Both of them arrived at Kai's parent's house early afternoon. Despite rare visits, the area stayed the same, as Kai remembered it to be when he still was a kid. The neighbourhood was quiet, with many cosy houses, well-groomed front gardens and luxurious cars on the driveways. It was clear that people living in that area were wealthy, wanting nothing else than a peaceful and comfortable life.

"To be honest, somehow I expected you to be rich. Now I'm sure about that." Leo smirked when he looked around, taking all area in and looking at the house. He could notice a middle-aged woman peeking out the window at them to disappear after a few seconds.

The house painted faint blue with darker details around the windows. Dark grey roof covered two floors and porch in the front entrance. Soon the door opened, and as they walked up the stairs, a woman from the window greeted them friendly.

"Finally, I started worried that you will run late. Come on in!" She rushed them inside, where the group of people were gathering.

"Kai, take your bags into the guest room upstairs and get dressed. We will be leaving soon. Oh, by the way, I'm Anna, Kai's mother. It's lovely to meet you." Anna left them and went to chat with one of the women standing, looking lost with a hairdryer in her hands.

"That... was quick." Leo looked at Kai, amused.

"Yeah, my parents are some... kind of special, including my whole family." He sighed. "Let's go upstairs. We should start getting ready."

Leo followed Kai through the wooden staircase on the left side of the entrance. The inside was very cosy, looking like a perfect family house. Pictures were hanging on the beige wall as they climbed up. Leo stopped from time to time to see happy looking boy hugging two alike looking siblings. Kai at his graduation ceremony, some pictures from the vacation with his family in various backgrounds. Leo was smiling to himself when he heard Kai talking and looking at him from a couple of stairs above.

"It felt like an obligation," Kai stare at him with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Leo asked, not fully understanding the question.

"To go on holiday or to take pictures." As he said it, he turned around to make his way to their room.

Leo brushed over the pictures on the wall one last time before he followed the man. Kai's words changed the perspective of how he has seen all of them now as a family. His words made more sense as he could witness what he meant all this time when he spoke about them.

Boring, Kai repeated in his head. Feeling as he wasted every second of his life while sitting there for the person he hated the most. They were late when they arrived at the church. They sat on the back seats to do not bother anyone around them. He wasn't a religious person like his parent's. He admired the architectural beauty of baroque buildings, and a lot of them happened to be churches. One person would say that it's too many decorations on the walls, ceilings and elevations, but somehow everything together seemed to go well. He turned his head to the side to look at Leo. He felt better when he had noticed that the brown-haired man look as bored as he was.

"I hope we will manage to survive till the end," Kai laid down and whispered.

"Have you decided if you want to stay at the party?" Leo asked expectantly.

"Yes, let's stay. I promised my grandma a dance." Kai smiled.

"Going wild, I see." Leo chuckled. The rest of the ceremony went quicker as they occasionally whispered to each other and made some jokes.

"It's time for us. Let's go." They have left the church, and Kai walked straight to the car.

"Aren't we going to hand them over the gift or something?" Leo asked, confused as he turned around to point on the group of people waiting for the newly married couple to walk out of the building.

"Are you joking? I'm not giving her anything, and the wishes she would hear from me aren't the nicest ones." He continued walking, waving his arm at Leo to follow him. "Let's go and check the bar. One of the things Cooper Family does well is showing off, which means the bar is well stocked."

It was winter, which meant piercingly freezing, most likely will snow at night again. Kai grabbed Leo by his arm and almost dragged him into the beautiful small palace where the wedding party was ready to start, and the staff waited for all guests to arrive. Hesitantly taking off the coat, still feeling chills running over his body Kai took their outerwear and placed them in the big room transformed to the walk-in closet where guests could leave their heavy jackets.

The place inside was much bigger looking than he expected it to be. Bright walls, colourful ornate on the ceiling with painted flowers and animals in them. Round tables with white tablecloths were placed around the room, creating more space for people who would like to dance, close to the stage where the band played some live music. There were many fresh flowers in vases around, and their strong smell blended nicely with the foresty scent coming from the outside.

Leo looked around in awe, admiring the beauty and the atmosphere of the palace. "It's pretty here. We may have a good time if we put aside the occasion," Leo said, looking at the paintings on the ceiling.

"Yeah, it is beautiful. I didn't expect any less. Elaine wouldn't get married in shabby looking room, just for the sake of getting married." Kai mumbled to himself, still loud enough for Leo to hear.

"How about you? Would you get married in shabby looking place just to get married?" Leo smirked, raising a brow.

"I didn't mean it that way... If that would be with the person I want to spend my life with, I don't care where that would be. It's just I wouldn't spend so much money to make it big and rich. What is the point?" Kai took a sip of his drink, trying to hide embarrassment.

"People have different priorities, it's a special day, and they want to make it big. Not everyone is as romantic as you." Leo joked sarcastically.

"What? I am not romantic... only economical."

"Yeah, sure." Leo laughed loudly. "Let's go and find our seats, Mr economical. They should be here anytime soon."

They walked to the table where a couple was struggling with two hyperactive kids. Kai looked at the name tags left next to the cutlery on the table, making sure they got the right seats.

"Tay! Don't run and come back here," Rayan shouted to his little daughter, catching her as she ran the second lap.

"Lily, can you please hold her?" He handed over the little blond girl situating her on his wife's knees. "Hi, Kai! Long time no see. How are you?"

Kai smiled and shook his hand, then Rayan turned around to the side and picked up the little boy, who looked just like his sister.

"Twins?" Kai asked, pointing at the two of them.

"Yes, it's running in your genes, as you know," Lily said. "Hi, I'm Lily, Rayan's wife." She turned her head and waved at Leo, who was standing by Kai's right side.

"That's Leo, my friend. Lily and my cousin, Rayan." Kai pointed at each of them. Once they exchanged greetings, Elaine and her husband walked into the room, warmly welcomed by guests. She looked stunning in her white, long dress holding white flowers. Her curly locks lose falling on her shoulders. Kai knew that most likely, she got married for the wealth and influence of Josh's family. However, she looked happy.

"Can you see him?" Leo pat Kai on his arm to get the attention.

"Who?"

"Your ex. The guy you told me about and who should be here."

Kai searched the room, looking for the familiar face, but he was nowhere in sight. Kai didn't know if he should be relieved or more nervous about it. "I can't see him in here."

Leo nodded, his expression blank. They settled down at the table when the newly married couple began to move towards their seats in the middle of the ballroom.  Some people kept talking until they parted to find their tables. 

Kai introduced Leo to a few more members of his family, who joined them at their table. Two more empty seats were expecting the last guests to arrive shortly. After a few minutes, two young men walked towards them and sat opposite Kai and Leo.

"Hi Kai, it's good to see you." Nolan widely grinned as he sat in his seat, greeting the rest of the guests at their table.