Chapter 2 The Wedding Must Go on

JUDE

What's more embarrassing than your bride abandoning you at the altar on your wedding day? My heart sinks at the news of her disappearance. I couldn't understand why she would do that.

"I'm sorry Diana abandoned you but this wedding must happen with or without her." Mother says.

"What are you talking about?" I am perplexed.

"Thankfully, the Billing family has a second daughter to clean up their mess. You will wed her. She will be your bride."

My eyes widened in shock. She can't be saying I should marry that "I'm too good for everyone," daughter. Yenisse and I are opposite.

"No way. This can't work." Because we are not in love and it's common knowledge that we are always at each other's neck. Let the fact be known, in her world of definitions, I represent the word "hate".

"It will work. If the Billing fails to make this wedding happen today then all our deals with them would be rendered void."

"That should be their problem to be fixed. It doesn't even affect us. We were just doing them a favor. But you need to know Mom, I... I can't marry Yenisse." I have always imagined Diana to be my wife, not Yenisse.

"Why?" Mother asks.

"She is not in love with me."

"Then make her. Love can be taught. Show her what it means to be loved. You can learn to fall in love with someone. So if you treat her right, I don't see why that's not possible."

"What about me? Your son? Do you care about how I feel about this?"

"This marriage has always been an arranged marriage. We just gave you both time to get to know each other better before getting married. So what makes this one so different?"

"Because there is no time for us to get to know each other. Give us time and I'll show you why this wedding shouldn't take place."

"I won't make that mistake again. Not today. I won't give out the opportunity to make a fool out of myself again."

"Are you really going to say that?" I rake my hair with my fingers. "Yen would never agree to it," I add. "I dated her sister for two years, so I don't see how she would even consider this?" I am sure she is sane enough to not accept this decision.

"So should we embarrass our family by canceling the wedding in front of all these people?"

"These people are family, mom! We didn't invite outsiders. It was strictly family and close pals so it doesn't matter. I'm sure they will understand. Things like this can happen to anyone."

Diana and I had agreed for the wedding to be private so it was just a close gathering of family and super close friends.

"No! Not to the Wellingtons. Family or not, I'm sure they would be the happiest to hear the precious son of the Wellingtons, the most eligible bachelor in the country, was abandoned at the altar."

"So, is that all you care about?" Disappointment crowds me.

"Have you thought about how this can affect your inheritance?" Mother throws that at me.

That hits me so hard. That inheritance is important to me yet all I manage to voice is, "don't do this to her," I plead. I don't know why. I don't even care about her.

"Why don't you care about your family?"

"Of course I do." There is no doubt when it comes to that. I love my family.

"No, you don't." Mother's response put me in a maze.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"If you did, you would think about your father, my husband. He is in a critical condition and you know how happy he was to know that today his son was truly getting married. What do you think this news would do to him? Are you trying to kill him for me?" Her voice is wrapped with emotions and her eyes reeks of tears.

She has me there. Her words become my prison and there is no way to escape. All doors are sealed by that information. Anyway, my mother is right. This can send my father off to his grave. He was very happy when he heard I was getting married today and couldn't wait to meet the newlyweds. He showed a bit of life just by hearing that. I didn't want to be the cause of my father's death.

"Diana will show up, I won't disappoint Dad," I assure her, but even I somehow didn't believe that.

Mother smiles at me, "She won't. Forget about Diana for a second. Get ready to go out there and marry Yenisse. She will make a good wife. I'm sure of that."

"But what would the people think?"

"Like you said, those people out there are family. It won't matter to them as long as the wedding goes on. But if you're still worried, I'll take care of it. They will understand. Trust your mother." She smiles.

I blink rapidly, clearly doubting her words. Understanding is far from those people out there.

"This is an arranged marriage. It was always going to be between the two girls of the Billing family." She adds and walks out of my room as if that was supposed to help me get through with the wedding.

****

My best friend stands by my side as I take my place again at the altar in the beautiful garden Diana and I had chosen. A garden that belongs to my family of course, the Wellingtons. For some reason, she really wanted this garden to be our wedding venue but now she is not here and I don't even know if she is coming.

The wedding was supposed to start before now but it was delayed thanks to Diana. I don't know why I'm still standing here. I should have left when my mother informed me about Diana's disappearance. But I couldn't. This is my way of saving my family's name and my father's life. So I take my chances.

My breath seizes when Yenisse appears at the end of the aisle, on her father's arm. I am supposed to be disappointed it's not Diana but strange enough, I am not. I am smiling at her. She radiates beauty in a wedding dress that isn't hers. I wonder if Diana would have been able to pull it off like her. No, she wouldn't because she didn't even go through with the wedding.

How does it feel for Yenisse approaching a man to whom she has no claim? Perhaps, walking on broken glasses? Nothing about this day, not even the moment itself, belongs to her. Today is a farce, just like her dress is a mask that hides the truth, a life-long disguise that she must wear and none of it is truly hers to keep.

Then I heard whispers from the crowd and she paused mid-way. I could see her trembling. Will she run away? It looks like she is about to. My heart raced like a runaway train, I am super scared, I will not be abandoned for the second time. God, please!