"You look beautiful," Cherry said, watching as the hairstylist added the last finishing touches to Alia’s hair. It had been pinned up in an elegant and elaborate bun, curly frills running down to fra her face, while the bun itself was adorned in small milky pearls.
Alia looked at herself in the mirror, admiring it as well. She was imnsely pleased with how the hairdo turned out, especially when paired with the dress. Everything felt so surreal.
After all that planning, after all those sleepless nights fretting about what was to co, the day was finally here. What started out as a re contractual agreent had beco a fairytale romance.
And Alia wouldn’t have it any other way.
There ca a knock on the door before Ronan’s voice could be clearly heard.
"Are you dressed?" he asked from outside, his voice muffled slightly by the door.
"Yes," Cherry answered. "Co in."
"The guests are starting to arrive," Ronan said once he was allowed the greenlight, poking his head in. When his eyes landed on Alia, they visibly brightened. "Alia, congratulations! Matteo is one lucky man."
"I am one lucky woman too," Alia said with a bright smile.
She was glad that Jenna was able to save this dress after Emline tried to destroy it. It felt as though her mother was with her for this wedding, a feeling which ward her heart greatly.
"Well," Ronan said, "I shan’t keep you guys. Almost everyone is ready; they will also be closing the doors soon enough. That’s when the ceremony will start."
Alia nodded. She shared a look with Cherry, then said to Ronan, "Is Emline here already?"
"Unfortunately," Ronan replied with a roll of his eyes. "She is with her parents and your grandfather. At the very least she didn’t show up in white."
"That’s the least of my worries when it cos to her," Alia confessed with a roll of her eyes. "I guess we’ll just have to see what she might have in store for us later when the actual wedding ceremony begins."
"Well, the security team is ready to boot her out whenever needed," Ronan said. And hopefully, your grandfather will keep to his promise. If she tries anything funny, she will have hell to pay."
***
When the wedding the started playing and the doors opened to reveal Alia in a stunning white dress, she thought she felt tears in her eyes. Her father stood right by her side, holding out a hand for her to take.
When she looked over, she saw that it wasn’t just her who was crying― her reflection could be seen in the tears that welled up in his eyes.
Father and daughter said nothing, and Alia didn’t want to either. She rely pinched her lips together tightly into a fine line before offering a smile. Then, in synchrony, she and her father turned to look at the altar situated right at the end of the ballroom they had booked. There, Matteo stood, dressed to the nines, and the officiant was there as well.
Alia took her father’s hand and began walking down the aisle as the music played. Each step felt lighter than the previous one― she wanted nothing more than to sprint down the aisle and into Matteo’s arms.
But throughout the journey, she could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes watching her.
Her grandfather and the Montgorys have invited too many people, including journalists of established publishing houses and their business partners. She could even spot so celebrities she had only ever seen on the television. There were so many people invited that those she could recognize barely even filled a quarter of the ballroom.
While most of these gazes were filled with awe, she could feel prickling glares coming from multiple directions. One of which stood out the most was from none other than her beloved cousin, Emline Hawthorne. Her eyes followed her like a predator would a prey.
To top it off, she caught a ghost of a smile on Emline’s lips right as she walked past her table. Alia tried her best to ignore her. She felt sick to the stomach and just the thought of it made her feel like gagging.
Alia closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself, trying to press the nausea down.
As she got closer, she could see the smile that hung on Matteo’s face. When her father finally passed her hand over to Matteo, Alia could spot several sparkling tears clinging to the latter’s eyes.
"Treat her well," was all Michael Kentwood said before he turned and returned to his seat.
"You look beautiful," Matteo whispered, which only caused the smile on Alia’s face to brighten even further.
Whatever nervous butterflies she had previously were quickly blown away by the secure warmth of Matteo’s hands and the gentle smile that curved his lips. With him by her side, she instantly felt a wave of serenity.
"Dearly beloved," the officiant started, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the union between Matteo Montgory and Alia Kentwood in holy matrimony. Mr. Montgory, do you promise to..."
As the officiant began to drone on and the music quietened down for this important mont, Alia spotted sothing from the corner of her eyes. There was a movent at one of the guest tables― to be exact, the table which sat the bride’s side of the family.
Horace Hawthorne seed to be unaware of everything, his eyes glued solely on Alia. When he caught her gaze, he even gave her a small smile, which Alia returned, albeit half-heartedly. Her eyes quickly left him to search for the voice.
Sothing wasn’t right. There was a nagging feeling chewing at the back of her mind and she needed to know what it was.
"Miss Kentwood? Miss Kentwood!"
"Oh!" Alia jolted a little, turning her gaze back to the officiant.
"Is everything alright?" Matteo murmured, leaning in a little closer so he need not speak too loudly.
Alia’s face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper that even her makeup couldn’t cover it perfectly.
She turned and t his concerned eyes. "I... Yes, everything is fine," Alia said. She then looked at the officiant. "Please continue."
He cleared his throat and repeated himself. "Do you, Alia Kentwood, take Matteo Montgory as your lawfully wedded husband? To cherish him always, to honor and sustain, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, and be true to your love in all things until death does you part?"
"I do―"
"Wait!" A cry rang out across the ballroom and instantly, Alia’s blood froze.
This. This was what she was worried about.
She and Matteo turned on their heels to see that Emline had stood up. She gazed firmly at Alia, her eyes filled with hatred, then at Matteo determinedly.
Emline was in a tight-fitting silk gown which kept very little of her figure to the imagination. While it was not white in color, it was still very bold and showed off plenty of her curves. However, there was sothing off about her figure.
Alia hadn’t seen much of Emline ever since they last crossed paths at the charity function, but now that she looked at her cousin again, the latter had gotten visibly plumper. To be exact, there was a subtle bump on her stomach which Emline tried to protect from view with her hands.
"Emline, what are you doing?!" Horace Hawthorne hissed imdiately. "Sit back down! Don’t make repeat myself."
"Wait, Grandfather, please," Emline said, her voice shaky as she finally tore her gaze away from Matteo to look at her grandfather. "I need to do this. If I don’t, I know I will regret this for the rest of my life!"
"Are you insane?" This ti, it was Aiden who got to his feet from his table. "Sit back down before you make a fool of yourself!"
"Shut up!" Emline cried out. Tears spilled from her eyes as the crowd went silent. This was the first ti they had ever seen the prim and proper Hawthorne princess burst into tears in such a public event. "You of all people have no right to stop !"
"Emline―"
Horace Hawthorne was ruthlessly ignored as Emline scrambled away from her seat. She all but ran towards the stage where Matteo and Alia stood, and at the bottom of the short staircase, she stood and stared at Matteo longingly.
"Matteo, please, you can’t marry her," Emline pleaded.
"Emline, get back here!" Aiden yelled from the table, pushing himself away from his seat as well. However, no matter how quickly he tried to move, he was still one step too slow.
Emline took a step forward, completely ignoring the eyes and ears that were on her. She ignored Alia’s presence as well― she solely had Matteo in her eyes.
"Matteo, please don’t abandon ," she said.
Her words instantly caused both Matteo and Alia to frown. They were never an item― how could Matteo abandon her?
Aiden gritted his teeth, pushing and shoving past the decoration and a few guests just to reach the front of the stage. "Emline, that’s enough―!"
Emline’s lips parted. "Matteo, I am pregnant with your child."
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