Chapter 7: The Wedding

The man did not doubt Calantha’s silence. He thought Calantha was in suspense for her and Asher’s imminent wedding. From his point of view, the relationship between Selena and Asher had always been very good, they both were in love and looking forward to their wedding.

But if Selena married the man she loved, she would be happier and more excited than anyone.

Layla rushed over shortly after, she politely bowed to him and lowered her voice to inform him of something, he smiled delicately and left.

“Layla, who is he?” Calantha asked curiously.

“He’s Lady Selena’s father, Mr. Anderson,” Layla answered. “He came here to persuade you to allow him to walk down the aisle with you.”

“But, what? Why would he do that? He’s Lady Selena’s father, right?” Calantha asked in surprise.

“Yes, but he only sees Lady Selena as a tool at the service of his success. And he has hurt her so many times. For Lady Selena, he was the one who gave her life, not her father. Lord Pittman knows this, and he wants to please Lady Selena by treating Mr. Anderson coldly,” Layla replied.

Calantha was curious about what Mr. Anderson had done. But it was all Lady Selena’s personal affair, it was rude of her to figure it out.

“So I’m going to walk down the aisle with him?” Calantha asked.

“No, he won’t appear at this wedding, it was Lady Selena’s command. Plus, it would be easier for you to escape at the wedding if Mr. Anderson wasn’t there. Because he hired the guards for the wedding ceremony and they just took his orders.” Layla spoke earnestly, and she left the room soon after.

Calantha continued to do what she needed to do.

…

Mr. Anderson entered his personal room, pleased to have been assured that he would walk down the aisle with his daughter Selena. And then, the distinguished guests there would see him and know that he was the father of Lord Pittman’s wife. And then, big business contracts would come to him.

Mr. Anderson had never felt so pleased with his daughter.

As he was enjoying his coffee and thinking of the good things he would get in the future, Layla came and informed him that Selena had ordered a high-end watch and expected him to come to the store and get them.

“Why must I do the work?” Mr. Anderson asked unhappily. He did not like to have to work at anyone’s request.

“Lady Selena reserved for Lord Pittman. What could be better if you were the one who would give it to him directly? I’ll let the driver take you to the store.” Layla said humbly.

Mr. Anderson was no longer angry, excited to do what Layla said without any doubt. He was the clearest about Lord Pittman’s love for Selena. And he believed that with that high-end watch, Mr. Pittman would be pleased with him.

After Mr. Anderson left, Layla reported to Selena. Selena and John drove to the airport. Soon after, Calantha also had to enter the ceremony.

The wedding dress was bulky, Calantha was not used to wearing high heels, she had to be careful every step of the way.

Asher Pittman stood there with the priest. Calantha was eager to think of Asher picking up the veil and realizing she wasn’t Selena.

What would he do?

Would he immediately scold her and leave, leaving her alone, and she would have to face the scorn from guests like in her nightmares?

Whether he let Calantha leave when he found out that they had tricked him?

Her legs trembled. And Calantha felt she could fall at any moment thinking about what she was about to face.

“You need money. You did this because you need money to treat Gael and keep him going to an excellent school,” Calantha encouraged herself.

But the words of encouragement worked only temporarily, when Calantha took Asher’s hand and heard the priest, she could not look at Asher’s sharp eyes.

The priest said:

“Asher, do you take Selena to be your wife? Do you promise to be faithful to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and to honor her all the days of your life?”

Asher’s low voice sounded.

“I do.”

The priest said:

“Selena, do you take Asher to be your husband? Do you promise to be faithful to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and to honor her all the days of your life?”

Calantha tried to make her voice as similar to Selena’s as possible.

“I do,” Calantha said absurdly.

After answering, Calantha secretly assessed Asher’s face and panicked when she realized the suspicion had replaced the cheerfulness. But the bad things Calantha thought of didn’t happen.

Until they exchange wedding rings, the noises come from outside the ceremony. From a distance, Calantha could see Mr. Anderson trying to run into the ceremony.

Layla was still sitting in the front row without stopping him, Calantha understood that Selena and John had successfully escaped.

“Mr. Pittman, Mr. Pittman.” Mr. Anderson called Asher from outside the aisle repeatedly.

His loud and hoarse voice disturbed Asher. He thought Mr. Anderson wanted to break up his wedding ceremony. Before the wedding, he had already offered to escort Selena, but Asher let Selena decide. And the truth was she didn’t want to be escorted by him. He chosed to ruin their wedding ceremony because he couldn’t do what he wanted.

Asher suppressed his anger, he didn’t want to break the ceremony. Asher rubbed Calantha's hand to comfort her from the noise that shouldn't have been in this wedding ceremony.

Mr. Anderson was trying to barge in and inform Asher that Selena had escaped. But Asher’s personal bodyguards stopped him. He found this out when he realized the suspicion of the driver’s behaviour. He took Mr. Anderson to a deserted place, and held him there. When Mr. Anderson got a phone call from a close friend, he talked about catching Selena with John in a taxi. Mr. Anderson just found out Selena was planning to escape.

Asher and Calantha held hands and came back down the aisle and exited the house of worship in everyone’s blessing, and Calantha also began working on her escape plan.