Page 87 of Father of the Bride
Mark ducked Orion’s swing and landed his own punch squarely on Orion’s jaw. The two men then fell into the sand, rolling around while Brooklyn and Sunny yelled at them to stop.
Davion managed to pull Mark off of Orion, holding the taller man at bay as Brooklyn started to cry.
“What the hell is wrong with y’all?” he asked them. “Why are y’all fighting?”
“Tell him,” Orion said to Mark. “Tell your son-in-law what you been doing to his mother.”
Davion’s face tightened as he turned to Mark.
“It wasn’t like that, Davion. I—“
“Been fuckin’ ya mama,” Orion finished. “Behind your back.”
Mark didn’t see Davion’s punch coming.
The young man had an arm on him. Mark almost went down. Davion was rearing back again when Micah came from the side and tackled him into the sand. Orion immediately jumped in to pull Micah off his son, and Mark had no choice but to jump in to assist his brother while Brooklyn, Sunny, and Daisy screamed at them to stop and Jules recorded it all with her phone with Tigra watching it over he shoulder.
Edrick and Judah jumped in, landing blows on Mark and Micah on behalf of Davion. It was pure chaos until Brooklyn’s voice cut through the noise.
“Stop! Please! Daddy, please!”
It was her tearful pleas that brought the fight to an end. Mark stood slowly, brushing sand off. His eyes went to his daughter first, his heart sinking when he saw her anguish. Sunny wasn’t crying, but disappointment and embarrassment were all over her face.
The rest of the men stood, gasping for air, some of them bleeding, others limping. The chaos smoldered like embers dying after a fire, but Brooklyn’s sobs were alive and well.
“I can’t do this,” she choked out, stumbling backward, clutching her chest like her heart was physically breaking. “I can’t get married like this.”
Davion’s eyes bucked. “Are you serious? Babe—“
“No!” She shook her head furiously, backing away from him. “The fighting. The secrets. The drama. It’s gonna rain tomorrow. My mother’s gone. My brother’s ass caught on fire. My father’s fighting everybody. It’s all asign.”
“It’s not.” Davion moved toward her, arms outstretched. “You’re upset. I get it. But—“
“I just wanted everything to go right. No, actually, I would have settled foronething going right.”
Davion tried again, pleading now. “Brooklyn. Please.”
She looked up at him, her eyes welling up again. “The wedding is off.”
She turned and ran toward the villa, her heels digging into the sand as she disappeared into the darkness. The door slammed a beat later, echoing with a disturbing finality.
Davion rubbed a hand down his face before turning his ire onto his parents.
“Y’all did this,” was all he said before he took off behind his bride.
Silence fell on the beach as reality hit. Sunny covered her mouth as a tear rolled down her cheek. Tigra slipped an arm around her shoulders, not sure what to say.
Micah looked at his brother. Luke still sat in the sand, useless, but concerned.
Jules slowly lowered her hand, pressing stop on the video before deciding to delete it. There was nothing funny about what had just happened. Not anymore.
Mark’s body still buzzed with adrenaline, but all he could do was stare after Brooklyn. The aftermath was settling in hard.
Orion sat on his knees in the sand, a smear of blood on his lip, still breathing hard. Fallon finally stepped forward from the crowd of bridesmaids, her lip curled in disgust. When their eyes met, there was no love there. No sympathy. Only anger.
The waves crashed against the shore as if they, too, had a grievance.
“We should probably…go inside,” Micah said slowly. “Sleep on it before anybody else gets hurt.”
