The Twisted Wedding Night

The orchestra had stopped playing a while ago, and now, the only thing that accompanied me where I stood was the gaping silence.

Too loud. Too deafening.

Why were things different for me today?

"Where is he?" They whispered, their eyes moving around the room. But it wasn't from concern. I heard the amusement etched in their tones, the haughtiness in their eyes. The thrill of being right.

I moved my weight from one foot to the other, standing at the other end of the aisle, all alone. I had been here for an hour now. My cousin, Sophie, was supposed to walk me down the aisle as the only living member of my family, but she was nowhere to be found.

Yet, that wasn't what bothered me.

It was Zane's absence.

My gaze met the door for the thousandth time. It stood empty, the garlands wrapped around it, mocking me and the situation I found myself in. A knot worked its way to my throat, and I tried to push it down.

The crowd had moved on around me, their whispers audible, like I wasn't in the same room as them.

"Men usually do not develop cold feet during their weddings," one muttered, stacking unsolicited comments, one above the other. "So maybe he is just not interested in getting married to an emotional wreck like her."

"Did you guys hear she lost both her parents in a car crash on the same day?" I could see their ears perk up at that. The way their eyes found me, still waiting in front of the room, a thin line of sweat dripping down my tight corset.

"Call that a sympathy generator, but for me, I just see it as plain bad luck. What if Zane gets married to her and the same thing happens to him? What then? This is him trying to save himself, and if you ask me, I think he is making the right decision."

There was nothing around me to hurl across the room, colliding with the head of the woman who had just finished spewing nonsense, and even if there was, I wouldn't have been able to do a thing.

I reached for the lace of my corset and tried to loosen it. I chose this dress for Zane, and he wasn't even here to see it. He loved me in the modern styles, so I changed my wardrobe, purchasing a lot of corsets, reversible tops, and halter necks.

He said it made his friends see him the right way. I did it because I wanted to see Zane happy.

So, where the hell was he?

"Hi," I whispered to the planner, bent over a bouquet of roses that didn't need any further fiddling with. "Can I please get my phone?"

She had refused to hand it over for the past hour because, in her opinion, it would get me agitated. She'd said I had nothing to worry about, that she was sure Zane was on his way, along with my cousin, Sophie.

But now, her optimism had vanished along with the hopes of the guests that my wedding was holding.

One of her attendants scurried over to me a while later with my phone. There was no missed call from Zane or Sophie. My chest hurt, but I tried to give nothing away, flashing a smile at the guests before stepping further to the side to call Zane.

His phone didn't ring. Instead, it went straight to voicemail. He turned it off. Maybe he got into an accident.

Panic began to work its way through me as I picked the ball of my dress and returned to the planner. "We need to search in on all the hospitals around," I said in one breath, my pulse racing. "Zane's phone has been turned off. What if he had an accident and is in a critical state in the hospital while I am here, bothering about some silly wedding?"

I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. "Zane...he needs me."

"What if he isn't in the hospital, too?" The planner responded in a calm tone. "Let's give him another hour. You should try calling Sophie, too. If they both don't get here, we can go make a report at the police station. But for now, keep calling."

She regarded me as if she knew something I didn't. Still, I couldn't shake off that feeling that something bad had happened to the man I was in love with.

The tears threatened to roll down my face, and I tried to sniff them in. I heard feet shuffling in front of me and looked up to see some of the guests leaving.

If Zane didn't appear, I would be the talk of the town before the end of the day.

But I knew they were wrong. Zane would never stand me up like this. He loved me as much as I loved me. He told me that himself. We even had matching necklaces to prove our undying devotion to each other.

Something must have happened to him.

It felt like I'd been waiting forever when the doors to the chapel opened suddenly and Zane, my fiancé, sauntered in. His eyes weren't frantic, nor his feet hasty. But when he stopped in front of me, my hands reached out to touch him, and my eyes scanned his body frantically.

"Zane," I cried, touching his hair, his face, his chest, his arms. His suit was all rumpled, and his tie was askew, like he'd gone to bed with it. "Oh my God, Zane!"

Relief washed through me. "I thought something bad had happened to you. Did your car develop a fault? Did you have to go to the hospital? I should have been there for you. I'm so sorry, but I couldn't reach you, and they wouldn't let me leave the venue.

Zane's eyes were cold and expressionless when he wrapped both my hands in his and took them off his body, allowing them to drop limply by my side.

Something breaks inside me.

"Let's just get this over with."

And right on cue, my cousin walked in, her hair tousled, lipstick smudged, and a bold, angry bruise at the base of her throat.

My breath stopped.

My eyes scanned her rumpled dress, the slit by the side looking unnaturally long, almost like it had been ripped higher with force. She shrugged and grabbed her bouquet from the planner, coming to stand beside me.

"Have you been waiting for long?" she drawled, a smile etched on her features. "There was so much traffic on the way here. You would have died in it."

"Traffic?" I whispered, looking back at Zane. "But there wasn't any on my way here, and ..."

"Of course, this happened much later," Sophie continued, cutting me short. "We had to make a quick stop at a breakfast spot to get something to eat. You know how Zane can get if he doesn't have breakfast before starting his day."

And then, my cousin paused dramatically before adding, "You should have thought about that before opting for a morning wedding."

I tried to understand what was going on, but it only left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and a building headache.

It made no sense.

Nothing made sense.

"Sophie," I breathed, my voice coming out shaky, far from what I intended. "What were you doing with Zane? Why were you both together on the morning of our wedding?"

"Don't push it, Lily," Zane muttered under his breath. His hand reached for his tie, tugging gently. There was a faint smear of red on the white shirt, under the tie. It looked like lipstick.

And I didn't own a red lipstick.

"Zane... I was...."

The guests had begun to return, the hall gradually filling up again.

"You were the one who wanted a morning wedding, Lily," Zane muttered, shaking his head. "I told you my friends were throwing me a bachelorette and that I was bound to be hungover, but you didn't listen to me. Even Sophia..."

I shook my head slowly, careful not to make the curls unravel. I couldn't let Zane see me imperfect, not even for a second. "It was the planner, not me, remember? She wanted us to be done with this on time because you told her you had something else to do at night. Zane..."

"Oh!" His lips moved, and something shifted in his eyes. "Then, you should have reminded me that I'm not a morning person. Sophie was kind enough to help me today while you ran around trying to be perfect for your big day."

I felt something sharp hit my chest, so hard that I almost doubled over from the pain. Instead, I looked between them, a crease settling between my brows. "Sophie .... was with you throughout the night?"

He shrugged. "Unlike you, who had to have her beauty sleep, Sophie decided to go for the bachelorette with me. Now, don't go blaming her because she was actually doing you a favour. Would you rather I'd attended with some whore?"

"My cousin..."

Sophie rolled her eyes beside me, blowing out a stream of breath, like I was the one doing too much right now.

"Don't be so dramatic, Lily," she sighed. "Nothing happened, okay? I was just there for your fiancé to keep him out of trouble."

"You were supposed to be with me throughout the night, Sophie. That was the arrangement we had. This morning, random strangers had to get me ready for my wedding because the one person assigned to the task decided to go for a bachelorette that would have happened without your presence."

Sophie looked at Zane, and in that split second, something seemed to pass between them before she brought her attention back to me. "Of course, blame me for everything. It's what you always do."

"Sophie..."

"Stop it, Lily," Zane snapped harshly, just as the minister walked in through a side door. "Your cousin was only looking out for you. You should be thankful, rather than lashing out at her."

My lips parted, but before my thoughts could form anything coherent, the minister beat me to it.

"You have arrived," he muttered, not looking at either of us. "Shall we begin?"

The orchestra started with the song that should have been used to walk me down the aisle. There was tension in the room, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that I had done something terribly wrong.

I waited impatiently for the exchange of vows, and I guessed Zane did too, because he slipped the ring onto my fingers so fast, like he had somewhere else to be. I noticed he didn't allow his hands to linger on my body, almost like I revolted him.

Was this because of what I said earlier?

"You have now become man and wife," the minister announced after a couple of minutes. "You can now kiss your bride."

I raised my face eagerly, wanting this to be the moment that melted all the tension between us. But my lips landed in thin air as he planted a chaste kiss on my cheeks before turning around to face the crowd, leaving me no choice but to do the same.

I plastered a smile on my face, even though I was hurting deep down. Still, I had to make this day perfect for him. It was the least I could do after choosing not to follow him to his bachelorette.

We walked out to the entrance of the chapel, with the rest of the guests behind us. I barely knew any of them, but that was fine because my husband had a large army of friends and family.

My husband. It sounded so good and surreal.

At the entrance, while we posed for pictures, I tried to talk to Zane and Sophie, who had managed to push me to the edge of the pictures, with Sophie standing in the middle.

I didn't mind. They had every right to be upset.

"Thank you for looking out for my husband," I whispered when I had the chance.

She didn't look at me. "I thought you were still blaming me for all the misfortune in your life."

"You know if you had just told me..."

"Can we end this session?" Zane muttered suddenly, pushing away from the rest of the crowd, eager to take pictures with us. He turned around to look at me.

"I'm sorry, honey, but I am going to have to run along right now." It was hard to read the sincerity in his eyes. It felt like a robot talking. Like every bit of emotion had been tossed away.

"But...but the reception..."

"Yeah, about that," he breathed, shaking his head slowly. "We both know parties like that aren't really my thing. The ceremony is what is important, and we have gotten that out of the way. I have a meeting to attend."

"So what should I do?" I called out loud as he walked down the cobbled steps. "And where are you going to, Sophie?"

"The meeting is for both of us," she replied, waving her dainty little fingers in the air. "And you can go to the reception alone. I'm sure you can represent your husband well. It is the least you could do, after making him have a horrible bachelorette."

I didn't go to the reception. Instead, I returned to Zane's apartment, deciding to wait for him there. And while I waited, I got down to work, changing into the red lingerie I had purchased for the night.

I stood in the kitchen, clad in nothing but red lace, while I worked, making him his favorite dish of casserole and ensuring the refrigerator was stacked with the right drinks.

The heat from the kitchen made me sweat so bad, but I didn't care because I was doing it with so much love for Zane and the need to make him know I was really sorry for choosing my own rest over his enjoyment.

And on the side, I baked a little cake for Sophie, my cousin. It didn't matter that she wasn't present for half the day. She was still my maid of honor and deserved all the gratitude I could afford. She didn't have to go with Zane to that party, yet she went out of her busy schedule, so it didn't affect mine.

A smile splayed on my face as I set the table, adding candles to the mix. It was going to be just us tonight, and after having Sophie stay with us for the past month, I was excited to finally get some quiet time with my husband.

When the doorbell rang hours later, I sat cross-legged on the high-backed chair, revealing supple skin all the way to my thighs. I flicked on the candles and practiced a lazy stare.

The one I always saw in seduction movies.

I had a glass of wine in one hand when he strolled in, wearing the same outfit from earlier. I heaved a sigh of relief when I didn't see my cousin walking in after him, and at once, I felt guilty.

He stopped by the door and angled his head, drinking every bit of me. "Hey, wife," he greeted with a smile on his face – a smile that lit up the whole room.

In that moment, I decided that the hours spent in the kitchen were definitely worth it.

"Hey, husband," I whispered, motioning him over with my fingers. "Care to join me for dinner?"

Zane tugged at his crooked tie as he covered the space between us. His eyes shone with a mischievous glint as he brought his gaze to my things, beautifully covered in a glow oil I purchased online only about one hour ago.

I was glad I made that decision.

Bring the wine glass to my lips, I regarded Zane from the rim.

"You look hot," he whispered, bringing his hands down to mine. Zane took the glass from my fingers and slid it onto the table, lifting me to my feet.

His hands snaked around my bare waist, and I relished the feeling, happy to have him back. I knew this morning was just a one-time thing, and maybe the whole of last night. And the night after that.

The point was, he missed me and was glad to be married to me.

"I look hot for you," I replied, allowing him to lead me into a dance even without music. That was the thing about Zane and me. Our love was like the greatest orchestra that we didn't need an accompaniment to dance to. We were our own music.

"And this looks great," he added, nodding to the table. "But we might have to return to the house before we can dive into that."

I stopped, a smile growing on my face. "Are you taking me somewhere?"

Zane nodded excitedly. "It's a surprise."

"Yayy!" I chirped, hitting my palms together. "I'll just go change and meet you right here."

He reached out again, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me flush against his chest. His eyes dipped to the rise of my cleavage as she shook his head slowly.

"You don't have to change into anything else. This is perfect."

"Zane," I drawled, hitting him playfully. "You are so nasty. This is for your eyes only. I should cover up."

"And they'll be for my eyes only," he said, winking. "I'll be the only one there. The surprise is just for both of us."

I found it odd stepping out in just sheer lace, but Zane said it was okay. He helped me into the passenger's seat of his car and handed a coat over to me for the cold. As he pulled out into the road, I noticed a pair of heels discarded on the floor.

Peering at them, I remembered seeing them a few weeks back.

"Don't these belong to Sophie?" I questioned, tilting my head. "Did she forget them here or something?"

My cousin never wore the same pair of heels twice, so that meant the heels had been in his car for a couple of weeks. That was possible since Zane stopped letting me drive with him, or go anywhere with him for that matter.

"Yeah," he answered casually. "Her feet hurt and she needed something more level, so I asked her to leave them there."

"And?"

"And I gave her a piggyback." Zane turned to look at me. "Really, Lily? Don't tell me you are jealous of your own cousin. Her feet hurt, and she needed to move. Should I have left her wallow in ankle pain while I walked about with a perfectly working back?"

I couldn't remember the last time Zane gave me a piggyback, but I doubted that was what he wanted to hear.

"I never said I was." I just found it really uncomfortable that they were getting so close, but I mean, that was the prayer of every bride, that her family would accept her husband. And Sophie was my only family.

I shook my head. "You are right, Zane. I am just in over my head with the wedding preparation and all. Glad it is over."

"Yeah," he purred, covering my hands with his. "I am glad it's done, too."

And for the first time that night, I had the strangest feeling that we were not talking about the same thing.