No one had ever apologized to her before, and it made her feel so emotional. But she didn’t want to break down-not in front of him, and not in front of everyone.
The priest began to say the vows, and they both repeated after him. After saying their “I do,” they exchanged the rings.
Chris frowned. Why is her finger so thin? He looked at her, frowning, and glanced back at his mum, who understood the reason behind his expression. He sighed and looked back at Clarisse.
“We now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said.
Clarisse’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to move back, afraid that he’d recoil at seeing her face. Each step he took toward her made her heart pound harder. He slowly lifted the veil, and their eyes met.
Clarisse was stunned. She nearly gasped. The man standing in front of her was like a god of beauty, someone who had descended from another realm. He didn’t seem like an ordinary man.
His tailored suit hugged his broad shoulders, and his aura of authority was intoxicating, hinting at the secret knowledge that he was a master of the universe, with the power to make or break empires with a single phone call. But for all his authority and wealth, it was his eyes that truly captivated her-piercing, intense, like pools of molten gold that could see into the very heart of a person. He was tall with a statuesque physique, and his face could have been chiseled from marble.
Chris looked at the woman in front of him, and all he saw was a pale, fragile lady. Her eyes held so much pain and darkness. He wanted to reach out and touch her cheek, ask her if she was okay. She looked like she had lost every reason to keep living. A new feeling washed over him-a feeling to protect her, to be her shield and her safe place. He wanted to protect her with everything he had, and strangely, a new emotion stirred within him: a desperate desire to see her smile, to hear her laugh.
“Ain’t you going to puke?” she asked, catching him off guard. He was stunned at first, but then he realized she had a very sweet voice, and he chuckled.
He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. He cupped her chin, and before she could react, he captured her lips with his. The room erupted in applause and cheers.
Clarisse stood still, unable to blink. This was her first kiss, and it took her by surprise. His lips felt wet, cold, and soft-somewhat soothing. She couldn’t resist closing her eyes as the world seemed to stop. Her knees went weak, and her heart raced so fast that she thought he might hear it.
When he pulled away, she couldn’t meet his gaze, and he chuckled again.
“Is my bride shy?” he whispered in her ear, and she quickly shook her head.
“Is this your first kiss?” Hiccup!
He giggled, pleased with the answer the hiccup gave him. It was her first kiss. Leaning in again, he whispered, “Anyways, that was my first kiss too, and I must say, I loved it. It’s memorable.”
She looked up at him, her expression unreadable, staring into his captivating grey eyes, but then she looked away.
Liar! she thought to herself. He’s probably saying that just to make me not angry about him being late. Who would kiss me and then say, ‘it’s memorable’? He’s probably just storing saliva in his mouth, she sighed and looked away. Let’s just go home and stay invisible, like I always was.
They had to hurry with the wedding due to the paparazzi. Reporters, cameras, and journalists began to gather, eager to capture a photo of the third richest man in the United States. It was a rare sight, and no one wanted to miss it.
Chris led Clarisse to the field where his helicopter waited.
“Are we… taking… that?”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here, princess.”
Clarisse furrowed her brow, feeling a bit confused. His tone sounded so strange and out of place. Was he in his right mind? When he climbed into the helicopter, he reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up.
Her chest started to race as she heard the loud whirring and roaring of the helicopter’s engine. As it started moving, she couldn’t help but think, This man must be trying to kill me. She trembled.
“Are… you… going to push me off?” she asked nervously.
“Huh?”
“Can you at least inform me if you’re planning to? So I won’t be shocked.”
Chris was speechless. What does she take me for? A monster? A troll?
“I’m sorry,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t know you were scared of heights. If you really feel like jumping, let’s do it together.”
Clarisse looked at him sharply. “Are… you… okay?” she asked.
Why would she ask me that? If anyone’s acting weird here, it’s you, he thought to himself.
“Of course,” he replied. “But don’t even think about jumping, princess, unless it’s onto me.”
Alice groaned, covering her ears with the pillow, trying to fall back into a deep sleep. Just as she was about to drift off, her phone rang again, the sound too noisy to ignore.
“Ugh!!” she groaned loudly, sitting up in frustration, ready to unleash a barrage of insults on whoever was calling her. “Dani?” she said, reading the name on the screen before picking up the call.
“What’s up?” she asked, trying to suppress her irritation.
“Oh my goodness! Congratulations, baby!” Dani’s voice was filled with excitement, making Alice even more annoyed.
“Congratulations for what?”
“Come on… stop pretending to be mad. I know you’re super happy right now, and I’m actually a little upset that you kept this from us-especially me. But I guess you just wanted it to be a surprise. Anyway, I’m so, so, so happy for you right now that I can’t even be mad,” Dani said, laughing.
Alice was caught off guard by Dani’s excitement. She could feel the happiness in Dani’s voice, but Alice was still confused by everything she was saying. Dani must still be high from the party they’d all attended the previous night, and Alice had just been trying to catch up on some sleep since then.
“What are you talking about?” Alice asked.
“I’m talking about your wedding,” Dani replied, just as Maya snatched the phone away from her and put it on speaker.
“I’m happy for you, but that was unacceptable. We spent the whole night together and you didn’t tell us anything? I should have suspected when you said you couldn’t spend the night here. So it was because of your wedding? How can you go to a party when your wedding is today? Aren’t you exhausted?” Maya said.
“Switch to video call,” Alice said, and they quickly switched the call to video.
Now, all of them were looking confused.
“Are you guys still high? What wedding are you talking about?” Alice eyed them suspiciously as she asked.
“Aren’t you the bride?” Dani gasped as she saw Alice’s sleepy eyes and messy hair. She definitely wasn’t the bride.
“I told you guys, that wasn’t Alice. She always said it, that she can’t marry the guy,” Thalia said, scoffing as she returned to bed.
“O.M.” Maya exclaimed, yawning before handing the phone back to Dani and joining Thalia on the bed.
“Do you guys really think I went ahead and married that crippled guy? Is that why you disturbed my sleep with your call?” Alice yelled. “How could you think so low of me?” She glared at Dani through the phone.
“Hey! That guy is not in any way a cripple,” Dani announced.
“Huh?” Alice glared at Dani, thinking if he’s not crippled, he must be disabled in some way.
“In fact, the whole media is buzzing with the news. The most handsome man in the United States got married, the rumored disabled man is a god of beauty-those are the headlines. He’s going viral faster than BTS!” Dani added excitedly.
Alice was confused. She couldn’t find the right words to say. She hung up and immediately searched for what Dani mentioned in the headlines but found no posts.
She started thinking maybe Dani was still high from the party, but then she remembered a famous blog that hardly let any newsworthy content slip by. She found it-the man and the news Dani had talked about, though his face was blurred out. She checked the comment section.
“I knew I would find it here. Every post on other social media or blogs was taken down. It seems like he must be someone very powerful.”
“What did you expect? He’s one of the richest men. No post about him can be published without his permission.”
Alice was reading those comments when the post got deleted. She refreshed the page, but everything was gone. She scoffed and searched other sites, but found nothing.
Alice bit her lower lip, feeling uneasy. She dialed her mom’s number, but the line was busy. Frustrated, she got out of bed.
“Could the rumor about him just be rumors? But he didn’t try to clear it up or even sue the website,” Alice thought, pacing. “And the whole post was taken down like someone powerful is controlling it. Yeah, he might be so powerful and all, but… can he really be that powerful? Oh, Alice, we’re talking about the third richest man.” She ruffled her hair in frustration. “Did I make the right decision?” She sighed, staring into space. “Of course I did. What if these are just more rumors? I didn’t even see his face or picture,” she muttered, hissing in frustration.
Just then, Alice heard her mother’s voice from downstairs and jumped to her feet immediately. She hurried out of her room to meet her.
“Hey, mum,” she called as she rushed down the stairs.
“Oh my God! Alice!” her mom called, smiling. “How are you, my dear?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.