A Wedding To Remember

Candy WestGreen was hyperactive, making sure that the wedding preparation was nothing short of perfection.

She checked the kitchen and smiled in approval as she saw the chefs were busy doing what they were paid for.

The two families had agreed to have a small family wedding in the presence of the priest. So, even though they were extremely wealthy, it was just a few people that were in attendance... just a few people that mattered.

"Where's your sister?" Tony WestGreen, her father, asked. "She's supposed to be beautifying herself right now. I checked her room, but she wasn't there. The make-up artist arrived a couple minutes ago, and he's been waiting for her. He's beginning to get irritated."

Danny stepped out to walk her dog. It was something she was used to and insisted on carrying out her usual routine, even though it was a special day for her.

Before Candy could answer her father, two men ran in, panting.

"Candy, Candy..." One of them called as he tried to steady himself by holding his chest. With his hands on his knees, he looked up at them, fear and worry written all over his face.

Tony held the young man by the shoulder and helped him to stand properly, "What's the matter?"

"It's Danny!" He declared and fell on his knees.

Candy's eyes widened at the mention of her twin's name. 'Didn't Danny go to walk Robin?' She thought aloud. Robin was the name of the dog.

Robin was especially fond of Danny and wouldn't let any other person walk him. So even though Candy had offered, Danny turned down the request.

"What about Danny?" Candy retorted with a shaky voice. She said a silent prayer and hoped that Danny returned safely. The truth was that Danny was already hours late, but father and daughter tried to appear less worried, so as not to alert anybody.

"Danny is dead!" The other young man said. He was panting and shivering and anybody could tell that he was panicking.

Candy's first reaction was to laugh out loud until tears began to form in her eyes.

"This joke you're trying to crack is very expensive. Please, don't say such things on my sister's wedding day. She isn't dead, she just went to walk Robin." Candy shrugged and stared at her father who looked at her like she had lost it.

"I said Danny's dead! She's dead! We saw her dead body at first, but when we went to seek help, we came back and couldn't find her body anymore."

There was silence for a minute or two. This was when realization dawned on Candy.

Candy screamed and fell to the floor. She began to roll and pull on her clothes as though she wanted to undress in everyone's presence. Tony grabbed her and took her to her room. He closed the door behind them, to shield off any noise.

"What's happening, father?" Candy asked in between sobs. "This can't be true, right? I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming," she repeated. She pinched herself and felt the pain. It was obviously not a dream. Her twin was no more.

Tony invited the men into Candy's room.

"You mustn't tell anyone about what has happened," he said with a faraway look. It seemed as though his soul left his body. "Take this morning, and take this information to your grave." He said with finality in his voice.

The two young men exchanged confused glances, but they still took the money.

"But, sir...?" One of them began but was cut short by Tony.

"Where's her body?"

"Her body was nowhere to be found, which is strange. We checked the site ourselves, but only saw traces of blood..."

"You two can go," Tony waved his hands and gestured towards the door. Without a word, they left.

Meanwhile, Candy was no longer crying. She stared into the thin air without blinking, as though she were in an eye contest with an invincible person. She began to smile slowly and mutter incomprehensible words.

Tony got scared and shook her violently, calling her name at intervals.

"Come to your senses, Candy! Snap out of it!"

He took Candy into a tight embrace, stroking her hair and rubbing her back, "I don't believe those men," he said.

Candy withdrew from the hug and looked up at him, wiping the tears off her face with the hem of her dress. There was a flicker of hope on her face.

With raised eyebrows, she said, "What will you do, father? Ray's family will soon be here."

Tony thought hard for some seconds, then said, "Let me call Mr. Moore. He can secretly investigate this for me while we delay the wedding as much as we can."

Candy nodded repeatedly and stood up to get her father's phone. She was too weak to talk or do anything, so she just let her father do what he knows how to do best.

He called Mr. Moore and narrated everything that happened to him. With a promise to get back to him, Mr. Moore hung up.

A couple of minutes later, Tony's phone buzzed against his breast pocket and he picked it up.

"There was indeed an accident, and there's evidence that Danny died on the spot. We were able to find the dead bodies of two children and their parents who were also involved in the accident, but we are yet to find Danny's body."

The phone was on a loudspeaker, so immediately Candy heard what Mr. Moore said. She slumped on the bed and began to breathe fast.

Memories of her mother's death flooded her mind. She remembered how she and her mother were kidnapped years ago, and confined in a very small room with zero air.

By the time her father came to their rescue, her mother had already suffocated and died. She survived and was rescued by her father and his police friend, Mr. Moore; although the kidnappers escaped.

However, ever since then, she has been traumatized and possessed extreme fear for little spaces. She was claustrophobic.

Candy temporarily zoned out, and it seemed as though she was reliving the whole incident again, hence the reason she was breathing fast.

Tony ended the call and ran to his daughter. With his hands on her shoulders, he said, "Take a deep breath, Candy. Remember not to think of any ugly incident."

He turned her to face him, then continued, "Focus on my fingers and count with me... One, two, three... Focus on me, Candy."

Within seconds, Candy began to breathe steadily, and her nerves became calm. However, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"What are we going to do, father?"

"It's alright, everything would be fine."

"First we lost our mother, and now Danny... Danny is gone! What are we going to do?"

There was a light knock on the door.

Candy stood and went to open the door.

It was Danny's chief bridesmaid, "Ray and his family are here. They're asking for the bride..."

Candy and Tony exchanged wary glances.

"We'll be there soon," Tony said and faked a smile.

"Is something wrong? You both look like you've been crying..." Gia, the chief bridesmaid said.

"Tears of joy," Candy said and laughed. "Today's a happy day, isn't it?

"It sure is. Where's Danny? I haven't seen her all day."

"Oh! Well, Dan–Danny..." Tony stuttered, but Candy interrupted.

"Danny has been having a runny stomach since morning," she knitted her brows and made a sad face, "We have it under control, though. She'll be fine and we'll soon be out."

Gia nodded and without another word, left the room.

The moment she exited, Candy locked the door. With her back against the door, she asked, "What are we going to do now?"

Tony walked up to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them gently reassuringly.

"You, Candy, are going to take your sister's place. You'll marry Ray Edmond."

"What do you mean, father? How could I possibly marry my twin's fiancè?" Candy was visibly angry and uncomfortable. She couldn't believe her father just suggested such a thing to her.

*Hear me out, Candy. Come and sit down." Tony gestured to a spot beside him on the bed, and Candy went to sit beside him.

Her heart was racing fast and she prayed that she heard her father wrongly. She didn't want to have to get married to Ray.

"We can't call off this wedding because we've already signed a contract and we have to honor it. It wouldn't be wise to let anyone know that your sister is no more. We have to conceal that truth for as long as possible."

Candy smoothened hair and ribs her itchy eyes slightly, then replied, "This new arrangement is actually pretty risky. You know that Ray and Danny have been friends for some time now. He practically knows her. He'd be able to tell that I'm impersonating." She shifted uncomfortably, wanting to create as much distance as possible.

"I know you can do this Candy. For me... and for your sister. We need you to do this.

You'll have to try and blend in and live Danny's life. I'm very sorry that I have to ask this of you," Tony ran his fingers through his hair. He took the glass of water beside the table and gulped it down.

"You're literally asking me to sacrifice my life for Danny, father. I mean, I have a life to live, too. I have dreams. It would be very hard to find a balance between all of these," Tired and frustrated, Candy racks her brain for an alternative.

"How about Ona? I'm sure she will be more than happy to take Danny's place."

Tony shuts Candy with a deadly stare and she shuts up immediately. She was aware that her father didn't like talking about Ona, who was his illegitimate daughter, and her step-sister.

"Alright Father, I'll do it. I'll marry Ray. I'm doing this for you and Danny."

Tony captures Candy in a bear hug and then gives her a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you, sweetheart. You don't know how relieved I am. Thank you." Candy noticed that her father was crying, and her heart broke into a thousand pieces.

"Cheer up father," she encouraged him as she wiped the tears off with a handkerchief. "Are you forgetting you have to walk me down the aisle?"

There was no aisle actually, but the description wasn't totally wrong because Tony still had to present and hand over Candy to Ray.

"Of course," Tony smiled and patted Candy's hair like he always did. "You'll need to dye your blond hair black and choose a wedding dress that would hide your birthmark and mole. We can't have anyone suspecting anything. Your eyes... you'll also need a contact lens."

Candy let out a tired groan, "Yes, Father. I'll be sure to make no mistakes."

Tony left the room and Candy immediately began to dress up. With the help of the maidservants waiting on her, she dyed her hair to a perfect black color, just as Danny's.

Afterward, the makeup artist did his magic on her face. Candy could hardly recognize the reflection that stared back at her from the mirror. She was sure that Ray would be awestruck at the sight of her. Indeed, she was 'the goddess of beauty' as people popularly called her.

When everything was set and it was finally time for the wedding, Tony escorted Candy and presented her to her husband-to-be.

Candy put up such a good act that no one could tell that she wasn't Danny. Everyone exclaimed at her beauty immediately as she stepped into the room. Ray was especially mesmerized at the sight of her. He never bore romantic feelings towards Danny, but he was sure that he fell in love with her a thousand times after she walked into the room. Little did he know that he was getting married to Candy and not Danny.

"I'll stay by you and love you for better or for worse..." The couple said the words excitedly and proceeded to go in for their first kiss.

The most important part of the wedding was over. The couple exchanged vows and we're practically husband and wife already.

It was time for the couple to dance, afterward the refreshments would follow.

Even though the marriage was based on a contract, and the couple weren't exactly in love with each other, they were still good friends, and the marriage was going to be beneficial to both parties anyway.

"The color of your pupils is different today. Are you wearing a lens?" Ray asked as he stared at her intently, as though he were trying to read her mind and discover the secret she was hiding.

Candy's stomach churned violently and her heart sank. She had forgotten to change her contact lens.

"Shit! I hope he doesn't realize my true identity. Father warned me not to make any mistakes, but this slipped my mind." She thought to herself.

However, she faked a smile and tried to evade the question. "I...wanted to look exceptionally beautiful, so I decided to try this out. Do you like it?" She blinked her eyes repeatedly and succeeded in diverting his attention to her lashes.

"Yes, I like them," Ray spun her around lightly, then caught her perfectly in his arms, "her lashes are really beautiful, too."

Candy almost gave in to blush, but she reminded herself that she despised the man in front of her, and the fact that he was being sweet irritated her.

He was handsome, yes! In fact, every lady in that room had her eyes on him, but not her. She was only getting married to him because of her sister and father.

She had only met Ray twice and on those occasions, he had gotten on her nerves badly. So, she didn't really like him.

But, for some reason, he was being sweet to her that evening and she wondered why.

"Oh!" She exclaimed aloud. "It's because you actually think I'm Danny, right? But, I'm Candy, actually. That's obviously the reason you're this nice to me."

"What?" Ray released his tender grip on her waist and disentangled her hands from his.

The reception was quiet and everyone stopped dancing and looked at the bride with their mouths wide open. It was then that Candy realized what she said and what it meant.

Tony was unsure of what to do and how to react. He stared, shaken beyond words. He started to approach Candy when he heard Ray make a suspicious remark.

"What did you just say?" Ray took two steps backward, as though he were avoiding any form of contact in general.

Candy shifted uncomfortably. She stared at the people present, and she felt dizzy instantly. Everyone was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Danny, why make such an expensive joke?" Tony, who was right in front of his daughter said. He patted her hair knowingly. No one in the room understood what was happening, but Candy got the signal.

"I can't believe I got you all," Candy burst into an eruptive laughter. "Can't you differentiate between Candy and me even up to this point?" She took Ray's palms in hers and looked him in the eye.

"I get it now. She's trying to play a prank on us to know if we can tell that this is really Danny," One of her uncles said.

"It took you so long to put the puzzle together," Tony exhaled a sigh of relief. He turned around to look at everyone's face, ensuring that there was no trace of suspicion left.

Everyone present seemed to wave it off. Everyone... except Ray, and Danny's chief bridesmaid, Gia.

"... But, Danny, why isn't your twin here? Gia asked.

"There was an emergency surgery that needed her attention earlier. That's a valid reason for Candy not to be at my wedding, don't you think?" Candy was surprised at how she was pulling it off effortlessly. She was a good actress, no doubt.

Gia seemed to relax a bit, and Tony's heartbeat went back to normal.

One look at Tony and anyone would know that he was yet to be convinced, but he didn't push it further. He couldn't place his hands on it, but he knew for sure that Damn was acting strange. Something was off somewhere. He could feel it.

The wedding came to an end, and the couple signed the contract agreement in the presence of the priest, the lawyer, and both parents.

********

"We don't have to do what couples do on wedding nights, do we?" Candy asked as she struggled with the red, velvet, short-sleeved mini dress that she wore for the little after party that they had after the wedding.

"Can you wear that dress for some more time? You look stunning and ravishing in it, and I don't want to ever forget what you look like in it." He talked to her so tenderly which troubled Candy. She wondered if this was how he normally spoke to Danny...

"Someone would think you've fallen in love with me," Candy rolled her eyes. "Don't speak to me that way, please. It makes me feel..."

He cut her off.

"Feel?" Then, he approached her quietly and turned her quietly till she faced him. "You've been acting quite differently today, and I can't tell the reason."

Candy's stomach knotted and her heart skipped a thousand and one beats.

"Maybe I'm just exhausted. I didn't think today would be as busy as it was. It was quite... a lot." She exhaled forcefully, hoping against all odds that Ray wouldn't push the topic any further.

"Yes, I understand," he concurred. " As a matter of fact, I like it. You used to be all cranky like an old woman and not the kind of lady I would have loved to marry all this while. But... today? You surprised me. It was as though a different version of you that I had never seen before came out..."

'If only you know how right you are.' Candy muttered under her breath, but Ray didn't hear.

Then, she said aloud, "We have tons of pictures and videos, though. Don't worry, you'll see me in even prettier outfits." She resumed her struggle with her beautiful red dress. Sliding her arms over her head, she tried to open the zip but failed repeatedly.

Giving off a small, infectious smile, Ray said, "May I?"

Candy sighed in defeat, and turned her back, almost making contact with his chest.

Ray intentionally placed his hands on her shoulders and trailed them down her elbow. The feel of her smooth skin against his palms made him shiver.

"Ray..." Candy began, but stopped midway. She decided not to pretend. She was enjoying it too. She had never been in a relationship before, and she disliked physical touch with every fiber of her being. She was surprised at how she wasn't over-protesting, and being aggressive at Ray's advances.

She closed her eyes, and took in every touch, every moment; after all, their contract stated that they were to satisfy each other sexually, but refrain from having children, as they were not a real couple and their contract was to last for three years.

Ray pulled down her dress, exposing her beautiful back skin. She wore a black strapless lace bra, with complementary panty. She had earlier used makeup to personally cover the mole on her neck and the birthmark above her wrist, so there's nothing to worry about.

When Ray's hands started to gently tug on her bra, Candy's body stiffened. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, please carry on."

... He undid her bra and kept it on a part of the bed. Turning her until she faced him, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She didn't kiss him back. He deepened the kiss slowly, and when she started kissing him back, he increased the speed. As he kissed her, he placed his hand on her breast and played with her nipple, caressing it and he heard her moan his name.

"Ray, please..."

He hurriedly undressed himself. She was tempted to offer to undress him, but she knew she'd be too shy, and would probably take the whole time in the world, so she let him do it.

When he was done, he carried her carefully onto the bed.

"Why are you being very careful with me? I thought men were quite rough and careless when it comes to this."

Ray's gaze feasted on her skin lustfully and lovingly. "I... don't want to hurt you. I'm tempted to rush the process and get done with it, but for some reason, I want you to enjoy this, too. That's also my duty as your husband."

Husband? Yes, he was her husband now.

"Before you proceed, I want you to know something..." Candy started. She still had her panty on, and she could feel that she was already wet. "I'm...I'm a virgin. I've never had sex before. I've never even been in an actual relationship before. You... are my first."

But, as soon as she let those words out, she regretted it.

Ray's brows furrowed in confusion, and he began to withdraw. "That's not possible, Danny. Are you playing a prank on me again? Remember when you had a crush on Kelvin, back in uni? You told me you had sex with him even though you guys never dated and he confirmed."

He was on his feet now, naked without a piece of cloth on him. Candy felt like telling him to come back to bed and finish what he started, but she knew better not to say a word.

"You don't have to lie that you're a virgin. I don't mind if you aren't. I'm not one myself." He was nervous and he knew it. He wanted to run his hands on her skin. He wanted to trail kisses on every part of her body. He wanted to fondle those beautiful breasts of hers that fitted his hands perfectly as if they were created with him in mind. But, he couldn't. His heart raced faster and all he could do was ask the one question that was threatening to choke him.

"You can't be a virgin when you and our friend had sex in the past. The whole school knew. They caught both of you making out in hidden places on some occasions..."

"I'm a virgin, Ray," Candy said, and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Then, you aren't Danny." He said with finality, and she said nothing in response. She just stared at him without blinking.