From the massive carriage came waves of wailing—ghostly, miserable, and positively dripping with complaint.
"Are you guys okay?" Eli Crane asked, shooting a worried look at the three men half-sprawled across the carriage bench.
"Stop pretending you care about us! Hmph!" Butterfly Rogue huffed and turned his head away, all tsundere.
"Eli, just ignore him," Ivy Shen said quickly.
"Ivy, you’re totally playing favorites, aren’t you? You guys haven’t even had your wedding yet! The two of us are the real husband and wife here!" Caleb Miles, also half-lounging on the plush bench, complained with a tragic air.
"Playing favorites?" Ivy Shen glared at Caleb Miles, roaring, "If I am, it’s only right! Wasting genuine feelings on a big liar like you is just a waste of facial expressions!"
"Oww, don’t say it like that… I… I… didn’t mean to!" Caleb Miles replied weakly.
"Liar, liar! You’re nothing but a big fat liar! Your whole family’s a bunch of liars! Even your ancestors are liars!" Ivy Shen finished her rant, panting in fury.
"Exactly! It’s bad enough you tricked Ivy, but your mom tricked her too, which is just low. Lucky I’m smart enough to wreck your scheme—otherwise Ivy would’ve really lost out!" Butterfly Rogue piled on, kicking him while he was down.
"You—"
"That’s right, Caleb, you may have gotten hitched first, but you still gotta be a decent person—even if we are snakefolk!" Ethan Chu said, looking a little pale.
"Hmph! What makes you two so smug? You’re not even Ivy’s real husbands yet!" Caleb Miles shot back.
"Oh please, it’s not like we’re not! I bet you’re just jealous. And as for Number Six, I heard that out of Ivy’s four husbands who’ve already crossed the threshold, there’s only one who hasn’t had their wedding night yet. I bet that one just isn’t into her!" Butterfly Rogue waggled his head. "Definitely not interested!"
"You flower thief, I’ll rip that mouth of yours!" Caleb Miles, realizing Butterfly Rogue was talking about him, lunged over in a huff, grabbing his face and giving it a good yank. If it weren’t for this guy, he and Ivy would’ve already had their wedding night—even if it might’ve been a bit sketchy, so what? He’d love her anyway, love her a lot!
"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Let go!" Butterfly Rogue yelped, never expecting Caleb Miles to actually come at him and yank his pretty face. This pervert must be jealous of his looks—ah, his beautiful face is doomed!
"See if you dare act all crooked next time!" Caleb was determined to teach him a lesson.