Ivory Causeways Framed Distant Outposts by Arman Steele 10

Posted by ADMINMMADMIN, ? Views, Released on January 27, 2026

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Chapter 10

I went back into the room and helped Mallory. My phone vibrated, and I saw it was a message from Aleck.

“Wear the jewelry. They were made specially for you. That was your Christmas present.”

I looked at the message; my heart felt heavy. I left Mallory and went out to check everything. I met with the planner; the flowers were exactly what she wanted–the color, the arrangements, everything. I had just finished doing a once–over when I heard screaming outside. I rushed to the entrance and saw them: Lexi and Tina, their white dresses stained down the front with red. Nella and Rea were apologizing profusely.

What shocked me wasn’t what they did. I knew it was all so Mallory’s day would be perfect. Tina and Lexi were her stepsisters; they were the girls Dean and Aleck dated. I saw Dean heading towards me, so I called Rea and Nella, and we headed back to the dressing room. Once there, I had a mini panic attack. I pushed it aside, and we got our hair and makeup done. Once we were finished, I noticed the dress made my tattoos show. I looked at Mallory.

“Mal, I’m sorry. My tattoos.”

“Babe, forget it. This is you. You guys are my best friends, and you’re all perfect. I don’t need or want you to change or hide anything. I want to look at my wedding pictures and say, ‘This was when Layla was going through this phase. Rea was on a crazy dieting fad.‘ I want memories.”

“Okay.”

I opened my handbag and took out the boxes. The first one had a pair of pink diamond–studded earrings. I took off my normal ones and wore them. I opened the second box. It was a necklace matching the earrings. I hurriedly wore it. The door opened, and Dean was standing there.

“Ladies… Wow… you look beautiful, Mallory. You all look beautiful. It’s time.”

“Okay, let’s get to it.”

We all left; I was the last to leave the room. He grabbed my hand. “You look more than beautiful; you are breathtakingly beautiful. Let’s go,” he said, linking his arm through mine.

We got to Mallory and the others. Dean, Aleck, and Chris headed to the altar with Andrew. When we got to the altar, I could feel their eyes on me. Lexi and Tina were sitting in the front row, wearing blue cocktail dresses. I don’t know how they changed so fast. We heard the wedding march. Mal’s father was leading her down.

Her stepfather had a disdainful look on his face. When I looked up, Dean and Aleck’s eyes were on me. It made me uncomfortable, so I widened my eyes at them, and they smirked. Throughout the entire service, they kept staring at me. Why were they doing this, and now especially here? When Mallory and Andrew were pronounced husband and wife, I snapped back into focus.

When Dean came to me and linked his arm through mine as we headed out, I saw the looks I was getting from Lexi and Tina, and I knew there was going to be trouble. When we got to the venue, I left Dean. Rea, Nella, and I went to check if everything was good. It was a buffet and open bar. Halfway through the reception, Chris, Nella, Rea, and I were at a table. Most of the guests were dancing; everyone was enjoying themselves.

We were getting into the alcohol. “I saw them giving you nasty looks. Why are they cornering Aleck and Dean?” Rea asked

“Aleck and Dean dated them for about a week.”

“Fuck this. They’re our boys, nobody else’s. Let’s go get them, Nella.”

“That’s right, they’re your boys; go get them,” Chris said, egging them on. I shook my head at him.

13

3:33 pm PPM M

Chapter 10

Rea stood up, and they went over to Dean and Aleck. When they got to them, Nella and Rea hooked their arms in theirs. I saw Dean and Aleck laughing. They all walked back to our table and sat down.

“What’s their deal?” Nella asked.

“They’re pissy because we broke up with them. We were about nineteen; it was only a week,” Dean said, taking a drink from his glass. I saw Tina and Lexi

walking towards us.

“Damn, you guys get women anywhere.” Aleck threw a bread roll at Chris.

“They’re headed this way. Rea, Nella, don’t start anything. You too, Chris.”

“Layla, right? I barely recognized you. How have you been?” Tina had a nasally voice. I didn’t look at her.

“We’re not friends; we don’t know each other.” Chris started coughing.

“Of course, we do. We dated Dean and Aleck; you used to hang out with us,” Lexi said; she had a high–pitched voice.

“You did? Hmm, I’ve lost count of the number of girls Dean and Aleck dated. None of their girlfriends did anything worth remembering.” Rea and Chris were

full–out snickering.

“Oh, that’s right. You wouldn’t remember because you were too busy pouting whenever they spent time with us.”

I saw the shift in both the brothers. “Dean, Aleck, no.” They both looked at me. I guess they didn’t really believe I could still read them like an open book. They both smiled.

“It’s because of them you spent your eighteenth birthday with your aunt. They wanted us to ditch you, so we broke up with them,” Dean said casually.

“Damn, that’s cold, bro, but then again, it’s Layla. Even I’m not brave enough to say shit like that,” Chris said, smiling.

“Wow. Well, sorry. Look, I have no interest in speaking to either of you, so run along.”

“So, which one of them are you dating?” Lexi asked. I smirked. Oh, I wanted to mess with her so badly.

“Both of them,” I said carelessly. Rea spit her drink out, Nella started coughing, and Aleck looked like he was about to choke, while Dean just sat there smirking. Chris fell off his chair. He sat on the ground looking at me.

2

“Excuse me?” I looked at Tina. “You heard me. Both of them, meaning I’m in a relationship with Dean and Aleck. Both meaning two. Is there a problem? Don’t like that answer? Not my problem.”

“You can’t!” Lexi said, almost in disbelief. Rea and Nella looked like they were watching a live drama. Chris was waiting for the next words out of my

mouth.

“Why can’t I? I mean, a man can have two or more women. I’m just following the same rules. I want both Dean and Aleck, so I’m with them. What are you going to do about it? Cry? Yell? Scream? Throw a tantrum? Say it’s not fair? What? If I want them, then they’re mine.”

3

Lexi and Tina looked like they wanted to revolt. Rea and Nella were smiling like idiots, and the two brothers just sat there smirking. Chris stood up and sat down. “Damn, Layla. Why did you hide it from us?” I knew he was playing along with it.

“Well, I wanted to tell you guys, but they wouldn’t let me,” I said, pulling the saddest face ever.

2/3

3:33 pm PPM M.

Chapter 10

“Don’t be like that, Layla. We said we would wait to tell everyone until we’re married.”

“WHAT?” Lexi yelled.

“You’re lying, Aleck,” Tina said, looking at us.

“Why would we lie? What do we gain from lying? Aleck looked so serious that I would have believed everything he said“. The two sisters walked away in a

rage.

“I’m sorry, guys. They were annoying, and I just wanted to shut them up.” I took a drink and looked at Dean and Aleck. They didn’t seem like they had a problem with what I said.