Chapter 106 Exchanging Vows
Axel's POV
A serenading symphony of wedding songs that Lisa and I had chosen was being played on the organ and my heart squeezed in its position in my chest because I knew what the start of the music signaled. It had meant that in no time, Lisa would be walked down the aisle by her father toward me.
As I looked down the empty aisle I noticed that Volkov's men had moved from the positions outside the church and had joined my men indoors.
They all seemed to be in sync for some reason, but I couldn't possibly guess with the excitement in my veins, still, I looked over at Prince and nodded toward them so that he'd observe them and u could focus on Lisa, and he'd understood what my gesture meant and nodded back at me sharply.
I quickly shifted my mind from worrying about what might be irrelevant and focused on my wedding day again.
I became tense yet excited at the prospect of looking at her beautiful face for the last time before she became my wife before this congestion. I stood before the priest and darted my eyes toward the aisle impatiently as the adorable ring bearer and little bridesmaid walked out hand in hand.
They giggled at everyone that flashed them a smile in the audience as they walked to the altar, the little girl was elated as she threw flowers all about her until she'd completely emptied her little basket.
The ring bearer's tiny bowtie had become lopsided from how he'd jumped excitedly down the aisle and I stifled a chuckle before I quickly bent down to straighten it. Just then, I noticed that the music's tempo had become much softer and slower to signal the arrival of the bride and I immediately shot my head up to find Lisa, I didn't want to miss a single step she'd take.
My hands were still resting on the ring bearer's bowtie as I bent, but my eyes had darted to Lisa and I could feel all my nerves come alive as my jaw literally dropped from the ethereal beauty she oozed. I quickly gathered myself and stood to my feet before clearing my throat which had gone dry upon seeing her.
Her dad had an arm intertwined with hers as he walked her slowly down the aisle, their footsteps matching each beat of the song being played. I drank in Lisa's beauty and I couldn't fucking believe that the perfect woman walking toward me was about to be my wife, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as they inched close to where I stood.
It was as though the sparkling white of her dress caused her skin to glisten, I couldn't see half of her face underneath her veil but her full glossed lips were puckered toward me as though she was trying to blow me a kiss which made my silly heart beat faster.
What caught my eye truly was how she managed to look so elegant in such a simple dress, her hips swayed rhythmically as she walked and it drove me crazy as I watched how the dress clung to every single curve of her body.
After everything we'd been through I could barely contain my gratitude that we still ended up finding our way back to each other. I didn't believe that any other couple would've weathered the storms we experienced and as much as I'd have chosen an easier path leading up to this day, I wouldn't have had it any other way if it meant I didn't get to end up with Lisa.
"You're fucking unreal, I love you." I mouthed slowly to her the moment she finally reached where I'd been standing.
"I love you with everything I am." She whispered back and my reply got caught in my throat at how much her words affected me. I didn't think I could be any more elated than I already was but she proved me wrong by simply telling me how much she loved me.
"-and it's punishable by law to look as hot as you do right now" She muttered and smiled while the priest looked at us unaffected because he was used to affection being thrown around this way between a new bride and groom.
I, on the other hand, thought I'd fucking lose it if I didn't have Lisa in my arms soon enough. I noticed how she complimented me as "hot" unlike the other compliments I'd gotten today, and it stirred feelings inside me that shouldn't be heard of in a church.
The priest cleared his throat loudly as the processional wedding music stopped playing and I didn't get a chance to respond to Lisa's compliment so I settled for flashing her the biggest smile I could muster.
"I believe you've written your own vows?" He asked us both and we nodded in agreement at the same time.
"Alright, let's hear them. Brief please, we'll start with the groom" He announced loudly.
On a normal day, we shouldn't have been allowed to write our own vows but we pulled a few strings to get an exception because our marriage plans happened in a blur. After all, it was rushed, but we wanted our vows to be original despite the hassle of planning a wedding on such short notice.
"With everything I am, I choose you, Lisa. With every breath I take, I choose you. In every storm you weather, I choose you. On the worst days when the world throws us its worst, I choose you. On your bad hair days, I choose you and in every life after this, I choose only you, forever"
I recited the vows that had taken me weeks to perfect because I didn't think any words could quantify how much love I planned to shower her with for the rest of our lives, but I stuck with those lines because the one thing that was certain no matter what happened was that- I'd always choose her.
I heard her sniff as soon as I finished reciting my vows and I knew my lethally trained assassin was teary-eyed after hearing me pledge to always choose her. I loved that I had access to the version of her that was vulnerable and showed me an endless pool of love.
"You can recite your vows now, bride," The priest said since she'd been speechless for a minute or two instead of reciprocating with her own vows.
"Uhm, sure." She said nervously and took in a deep breath before speaking.
"The stars aligned the very day we met and since then our souls intertwined in a love I never knew existed. From that moment, moments in between, and more to come I've known that you were mine to have and I yours, forever."
Fuck, did she just make a grown as a mafia don teary-eyed? I looked away and blinked back tears, it was such an unfamiliar feeling for me to feel tears in my eyes. But she'd just made me the fucking happiest man on earth, and a joy like mine that knew no bounds was sure to push past unfamiliar limits.
I had no idea that the words she'd just spoken would be ingrained in my heart and my memory for the rest of my life-a life I was privileged to spend with a woman as unbelievably perfect as her.
"Did Axel Ivanov take Lisa Volkov as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest recited and I felt like I'd been drawn out of a trance and back to reality at that moment.
"With all my heart, I do," I said breathlessly as I waited to hear the same words leave her lips soon.
"And do you Lisa Volkov take Axel Ivanov as your lawfully wedded husband?" He asked her and I watched her lips in anticipation.
"With all my heart, I do." Her equally breathless reply, my heart had tipped over as a new wave of bliss hit me.
"By the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride" The words I'd been waiting for finally, Lisa was my fucking wife?!
It felt so surreal as I raised her veil and my eyes met her flushed gorgeous face, I didn't know why the universe sent me an ethereal being but I wasn't complaining either. I pulled her to me and laid a soft, affectionate kiss on her lips just before I felt a salty tear hit my lips.
I pulled away from the kiss to see that a few tears had rolled down her rosy cheeks as we sealed our marriage with a kiss. I simply wiped them off and smiled at her because I knew they were the same ecstatic tears I'd tried to hold back but she wasn't as successful in doing so as I was.
As the organ started playing music again and the congregation cheered for our new union, my eyes skimmed around the church hall again and I noticed that Volkov's men seemed to be glancing at their wristwatches impatiently. It was as though they were on the clock and needed a signal to advance their mission, and on instinct, my eyes searched for Prince again and I nodded toward them. He looked over at them and nodded at me to show that he'd also noticed their odd behaviors. Deep in my guts I shuddered, what was Volkov up to this time? Didn't he have the common decency of respecting his daughter's wedding day?
Just as the thoughts crossed my mind, gunshots filled the air and so did loud incessant screams from the congregation. Volkov's men had pulled out their guns the minute the second hand of the clock hit 12pm and they began shooting at our men mercilessly. I looked over at Prince and saw him drop his phone as he'd just authorized something over the phone.
As soon as he got off the call, more Ivanov men trailed in and leveled the playing field by shooting back at Volkov's men who had taken advantage of our ignorance. I was fucking enraged at how low Volkov would stoop to get back at us, yet my eyes darted away from the blood bath and I focused on Lisa.
She looked utterly distraught, the makeup around her eyes was ruined as she cried and watched the war that had broken loose minutes after we tied the knot. Her devastation was proof that she had no idea her father had a plan such as this up his sleeve, he always took advantage of Lisa's access to me and he simply saw it as a way to strike with the element of surprise on his side.
I pulled out my gun and grabbed Lisa tightly to my side to protect her. No matter what happened here today, I didn't want her to be a victim of her father's unseemly wiles again. Meanwhile, some people that cowered under the church seats had managed to run out screaming as all hell broke loose, but some unlucky persons were still curled up and screaming for their lives.
I held Lisa tightly against me and retrieved my walkie-talkie from my inner breast pocket and barked orders and questions about my father and brother's safety over it. In no time, I'd been able to gather that my father and brother had been taken to safety the moment the shootout began and I was somewhat calmer after I'd heard it.
As we stood behind the altar, safe from the crossfire I noticed that someone had begun to walk toward us. I looked over the altar and straightened to my feet when I realized that it was Lisa's father, she'd been crying since the shoot-out started and it broke my heart beyond words to see her so hurt, and I was going to make Volkov pay for ruining her day even if the was the last thing I did.
She equally straightened and faced her father as he fully came into view, he had a sinister smile plastered on his features that made my skin crawl and my blood boil. He stretched an arm towards Lisa to beckon to her before he finally spoke.
"Come over Lisa, your job here is done."
The fucking audacity of this bastard, he dared to use Lisa as a shield again?