The sky's pinkish streaks of dusk bid farewell to the revelers below, giving way to a perfect starry night in the countryside.

By now the party was well underway, a civilized affair with music in the background, chatter at the forefront, and waiters making circles throughout the crowd with trays of hors d'oeuvres and champagne.

On a private corner of the balcony, Neela and Chloe observed the scene while sipping the finest champagne.

"It is nice how everyone can mix and mingle as they wish," Chloe said.

Neela smiled. "It is, isn't it? I was worried there would be all these awkward and horrible boring speeches." She shuddered. "At the wedding, fine, because then it's like payback for all the boring weddings I've had to suffer through." Chloe laughed. "Seriously, friends and family must be punished for their boring-ass weddings. An eye for an eye, fuckin' PowerPoint slideshow highlight reel and all." She rolled her eyes. "But tonight..." she sighed, "tonight it's nice to just chill out and celebrate."

"But what about the chairs and that lovely gazebo?" Chloe said, pointing to the courtyard below. "It seems to indicate that a crowd will be gathering to listen to something important."

Neela shrugged. "Hmm...I don't know, maybe Luc flew in John Legend to serenade me?"

"You mean serenade the two of you?"

Neela eyes narrowed. "If John Legend sings, it will be for me and only me."

Chloe nodded. "Understood."

"It's gotta be some sort of cool surprise," Neela added. "Because I specifically asked Luc about the agenda of the party, and if there was anything I needed to prepare; he told me to just mingle and enjoy." She took another sip of her champagne. "And so, I shall." Her gaze followed the sound of Sonya's squealing voice growing louder. She spotted Luc's nephew chasing her through the courtyard. It was a touching sight.

Chloe studied her face. "So maybe it is not so complicated after all."

"Huh?" Neela said. A second later she noticed Chloe's face. Her eyes and mouth and somehow even her nose were collectively flooding over with the sort of expression that seemed to reflect on hundreds of years of French wisdom all at once. Or other some such intensity.

"In the end it is as simple as humans connecting with humans," Chloe stated, still incredibly high on the wisdom of the ages. "Cultures, customs...those are all just details that can be learned."

Neela sneered. "Ugh...you're so love."

Chloe gave her a nudge. "Then that makes two of us, right?"

Neela momentarily experienced what some might describe as a simultaneous mind, body, and spiritual glitch. She was suddenly like an iPhone that was in need of a version 15.1.1.2 update.

She recovered just in time to clink glasses and share a toast to true love.

True love. Yep. Uh-huh. Cool cool cool...

***

Later that night, in the sprawling garden courtyard, the guests now sat in the chairs that had been carefully arranged in front of the gazebo. All eyes were now fixed on the charming gazebo stage, anticipation high for whatever was to happen next.

Perhaps it was time for John Legend's performance?

Neela still held out hope for a personal serenade of "All of Me," but as she stood under the archway of twinkly lights with Luc standing by her side, she wasn't so sure if her fantasy would pan out—and was starting to get nervous for whatever the alternative might be.

Luc smiled and gestured to the crowd. "Thank you all for attending this special occasion of our engagement," he said. "And especially to Neela's family for traveling here from Canada."

Mom's usual stern expression transformed into a halfway smile. It was a landmark moment in the history of her facial muscle movements.

"It is not very easy to coordinate schedules and geography to bring all of our loved ones together," Luc went on, "but in the times when it can be accomplished, it almost compels us to...make the event as significant as possible."

There was an audible stirring in the crowd, their collective anticipation building up for something big. Neela was either completely oblivious to this noticeable shift, or she was safely cocooned within her go-to denial.

She turned to Luc grinning. "Who'd you get? A European musician?" He offered up nothing more than a blank stare. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my god, is it Adele?!"

He turned away from her slowly before continuing with his speech. "And so...seeing as we are all gathered here, dressed in our best attire..."

The light bulb in Neela's brain finally acknowledged the shocking reality unfolding before her eyes. "Da fuckkkk..." she whispered.

"Doesn't it seem like the perfect night for a wedding?!" Luc shouted.

The guests reacted with cheers and applause, as a minister shuffled towards them and took his spot between the soon-to-be bride and groom.

Neela instinctively backed away, but the sturdy gazebo railing managed to foil her escape.

Luc pulled her towards him. "There's no need to be nervous," he said smiling.

She straightened her stance. And then glanced at the crowd. And then glanced back at Luc. "You can't...you can't..." She furrowed her eyebrows, struggling to find the right words. "You can't just do this."

His smile cracked for a split second. "What do you mean?"

Neela was wondering that very thing herself. All these weeks of ignoring that twinge of discomfort, of continually plastering over the 'something's not right' sinking feeling, it was suddenly bubbling up to the surface now. It was a feeling that was still without a clear definition, but it was something she could no longer ignore. All she could do in this particular moment, as his questioning blue eyes looked deep into hers, was the thing she always did when the truth was too hard to grasp: blame someone else.

"I'm not nervous," she said stiffly. "I'm just wondering why we didn't discuss this. Like who plans a thing this big without discussing it?"

The more she thought about it, the more that the strategy of 'blame' seemed legitimate.

Who does this?!

"But it was a surprise!" he exclaimed, with the innocence of a man who couldn't possibly know any better. He turned to the crowd with a wide grin. "She is so surprised! We just need a minute, okay?"

Neela pulled him back by the arm. "Do you know what a surprise made in public is? It's a way of backing someone into a corner." She gestured to the gazebo railing. "See? Literally backed into a corner."

The remnants of his warm smile evaporated completely. "This is a very cynical way of thinking. Besides, I had your parents' permission; what more did I even need?"

She gasped. Did a spin. Laughed bitterly. And then finally, darted her eyes maniacally in search of something to punch. It was the full deluxe kit of 'how to react to the audacity of a man who thinks that he always knows best.'

"What more did you need? Oh I see...my mommy and daddy approved, so case closed? Just like that?" She rolled her eyes. "Oh wait, I just remembered I'm a fully grown adult, so maybe my permission should've mattered more than theirs?" She peered out into the crowd, but before she could locate her parents' approving faces, she suddenly had a thought. She turned back to face Luc. "What do you mean they gave you their permission? There's no way they'd be cool with not having an Indian wedding." She shook her head. "We'll see about that."

Neela blew right past him, down the gazebo steps, and straight to her pre-emptively embarrassed parents.

The buzzing excitement in the crowd now lowered to an awkward hush. She didn't notice Maneet's smartphone aimed in her direction, capturing all of the drama for a future viral video.

Neela studied her dad's calm expression. "You let him do this?" Dad remained silent. "But what about tradition?" He avoided her stare for as long as he could, and then finally, he shrugged. "Believe me, this is not what we would have imagined for your wedding, but, as you know...his income is very high."

Neela was agape. All the agape.

"He also has that property in Provence," Mom chimed in.

Neela inadvertently snorted. "Provence? How in the hell do you know about his property in Provence?!"

"He detailed his financial holdings to us yesterday evening," Dad explained. "It was quite impressive." He smiled. "Now go back up there and confirm this marriage!"

"Go," Mom urged, "because at your age, who else is going to offer you this much?"

The. Mother. Fucking. Audacity.

Neela took a deep breath, cackled like a maniac, and grabbed the nearest glass of champagne. She chugged it down as Mom watched in horror. When she was done, she shoved the glass into Mom's hand.

To top off her anything-but-classy outburst, she wiped her mouth with the back of her forearm, before stomping back up to the gazebo.

She studied Luc who was standing there, barely concealing his anger. "Are you finished making a big display?" he said through gritted teeth.

"You know what I just remembered?" she said stroking her chin. "We did talk about the whole wedding thing. I distinctly recall that we agreed to have an Indian wedding first, and then we would come back here for another ceremony." She crossed her arms. "So why didn't you respect my wishes?"

If Neela was totally honest with herself, she knew that after stripping away the effects of the alcohol, along with being angry about the lack of consultation for this spontaneous wedding, what was left behind was the one thing that really scared her: spending forever with Luc, and all that it would mean for her prospects of long-term happiness. This raw and honest fact was just beneath the surface, but she wasn't quite able to access that glaring truth. So she glared at Luc instead.

Luc took a long breath. "Yes, I remember what we had said about the planning. But let's be honest, Neela; do we really want to do something as intense as two weddings, when we can do something nice and simple tonight, without all the complicated costumes?"

Neela's eyeballs transformed into a death stare. "Complicated costumes?"

From ten feet away, Dante and Tiff soaked in every word of this argument for the ages. It was a car crash of words, and they simply couldn't look away.

Tiff shook her head. "R-I-P to this man..."

Back on the gazebo center stage, dainty brown fists were fully clenched, and a French man would soon be deceased.

"Are you actually saying that Indian wedding outfits are like costumes you wear on Halloween? Is that what you're saying right now? Hmm?!"

Luc put his hands on her shoulders, doing his best to bottle in her rage. "There is no need to overreact."

She pointed a rage-filled finger at his face. "Indian wedding attire is stylish and culturally relevant!" she hissed. The scowl on her face deepened. "And don't you forget it, you French little bitch."