel apologises before standing up.
"Hold on…you're actually leaving?" Santana asks and Rachel nods. "I'm not trying to be funny but things really aren't progressing and if we all keep cancelling then nothing is going to be done" Santana isn't one to show her clients when she is annoyed with them but it's really starting to frustrate her. If it isn't Rachel cancelling because of work then its Brittany cancelling things since Quinn can't come with them.
"I really can't say no, they need me" Rachel explains.
"Ok fine, on you go" Santana sighs. "Are you sticking around to make plans Brittany or do you need to go?" she asks.
"Yeah Brittany can stay, can't you babe?" Rachel smiles. "She can finalise some of the plans."
"Um…yeah I can do that" Brittany shrugs.
"Ok I guess that is something then" Santana states. "I'll keep in touch Rachel."
"Ok, bye girls" Rachel says and then leaves.
"Sorry about that, she's just passionate about her work" Brittany explains. "She doesn't mean to mess you around" she states.
"I know, I'm just really trying to get arrangements made before everyone has a break over Christmas. Previous experiences have taught me to get as much done before Christmas because after the holidays no one is in any mood to plan anything, they're too depressed" Santana says.
"True, they're either depressed because the excitement of Christmas is over or they're depressed because they have no money left" Brittany says.
"Yeah" Santana laughs.
"So obviously I can't make any dress arrangements for Rachel but tell me what else needs done" Brittany says.
"There are two types of patterns for the wedding china and I need to know which one you both prefer so we can tick that off" Santana replies.
"Ok show me the patterns" Brittany says and Santana shows her the patterns. "I quite like this one…although I don't know if Rachel will agree."
"Well she was struggling to pick between the two so she obviously likes both of them anyway so just go with whatever you want" Santana says.
"Ok, I think we should have…" Brittany says while taking a pause to think. "This one" she says picking the china with the pink flowers on it.
"Ok no problem" Santana says writing down the type of china Brittany picked. "That's another thing sorted which is good" she smiles. "So Rachel told me she was leaving you to take care of the flowers so what kind are you thinking?" she asks.
"I really don't know, I'm not a botanist" Brittany shrugs.
"You don't have to study plants to know which flowers look nice" Santana laughs.
"I know but I'm not really a flower type of person, I mean sure I've gave people a bunch of flowers before but I usually just pick the nicest bunch there whereas for a wedding you don't really know off the top of your head which flowers are good for the occasion" Brittany replies.
"What kind of flowers would you like someone to give you?" Santana asks.
"I have no idea" Brittany shakes her head. "No one usually buys me flowers unless it's maybe from my parents or my friends if it's my birthday."
"Doesn't Rachel give you flowers every once in a while or vice versa?" Santana asks.
"Not really" Brittany shakes her head again.
"Why don't I just show you some samples and you can tell me if anything sticks out, ok" Santana suggests.
"Ok it's worth a try" Brittany nods. They then go through some flower samples for a while and Brittany decides on the kind she'd like for the wedding. As soon as that's done, they move on to talk about the reception and the kind of food they'd like and the colour schemes to decorate the area. They are now taking a break and drinking some coffee. "If you could get married tomorrow, what would happen at your wedding?" Brittany asks.
"With regards what?" Santana asks.
"Anything" Brittany smiles.
"Well I must say I have had my wedding dress design sorted since I was in high school but I don't want to give away the details" Santana smiles. "What I can say is that I would probably keep it simple and do a beach wedding or something" she says.
"Simple?" Brittany asks. She did not expect Santana to say a simple wedding, she was expecting a large extravagant event.
"Yeah, I mean I used to want the whole massive wedding thing but I'm getting older and it's not becoming as significant to me. I feel love is the main thing, as a wedding planner I see all the stress brides go through and I don't want that" Santana replies.
"You're only saying that because you're single just now. When the right woman comes along you'll want the whole big thing and I hope your future wife gives you it because you deserve it" Brittany says genuinely.
"Thanks Brittany" Santana smiles.
"I feel like I still need to apologise to you for all the hurt I caused you" Brittany says.
"Brittany it's in the past, let's leave it there please" Santana states. "I don't want to talk about it anymore anyway."
"You're one of the most amazing people I have ever met so I really want you to be happy and know I didn't mean to hurt you. I shouldn't have led you on the way I did, it wasn't intentional but it shouldn't have happened anyway. You didn't deserve what I did" Brittany says.
"Please Brittany, I don't want to talk about this" Santana warns.
"Ok fine, I'm sorry" Brittany apologises. "We won't talk about it."
"Good" Santana says and shortly after, they begin finalising more wedding plans.
"I'm not sure what time I'll be back, it's probably going to be quite late" Brittany tells Rachel. She is going on a Christmas night out with her work colleagues so once they have dinner, they'll probably go for some drinks. "You don't have to wait up for me, ok."
"Ok well I guess I'll just see you when I see you then" Rachel smiles.
"Yeah, see you later" Brittany kisses Rachel's cheek before leaving. She heads straight to Quinn's apartment and they travel to the restaurant together to meet the others. "So who are you trying to impress tonight?" Brittany teases Quinn.
"I don't know what you mean" Quinn replies. "I'm not trying to impress anyone, I'm just dressing how I like to dress."
"Hmm…if you say so" Brittany says not really believing Quinn.
"It's true, I just want to look good and have fun. It's no big deal" Quinn states.
"Fine, whatever" Brittany says. "Let's go and have the best Christmas night out this company has ever seen" she says as they walk into the restaurant. As soon as they get to their table, their other friends are all there so they all greet one another.
"No Rachel tonight?" their colleague Clare asks.
"No she's too tired, she had a busy day at work so she just wants to relax" Brittany replies.
"Oh well, not to worry I guess. I'm sure we could still make sure you have fun" George says.
"Exactly so how about we order some drinks while we peruse the menu" Quinn suggests.
"Good idea" Brittany nods and they all order some drinks. Eventually they all decide what they would like to eat so the waitress takes their order.
"Hey, how's things with you and Rachel" Quinn whispers.
"Fine but I hate what this is doing to her" Brittany whispers back.
"I think you need to tell her the truth" Quinn states.
"How can I?" Brittany asks. "No matter what I do, it's going to hurt at least one person."
"Have you took any of my advice yet?" Quinn asks.
"Yes I have actually but can we not talk about this here. I don't want my night ruined" Brittany states. "I am trying to make things right and it's stressing me out so please can I have one night off?"
"Of course, I'm sorry" Quinn nods before quickly changing the subject to something else.
XXXXXXXX
"I think you've had enough to drink now Brittany, you really should be calling it a night" Quinn tells Brittany.
"No I want another drink" Brittany complains. She not completely out of it drunk, she's just had more than she should have.
"Well you're not getting one I'm afraid" Quinn replies. "You have had way too much already so we're going home" she says pulling on Brittany's arm to lead her outside.
"Home to your apartment?" Brittany queries.
"No, I am taking you home to your apartment and then I am going back to mine" Quinn tells Brittany.
"I don't want to go back to my apartment, Rachel will be there and she'll only annoy me about how much I've had to drink" Brittany replies. "I don't want another fight with her."
"But…" Quinn tries to tell Brittany she should go home but she interrupts.
"Please Quinn, be a good best friend and help me" Brittany pleads.
"Fine but you are texting Rachel to say you're staying at mine so she doesn't worry" Quinn says. She's not in the mood to fight either hence the reason she gave in so quickly.
"I will, don't worry" Brittany says before quickly pulling out her phone and texting Rachel. "Ok Rachel knows so let's go back to yours" she says.
"Right come on Britt, there's a cab over there" Quinn says as they quickly cross the street and get into the cab. She tells the driver the address and they head off.
"You know what, I think I'm going to talk to Santana before I go to your place" Brittany says suddenly, breaking the silence they had been in for five minutes.
"You're what?" Quinn asks surprised.
"Santana doesn't live too far from you so I'm going to talk to her first and then I'll be round to yours" Brittany states.
"You most certainly are not, have you seen the time?" Quinn says seriously.
"No I need to speak to her so you're not going to stop me" Brittany says jumping out of the cab as soon as it pulls up outside of Quinn's apartment building. "It's only up the road here so I'll be back soon, ok" she says while beginning to walk away.
"Brittany get back here, you're out of your mind" Quinn states following Brittany.
"I'm not, I won't have the courage to tell Santana the truth when I'm sober so I'm going to tell her just now" Brittany replies.
"Truth...wait a minute you're going to tell her about the situation you're in?" Quinn asks surprised.
"Yes so you go inside and I'll be there in a bit" Brittany says.
"Fine" Quinn says shaking her head. "I'll see you soon" she says walking inside.
"Yeah" Brittany nods and then heads to Santana's apartment. As soon as she gets there she bangs on the door but doesn't get a reply so she bangs on it again. Within a second of her banging on the door a second time, Santana answers with an expression across her face that's less than happy.
"Brittany what the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't be turning up at my home" Santana asks. "Any problems and we discuss them at my office, you can't come here to talk about the wedding and you most certainly shouldn't turn up at 3am either" she says.
"This isn't about the wedding; this is more on a personal basis" Brittany states.
"You stink of alcohol Brittany" Santana says frowning at the smell. "And more to the point, we don't have anything personal, I am a wedding planner you have hired, that's it. We're not friends anymore Brittany and you know that" she tells Brittany.
"I think I love you Santana" Brittany blurts out.
"I'm sorry, come again?" Santana asks laughing. "You're clearly intoxicated and not thinking properly."
"No I am well aware of what I'm saying, don't worry" Brittany replies.
"Santana why are you making all this noise, its 3am" a neighbour says coming out of their apartment.
"I'm sorry" Santana apologises to the neighbour. "Look Brittany come inside before we piss anyone else off" she says leading Brittany inside. "What the hell is going on with you, seriously?"
"I don't want to marry Rachel but I have to" Brittany states.
"What?" Santana asks confused as they sit down on the sofa.
"It's a really long story but to sum everything up, I am ruining my life to protect my family" Brittany replies.
"I've got all night Brittany so you better start explaining because none of this makes sense" Santana says, a mix between annoyed and confused.
"Before I say anything, I need to make sure you'll promise to hear me out before jumping to conclusions" Brittany says.
"Ok, I'll hear you out properly first" Santana nods.
"Thank you" Brittany smiles and a silence falls between them for a minute or so.
"You can start talking now, I know I said I have all night but I didn't mean I have all night to sit in silence" Santana states.
"Sorry, I'm just trying to think of the best way to phrase things and where to start" Brittany replies.
"Just start anywhere, I'm sure I'll figure out what you mean" Santana states and Brittany nods.
"My mom had breast cancer a few years ago" Brittany starts off.
"Oh Brittany" Santana says placing her hand on top of Brittany's. She did not expect Brittany to say that so she feels kind of bad for getting snappy with her moments ago.
"No its ok she's in remission now" Brittany states.
"I see, sorry I thought you meant…never mind, carry on" Santana says retracting her hand.
"Well as I say my mom got cancer a few years back and it was a really tough time for my family but most importantly my mom and dad" Brittany says. "My mom ended up being off work for months due to chemotherapy and things so our financial situation wasn't the greatest. The responsibility was onto my dad alone to provide for the family. I mean I was still living at home trying to make a go of my business so I had little money to spare because I put it all into my work."
"So what did Rachel help or something?" Santana asks not completely sure of how this is related to Brittany getting married.
"Well at the time I was dating Rachel" Brittany says. "Quinn, Rachel and I were all really good friends but something happened and Rachel and I started to have feelings for one another so flash forward a bit and we began dating" she says.
"Ok" Santana nods.
"Then things started to get a bit more serious and we became girlfriends so it was all going well for a while and Rachel helped me through the tough time when my mom was ill" Brittany states.
"I'm still confused" Santana says interrupting.
"Ok so because of the financial trouble we had, my dad had to work more" Brittany says. "He ended up going in on a business deal with Rachel's dad and brother because it seemed like a great opportunity for them and they were all friends. It's not like it was all for my dad's benefit, it would have got the Berry's name out there so it seemed a perfect opportunity all round."
"Oh right, I understand" Santana says beginning to connect the dots.
"Anyway they went in on this deal and were making lots of money so it was happiness all round for a while. My family's income was better and my mom started to get better as well so things were looking good until…" Brittany says taking a pause.
"Until what?" Santana asks.
"Until I fell out of love with Rachel" Brittany states.
"Hold on, how long ago was this?" Santana asks.
"About a year and a half ago" Brittany replies.
"Hold on, you haven't loved Rachel for over a year?" Santana asks to clarify.
"Unfortunately" Brittany sighs. "I mean I love her as one of my best friends because we've always been in one another's lives, I just don't love her in a romantic way anymore" she says.
"So why are you still with her and why on earth are you getting married to her?" Santana asks.
"Because the deal my dad made had a five year contract thing with the Berry's so if he pulled out or something happened, Rachel's brother is going to make sure my family lose everything, money wise I mean" Brittany says.
"Surely he can't do that" Santana says.
"I don't know but if I break Rachel's heart then her brother is going to make sure my dad pulls out of the contract and he'll be left for nothing. All the money my dad has made since the beginning will apparently be the Berry's if the contract is terminated" Brittany says.
"Is there no way your dad can keep his end of the contract even if you and Rachel did split?" Santana asks. "This just doesn't make sense" she shakes her head not understanding.
"Look my dad runs his own business, he has his own confectionary company so he has his own brand of chocolates and candies, you know stuff like that" Brittany says telling Santana for the first time about her family's business.
"Wait a second…" Santana smiles. "Does your dad own Pierce's Pieces?" she asks.
"Yeah, that's my dad's company. My grandparents owned a candy shop and my dad built up the business and ended up finding a niche in the market and built up his own confectionary line which began to grow over the years and is now a really popular business" Brittany replies.
"Oh my god, I love the chocolate covered candy they make" Santana smiles. "I cannot believe I didn't know that brand was your dad's, all the different kinds of candy are amazing."
"Well like I say, the business began to grow but when my mom got sick my dad struggled to cope on his own. I mean my mom doesn't work for the company as such but she does have a degree in accounting so she'd help with some of the financial issues so when she was ill she couldn't do that. There was also the fact my dad wanted to be with his wife as much as he could and be there for her so the business started declining slightly as my dad's priority was my mom" Brittany says.
"I understand" Santana nods. "So when the thing with the Berry's came along he jumped at the chance since it would help the business?" she asks.
"Exactly" Brittany smiles. "The Berry's own their own distillery where spirits and things are made and one of the products my dad's company manufacture is liqueur chocolates and with it being near Christmas time they thought about going in on a deal together where my dad would take a large chunk of the profit and the Berry's would take another" she says.
"I see what you're saying now so basically you've been led to believe that the Berry's can claim all of the money made from the product if the deal doesn't continue until the contract ends" Santana asks.
"Yeah, that's the problem and I can't have my dad's business to go under" Brittany says. "Matthew, that's Rachel's brother, he overheard a conversation I was having with my sister about how I wanted to break up with Rachel and this is how everything started."
"So let me get this clear, Rachel is in love with you and wants to be with you?" Santana asks.
"Yeah so if I ever break Rachel's heart then Matthew will ruin my dad's business" Brittany replies. "Everything just got worse when Rachel said she wanted to get married, I didn't know what to do and panicked and said yes" she shrugs.
"So I'm guessing everything is moving way too fast that you can't stop it. I mean I assume you would have tried to buy some time so that by the time the contract ends you wouldn't be married yet and could break up with Rachel then" Santana says.
"Yeah that was the plan until she hired you and got things moving" Brittany replies.
"I know you'll be going through some stuff but I feel sorry for Rachel in all of this, she thinks she's marrying the love of her life" Santana states.
"I know and no one feels worse than me about that. I hate doing this to Rachel but I can't destroy everything my dad has worked for" Brittany says. "Matthew wants my dad's business so he thinks the quicker I marry Rachel, the easier it will be since Rachel has married into my family but I'm not that stupid. As soon as the contract ends I'm afraid Rachel is going to be devastated but that's all Matthew's fault" she says.
"Is there no way you can talk to Rachel about this at all?" Santana asks.
"Not really, she thinks the sun shines out of Matthew's ass. She doesn't have a clue about that mischievous shit and if I say anything, chances are she'll talk to Matthew and my dad's business is fucked" Brittany says.
"I can't believe this is all happening, what kind of person does that. Can't he see he is ruining Rachel's life? His own sister is going to be heartbroken because of him and all he thinks about is money" Santana shakes her head.
"I don't know what to do anymore Santana, I don't know who to talk to without it backfiring and Matthew ending up with everything. I mean I'm not disrespecting Rachel but she just can't see it, she just can't see Matthew for who he really is" Brittany says.
"Look, I don't think any of this can happen. Surely a lawyer or someone could advise on this and sort things out" Santana says. She wants to give Brittany the benefit of the doubt but nothing seems to make sense. Surely no one can just demand your business and take it off of you whenever they feel like it. Santana thinks there must be some sort of legal action Brittany or her dad could take.
"The problem is, it's not all exactly above board" Brittany says. "I mean it's definitely not illegal but it's not quite as professional as it would be since they're friends so they cut a few corners to get the process moving."
"Oh I see" Santana says understanding.
"I know this seems like the weirdest thing ever but I don't know what else to do" Brittany states. "The reason Rachel and I fight all the time is because she's stressed about her dream wedding and I'm stressed about this whole thing. I don't want to hurt anyone but everything I do seems to do just that" she says.
"I'm guessing you weren't truly honest with me about how you felt about me" Santana says.
"When I said I didn't like you, I was lying because I did develop feelings for you" Brittany says. "If I did love Rachel I wouldn't have done what I did."
"It still doesn't make it right though, it just makes things even more complicated" Santana says.
"I know" Brittany agrees. "I didn't mean to put all this information on you because I know it's a lot to take in but I wanted you to know what was going on. The truth is I still really like you but I know I shouldn't when Rachel still loves me."
"Yeah I'm in a weird position now. I don't know how I can look Rachel in the eye after this, I just feel so sorry for her. She has done nothing wrong and suddenly she's going to be heartbroken" Santana says.
Let me know what you think, I hope the chapter made sense.