Elijah Mikaelson stomped into the kitchen, holding two ties in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
"Well, good morning!" Selina greeted her husband as she looked him over shamelessly. He looked sohot in his tuxedo with his shirt open to expose his bare chest. But wasn't it a little early for him to be dressed for the wedding?
"Do you want an omelet or scrambled eggs?" She asked, placing plates full of toast, eggs, sausage, and bacon in front of Mackenzie and Elise. "As you can see, the full breakfast option has been more popular, but an omelet wouldn't be hard to make up. Either way, I think we should all have something in our stomachs before we take on the day? And why are you dressed like that so early? The wedding's not until 2."
"I don't want any eggs," he replied dryly. "I just want to pick out a tie to go with my suit!"
Both his daughters looked at their father in surprise.
"All right, if you don't want eggs," Selina replied calmly, "pancakes then? Blueberry, or chocolate chip, or…" she shrugged.
"How about an explanation as to why this guest list has become a foot longer than when we first made it?" Elijah asked. "This was supposed to be a small wedding!"
"Well, Mom, I would say Pop isn't in a good mood about that," Elise remarked before taking a big bite of toast, her face covered in butter and crumbs.
"Elise, would you desist calling me that name?" Elijah glared at her.
"You don't want me to call you Pop?" Elise asked. "What about 'reason mom got pregnant?" She had a teasing light in her eyes, and her sister snorted into her coffee cup beside her.
"Do you think that's funny, Mackenzie?" Elijah hissed, glaring at his other daughter.
"No, sir, of course not," Mackenzie shook her head and went back to her eggs without another word.
"Fine," Selina took the list from him. "I might have decided, as time has gone on, that it might be a good idea to invite a few more guests to the wedding."
"A few more guests?" Elijah looked like he was going to be sick. "It seems like the entire town will be at our farm today, eating our food and messing up our lawn, and…"
"Well, I'm sorry," Selina said. "You're exaggerating. But it was very difficult to navigate. I couldn't leave one person off the list without offending another!"
"And look at it this way," Elise spoke through a forkful of fried egg. "The more people who are there, the less likely it will be that you'll have to deal with the fact that Dorian Gray is the father of the groom!"
"Elise!" Selina snapped and gave her a light slap on the arm.
"What did you do that for, Mom?" Elise frowned and rubbed the painful spot. "I'm just telling the trulth!"
"Selina Warren," Elijah said firmly. "It was bad enough when I had no idea why the wedding guest list was so big, but…is our daughter telling the truth about why?" He was speaking through clenched teeth and trying not to look at her.
"Oh, I'm Selina Warren now?" Selina snapped. She got right in front of him, and even though she was much smaller than he was, she glared at him and looked like she wanted to punch him in the nose. "Have you forgotten how many of our children I've given birth to over the years? Did you forget that I decided to carry your name too?"
"I had to beg you to!" Elijah snapped. "Don't think I've forgotten that."
"I just didn't want to put up with the shit from your father!" Selina returned. "It had nothing to do with you!"
Before Elijah could reply, he was interrupted by a gagging noise and then they both stared at Mackenzie.
"Sorry," she apologized. "But Daddy, I'm not feeling well. I think I'm going to be sick." She coughed a few times. "So, I think it would be best if I skipped the wedding and then we can hang out together somewhere else. I'd be honored."
"When did this happen?" Elise frowned. "You were fine just a second ago."
"Well, now I'm sick, Elise Florence!" Mackenzie snapped and elbowed her sister. "I've worked very hard this week and I think I caught something from someone on a job."
What she'd really caught was the sickness of not wanting to be at her half-brother's wedding!
"Don't you even think of it, Mackenzie," Elijah snapped and stabbed a finger in herd direction. "If I have to suffer for this wedding, so do you and Elise, so sit back down!"
"But Daddy!" She quickly jumped off the stool again, ignoring her father's words.
"That's not gonna work with me," Elijah shook his head. "You'll be there, no arguments!
"This is all your fault!" Mackenzie glared at her sister.
Elise was unapologetic, as always.
Selina scoffed. "Fine, you big baby! I invited the entire town because I wanted you to have people to mingle with, who were your friends and family so you'd have a good time and not be consumed by the presence of Dorian Gray! Happy?"
"No!" Elijah shot back. "I'll never be happy when I hear that name. It's very hard for me to forget! For your sake, I'll endure your son, even if I can't stand him. But I'll never have a good word for Dorian Gray!"
Elise picked up her coffee. "It's so damn cute that Pop is so jealous of Dorian that he can't even see straight! He loves you so much, Mom!"
"Elise, please don't say another word," Selina demanded, her eyes wide as she tried to shush her daughter.
"Young lady, I'm not jealous of that pompous man," Elijah replied slyly
"No, but you're being rude, ridiculous, and insufferable because of him!" Selina snapped. "He died and I moved on to you! I would think that that would help you be secure in our relationship, but you still can't handle that there was a period of time I was with someone else and we had a son!"
"And I never will!" Elijah yelled.
Selina grabbed both ties and looked at them before throwing them on the kitchen counter. "They are both as ugly as your attitude right now with your family and with me and I won't take another minute of it," she declared and strode out of the kitchen, leaving everyone else behind.
As she disappeared, Elijah looked at his daughters. "You were sitting there," he told them. "You heard me. What did I say that was so objectionable?"
"Well, let me tell you," Elise said and came to put an arm around her father. "It's not about what you said, but rather what you didn't say."
She finished speaking just in time to be elbowed in the gut by Mackenzie, who was returning to the table after putting the milk away. "Ouch!" She cried. "Damn it, Mackenzie!"
Elijah frowned. "Elise, you will not swear at your sister. Understood? And also: if I have to be dragged to this mess of a wedding, so do the two of you. We all suffer together, or you both will be disinherited!"
"But Dad!" Mackenzie began to protest, knowing that her attending would cause her father to become angrier than he was now. She also wanted to point out that she had the job with Angelica so she didn't really need his money, but she doubted he would care about that.
"I don't want to hear it!" He said firmly, then strode out of the kitchen just like his wife had. "No wedding, no allowance, inheritance, whatever!"
Mackenzie and Elise just stared at one another in silence and drank their coffees, then Elise smiled.
"That was something, wasn't it?" She asked and rubbed her hands wickedly. "I'm so glad I don't have to miss this wedding. I wouldn't for anything, not even a tornado or two that hit during the reception!"
Klaus Mikaelson grinned as he stood in the doorway of the downstairs powder room, enjoying his view of Angelica as she got ready for the wedding.
She was putting on a deep red lipstick, leaning forward to get a better look and make sure it was applied right. Then she turned to glance at him.
"What are you looking at that's got you so happy?"
"Well…your bum for one thing." He chuckled. "As well as all the rest of you. You're taking my breath away!"
"Oh, god," Angelica flushed deep. "I don't want to outshine the bride! Maybe I should go change! I have a two-piece black suit…"
He shook his head, coming to stand behind her back, his arms going around her waist.
Her heart picked up and she held her breath.
"Don't you dare," he whispered in her ear and then nibbled on the earlobe. "I want you in this dress."
Then his hand slipped under the high slit and ran over the silky skin of her leg before raising up the fabric to reach her inner thigh.
"Klaus…" She murmured, learning against his chest, her eyes closed.
"You have no idea how much I want to get you out of this dress," he murmured, kissing down her neck, and then on her shoulder before biting into her skin.
Her body jerked a little, startled by the sudden pain as she moaned with ecstasy. Then her eyes popped open, and she squirmed away from him. "You calm down!" She snapped. "You can't trick me into…that. Not now. Not when I have to look presentable."
Angelica carefully turned on her high heels to look at herself in the mirror, her eyes full of shock. "Oh, my gosh, you gave me a hickey! How am I going to hide it?!" She opened her clutch and immediately began looking for powder and patting the mark so that it was invisible.
"Well, from time to time, Angel, I need to remind you that you belong to me." Klaus winked from his spot behind her.
"I belong to myself, Klaus Mikaelson!" She snapped. "I let my father pull that crap for way too long and I won't take it from you. I won't!" She threw her compact back in her bag and stormed out of the bathroom.
"Angie, come on," he tried to reason with her. I was just teasing. Will you help me put on my tie?" He held it out.
"Put it on yourself!" She said. "Surely you know how by now. I'm not even sure I want to go to this wedding anymore! People will see the mark on me, and they'll think we've been…up to something. It'll probably spread like wildfire!"
"And is your fear of that happening worth missing my brother pissing his designer pants because he has to be around Dorian Gray all day?" Klaus grinned wickedly.
Angelica took a deep breath and faced him.
"That's a terrible thing to do to your brother, but…" She paused, her red lips curving into a smirk. "But I guess you're right. I wouldn't miss a show like that for the world!"
They both laughed and Klaus pulled her toward him, holding her close and gently slapping her bottom. "You're as bad as me," he said with a grin.
She threw her arms around his neck, playing with the curly hair at the nape. "I know it's hard to believe but I do have my moments. And this is something I really don't think I can miss! I need to see it!" She kissed him gently.
Suddenly, a very cranky voice rang out.
"Give me the damn pillow! My back hurts!" Klaus' granddaughter, Michelle, was not in a good mood.
"Here we go again," Klaus mouthed on top of Angie's lips.
"Can you blame her, though?" Angelica asked. "I mean, being pregnant is not comfortable, and she's so close to giving birth!" She stepped away. "And we need to go now or we'll be late!"
They entered the large living room and paused by the sofa.
"You want all the damn pillows?" Nico flung them in Michelle's direction. "Here! Take them!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Klaus cried and grabbed the young man's arm.
"You see, Grandpa?" Michelle cried. "You see the horrible way he's treating me!" She stabbed a finger in Nico's direction.
"Michelle, are you okay?" Angelica asked, coming to sit near her. "If you need us, we don't have to go to the wedding."
"No, it's fine," Michelle winced as she tried to find a more comfortable position, which was very difficult with her being so pregnant. "You shouldn't be stuck here like I am. Go have fun."
"And please take me with you!" Nico begged.
"I know how you feel," Klaus said. "Believe me, I've been there." He detached Nico's fingers before speaking again. "But you need to stay here with my granddaughter." He gently pushed him into an armchair.
"Fine," he huffed. "Have a good time at the wedding." He crossed his arms and glared at the mother of his child.
"You…you too," Angelica told them because she didn't know what else to say. She then grabbed Klaus' hand and pulled him outside.
As they made their way to the jeep, Klaus opened the passenger door for Angelica and said, "I was afraid they would kill each other while we're gone, so I called Natalie and asked her to stay with them. She'll be here soon. What?" Angie's face gave him pause.
"Well," she laughed nervously. "You better be joking because I called Milo for exactly the same reason!" Her eyes were wide with shock. "All right, now we really need to get out of here!"
"No," he kept her still in the luxurious jeep. "They are mature young adults! They're gonna be fine. Just don't worry that pretty head of yours!"
Then she began to yell at him, and he quickly shut the door in her face so he wouldn't have to hear a word.
Selina Warren (she wasn't sure if she could be called Mikaelson at the moment. Her husband didn't seem to think so, with that big tantrum he'd forced them all to endure this morning. He was a grown man and it had just been embarrassing! But she couldn't dwell on that. There were more important things to think about today. She was the hostess of a…well, you couldn't call it anything other than an enormous extravaganza of a wedding at this point.
She walked down the corridor and slipped on a pair of black high heels. They were matched with a designer black bubble dress, a rare purchase that had cost her a fortune. She was usually much more willing to bargain. But not today. Her hair was up in a loose bun and her makeup was impeccable.
While it was true she'd not been the best mother when Arthur was young, they'd been given a second chance now that he was older and she didn't want to waste it by letting this wedding be anything less than amazing. Although that clearly wasn't sitting well with her husband, it meant a lot to her anyway, and Elijah could go to hell for all she cared if all he was gonna do was complain!
The farmhouse was now filled wall to wall with people carrying food to the kitchen. Usually, she handled all the food for the weddings they hosted here herself, but there were too many guests for that, and Dorian had agreed to split the cost of a very good caterer.
"Mrs. Mikaelson?" A man came toward her. "We have the vases of white roses. Where would you like us to put them?"
"How about on the buffet table under the large tent?" She answered politely and pointed to show him the way. "Just over that way."
"Very well, ma'am," the man nodded and repeated her instructions to his employees.
Then a discreet knock on the door made her turn her head. "I'm sorry, I think the guests are beginning to arrive."
Then she left and made her way, heels clacking on the floor, to reach the entrance and open the front door.
When she did that, she found herself face to face with Gabrielle, Sybil, and Astrid. "Hey, girls!" She smiled at Gabrielle. "And my beautiful future daughter-in-law." She smiled and gave each of them kisses on the cheeks before ushering them inside.
"I've come with a bride, a dress, and some really nice shoes," Sybil exclaimed joyfully, raising all that she held in the air.
"And I'm doing hair and makeup," Astrid added with a laugh.
Selina looked them over and smiled. "Well, I have to say that you both look stunning in your bridesmaid dresses." She put a hand on her chest as she looked them over.
"Well, what about you?" Gabrielle returned. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? That dress is simply divine!"
"Oh, what, this old thing?" Selina smiled and winked, causing all the women to burst into laughter.
"You're going to be dumbstruck by how beautiful Gabrielle looks in her wedding dress," Sybil remarked. "It's made of pure silk from Italy."
Gabrielle looked away without a word, blushing and biting her lip. If she were being totally honest, she couldn't keep lying to herself about what a scam this wedding truly was. An arranged, sexless marriage between herself and Arthur Gray. His poor mother was putting much more effort into the celebration than it deserved.
She was brought out of her thoughts as a smiling Selina took her hands. "Have I told you yet how happy I am to have you as my daughter-in-law?"
"You're very kind," Gabrielle blushed. "I believe I'm the lucky one." Tears began to fill her eyes.
Just then, her cell phone rang, surprising them all.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, pulling it out. "Just a minute." She paused. "Yes? Hello, Reverend Thompson. Are you having trouble finding the farm? Yes. Oh! Oh, well…yes, I understand. And congratulations to you and your wife." She ended the call and put the cell phone down, speechless.
"Is there a problem?" Astrid asked, her voice full of worry.
"Honey?" Selina rubbed her arm. "What's happened?"
"Well," Gabrielle cleared her throat. "I know that you and Elijah have gone to a lot of trouble for me and Arthur where this wedding is concerned, but…we'll have to cancel it. I'm sorry. Reverend Thompson just called, and he won't be able to conduct the ceremony because he's at the hospital with his wife as she gives birth to their third child and…I doubt we'll be able to find someone to replace him."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was what she deserved after tricking everyone into putting so much effort into a scam wedding!
"Well, it's unfortunate, but this idea you have that we'll need to cancel the wedding is absolute nonsense!" Selina waved a finger at all of them.
They all turned their heads at the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor.
"Ladies," Elijah greeted while avoiding his wife's eye. "You all look very beautiful!"
"And so do you," Sybil told him and gave Selina a wink.
Selina cleared her throat and looked her husband over. "Well, it seems you decided to wear the black silk tie I bought you after all," she observed, chin raised.
He looked her over too, paying particular attention to her long legs. "You look stunning, Selina. I just wanted to look presentable since I'm going to be by your side."
Selina blushed and looked at her shoes. "Well, you accomplished it. You look very dashing."
"This is all well and good, but…unfortunately, I don't think this wedding will take place," Gabrielle informed Elijah, her voice cracking.
She should have been happy that she didn't have to marry Arthur Gray after all, since the whole ceremony was a lie and it was getting very difficult to look people in the eye, but…maybe she was starting to feel it was more than that.
"I told you, it will be fine," Selina reminded her. "Elijah can perform the ceremony in Reverend Thompson's place! He has all the credentials and has done it before."
"I….I'm sorry, what?" Elijah asked, his eyes wide with shock. "You want me to marry your son to Gabrielle?"
"I'm sorry," Selina apologized. "I know it's not ideal, but everything's all set up and we don't really have any other options. Reverend Thompson had an emergency so he can't be here to perform the ceremony. You do it, or everything goes to waste."
Everyone looked at him expectantly, nervous about what he would say.
Finally, he growled and tugged on his tie, taking a deep breath. "It…"
"Yes?" Selina narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the pause.
"It will be my pleasure to may you and Arthur, Gabrielle," he choked out and then began coughing.
"Oh, thank goodness," Gabrielle let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Mikaelson! Thank you very much!"
"Thank you," Selina added.
"Don't mention it," Elijah mumbled without looking her or his wife in the eye. "Now if you'll excuse me, it seems I have wedding vows to prepare."
He strode off and Astrid waited until he was out of sight to speak. "I believe that man loves you very much, Selina."
"Well, he knew that he could either officiate the wedding or get divorced," Selina grinned. "Those were his only options!"
Angelica held Klaus' hand as they walked side by side around the farm land, She smiled at him and made her way toward a gigantic tent where she could hear the distinct sound of musicians rehearsing.
Klaus winked back at her, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles.
"How does it feel to be a guest at a wedding?" Klaus asked Angelica. "Instead of looking over your shoulder every five minutes in case something goes wrong. Do you like it?"
"Well, I don't dislike it," Angelica said, looking away as she blushed. "Aunt Selina is just as good at planning these things as I am and it's so beautiful. Don't you think so?"
"Sure," Klaus shrugged. "I don't know though. Big weddings might mean something to some people, but the idea of having one means shit to me."
"No one said we had to have one," Angelica replied. "This is on your brother's land and your brother and Aunt Selina's thing and…well, we can do what we want if the situation presents itself and just have fun with our friends and family-" She trailed off a few feet from the tent and froze as someone approached them. "Mikael…what a lovely surprise."
Since she'd stopped rather abruptly, Klaus bumped into her from behind and she would have fallen over if he hadn't grabbed her around the waist. She turned to thank him and saw him wincing.
"What were you saying about family and friends?" He asked.
"Ms. Morningstar, you look lovely, as always," Mikael complimented, then turned to look by her side. "Niklaus," he added dryly.
"It's Ms. Mikaelson now," she corrected him politely.
"So my stepson finally made an honest woman of you!" Mikael exclaimed, ignoring the fact that Klaus was muttering under his breath.
"No, it's nothing like that," she raised a hand in the air.
"Why are you here, Mikael?" Klaus asked firmly.
"I was brought here against my will, but otherwise…Do I need to justify why I'm visiting my ex-wife's bastard?" Mikael shrugged nonchalantly.
Klaus' hands were in fists at his sides and his whole body was tense.
"Klaus!" Angelica put a restraining hand on his arm. "We're just going to take a deep breath, okay? We're not here to cause trouble for Aunt Selina or your brother."
Then she turned back to Mikael. "You made an honest mistake, Mikael. We didn't get married. I just decided to take my mother's family name instead of my father's."
"I see," Mikael nodded. "Well, if he's not man enough to actually marry you, that makes it easy to pretend, doesn't it?"
"Tell me something, Mikael," Klaus began.
"Klaus, please don't start," Angie whispered. "Don't give him the satisfaction."
"I don't see Sybil with you," Klaus continued. "Did she finally decide she'd had enough and divorce you?" He grinned.
Mikael heaved a big sigh. "My wife is one of the bridesmaids and for some reason she thought I should come with her. She's with Gabrielle and Astrid now, helping the bride get prepared for this big event.
Angie elbowed Klaus, who growled.
"Of course she's helping the bride to be. I'm sure Sybil looks lovely." Angelica tried to ease the tension.
"She's truly a vision, like always," Mikael agreed with a kinder smile.
Before they had to suffer through more conversation, a yell from Elijah interrupted them.
"Father!" He cried as he came over to join them. "Here you are with Klaus…and the lovely Angelica, of course." He gave her a salute and a gentle smile.
"Thank you so much for the invitation, Elijah," Angelica told him. "I rarely just get to be a guest at weddings and everything just seems so…spectacular!"
"You should thank Selina," Elijah told her. "Apparently, she found it necessary to invite the entire town to this wedding." He paused. "But I promise she thought of you first."
"Did you hear that?" Klaus nudged Angelica. "Aren't we lucky?"
"Well, Elijah, a man needs to keep his wife happy," Mikael told his son.
"Oh, believe me, I just did something that will make her extra happy," Elijah remarked slyly.
"Let me guess," Klaus grinned. "Did you agree to officiate this wedding?"
"Klaus, stop joking," Angelica chuckled. "Don't make your poor brother more stressed than he already is."
Elijah looked away, coughing uncomfortably.
"Son, please tell me this isn't true!" Mikael was pale now.
"I was only joking!" Klaus cried, both hands in the air. "Please tell me it's just a joke!"
Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Do you think I would confess about having to officiate the wedding of Gabrielle Delacroix and Arthur Gray if it wasn't true, Niklaus?"
Both Klaus and Angelica put their hands over their mouths to hold in their laughter.
"Elijah, I hope you're not telling me that you agreed to take part in the wedding of your wife's son with another man!" Mikael cried out in shock.
"Yes," Elijah sighed. "But I did it for Gabrielle. Apparently there was no other way."
Angelica looked back and forth between father and son and took Klaus' arm. "I'm thirsty, Klaus! Let's go and see if there are cocktails anywhere. Maybe by the musicians. That way you won't be able to make any more trouble!"
"Oh, but I was having fun!" Klaus objected. "And admit it, Angel. If your father showed up, you'd act the exact same way."
"Well, I doubt the idiot who disowned me will be bored enough to show his face here, so that's not a problem, is it?" Angelica snapped and gave the fabric of his blazer a good, hard tug. "We're going now! Good day, gentlemen! Always a pleasure!"