Chapter 2 TWO

Just so you know, I had never seen or met my husband until today. So I wasn't surprised at his question. Although I thought that he would have done the math in his head, I was the one wearing the white gown, but Adrian just wanted me to go through the pain of explaining myself to him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words made it out of my mouth. I had suddenly lost the ability to use my brain. Maybe it wasn't my brain, but what my eyes were seeing. The mere sight of Adrian all bloodied up made me shudder. I feared for what would become of my life when I got married to this violent drunk. Adrian stared at me from top to bottom. He didn't even try to hide the disgust in his eyes.

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me. I lost the bare minimum of confidence I had gathered while standing there. Luckily, Bryce saw through my ordeal and came to my rescue.

"She is your wife, Sara. Now walk to the altar!" Bryce said it in a low growl.

He held Adrian up, and the other two men helped Adrian to his feet. I held my breath as they made their way to the altar. He had blood all over his face, and no one offered to get him a cloth or something to clean up.

"Alright, Priest, you can start now," Bryce said with a huge smile on his face. Just like that? I couldn't keep up with the change of mood in the Gilbert family. Bryce said that as if he had not been the one who was responsible for the blood all over the groom. I snuck a look behind me. The horror written on everyone's face was as glaring as dirt on a white shirt. I mean, it's not everyday you get to see a blood-covered groom, right?

Just as the priest was about to commence, Adrian tore himself out of the hands of the men and left the altar. His actions attracted yet another round of gasps, and his hands clasped over his mouth. He broke into a hysterical laugh. "Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt your happy ending." He turned to his father and smirked. "Father, I will only get married to one woman, and her name is Anne, which clearly the lady at the altar is not," he said as he staggered around.

"Adrian!!!" Bryce thundered, and yet again I flinched. I would need to get used to his voice, or it would start telling on my blood pressure. Bryce stormed out of the altar, and so did his other men. They tried to keep Adrian hostage, but he managed to fight them off. Adrian didn't know the moment his father came from behind and punched him. He fell limp and became unconscious. They tried to resuscitate him, but he wasn't making an effort to wake up. And then chaos broke out in the church, and everyone began to run away.

I looked at the sight before me and sighed deeply. I carried my gown and found a nearby chair to sit on. The day had been a bad day for me. Obviously, I wouldn't be getting married today, but definitely I would get married to this beautiful man, who was more of a stranger and less of a husband. Sighing, my mind began to drift back. As I was in the depths of many seas, I began to recall the events that led to the scene that was taking place now.

***

"Sara?!!" I heard my grandfather shout into the phone. I was in the market, which was miles away from home. We only come to the market if we have a pressing need.

"Yes, grandpa, I can hear you," I said into the phone. We could hear each other well enough a while ago, but then a big truck honked louder and startled Grandpa. He mistakenly flung the phone away in terror. My grandpa might have been the strongest man on Earth, judging by the way he worked, but I knew he hated one thing.

Noise.

He just couldn't stand it. So when the truck honked, I cursed underneath my breath.

"Sara, now you have to be on time. The discount sales are about to begin," my grandpa said.

"Yes, grandpa, I am almost there," I replied.

"Do you have all you need? Do you have the list of items we made?" my grandpa inquired.

"Yes grandpa. I have them all. Now don't worry about your old self. I'll get everything done, okay?" I tried to assure him. He had always been a worrisome person. Getting off the phone with him, I increased my pace and walked towards the market. Just as I was about to cross to the other side of the road, I saw an old man. He had with him a bag and paper and was trying to cross, but the cars would not just let him. I walked up to him.

"Sir, are you okay? Let's help you with the bag, and let's cross," I said as I held his hand. He looked at me and smiled. Actually, he grinned. He looked so handsome. I never knew old people were also this good-looking.

"Thank you so much for your kind heart," he said. I smiled back at him. I looked left and right, and together we crossed.

When we crossed paths, I asked him what brought him here, and he gave me an address.

"Ah! I don't really know this place," I said.

"It's alright, I'll just sit here and wait for the bus then," he said, smiling.

"Okay, I have a place to be. Take care," I said, waving at him, and he did the same. When I had gone far enough, I turned to find him still staring at me. I found that kind of odd, but I brushed it off.