".... I promise to love and cherish you for as long as we live and beyond. I will respect you and always remember that you are my partner before anyone else. I will put you and our family first in my decisions. You are mine in totality just as I am yours. Together we shall grow in loyalty, in abundance, in comradeship, in support and eternal love. I will forever be by your side in everything that comes our way on this journey of life…."
"I, Maxwell Rohan, take you, Reyona Beatrice Dexter, as my lawfully wedded wife today in the presence of God and man, with the promise to cherish our vow until I breathe my last."
"I, Reyona Beatrice Dexter, take you, Maxwell Rohan, as my lawfully wedded husband today in the presence of God and man, with the promise to cherish our vow until the day I die."
As her sister and her husband completed the vows they had worked on themselves and slid the rings on each other's fingers, Toria tried hard to keep her tears at bay as the minister said, "You may kiss the bride."
As catcalls went up among the guests because of the lingering kiss that the couple gave themselves, Toria gave up on her makeup as her tears spurted out.
"Aww, you sweetie," she said as she collected the handkerchief that Junior raised to her.
He grinned proudly as he adjusted his suit.
He had been the ring bearer and had done beautifully well.
Just as Allysyn had been the perfect flower girl with her friend, Amelia, while one-year-old, Athena had toddled alongside them with concentration on her face.
Then she had broken rank when she saw her father standing with the groom.
She had toddled towards him while shouting "Da da" to the guests' delight.
Greg and Martin, their twin half-brothers, had attended the wedding as well as their father, George.
The teenage twins had been elated when Max asked them to be his groom's men alongside Andrew.
"He sure knows how to bring family together" she mused as she remembered most of the things he had done to ensure that they were involved in all the important moments that had led to this day.
She knew the twins were not going to forget this day in a hurry.
Unlike with her, they had never really spent much time with Reyona all of their lives and this was a big way to get them involved in the big day.
Toria still remembered the pride on Gladys' face when Reyona had surprised her by saying she wanted her and Carlisle to walk her down the aisle.
Gracefully walking towards her man between her parents, Reyona was the most beautiful bride ever in her exquisite gown.
The way the gown moulded perfectly against Reyona's body reaffirmed Toria's earlier declaration that it was a perfect choice indeed.
She had been with Reyona when the world-renowned designer, Flo, had shown Reyona her legions of samples to choose from.
They had ended up going for a customised one.
As they each brought up ideas about the most fitting gown, Flo's assistant was busy at work drawing up what they were talking about.
By the time they had discarded four completed drafts, they finally arrived at this masterpiece.
The wedding gown was a cream-coloured ball gown with a fitted bodice covered in Swarovski crystals.
It had an off-the-shoulder neckline made of Chantilly lace.
Then the skirt was made from layers of silk organza and had a chapel-length train with floral appliqués.
The corset closure with crystal buttons at the back was just perfect.
The veil was the most whimsy material Toria had ever seen.
Flo really lived up to her title of being a legendary designer.
And the wedding lived up to its label as the most iconic wedding of the year.
Toria had never seen most of the faces she saw that day all her life.
She couldn't help but marvel at how down-to-earth Max seemed most of the time, that she almost forgot how influential he was.
Everywhere was dazzling, not just with the decorations and artistic lighting at the reception, but with the calibres of people in attendance.
The couple had not sent out invitations. Yet, they had made it known in their circle that everyone was welcome to attend.
Toria stopped counting people when she lost count twice after counting over four hundred people in attendance.
To think she had made a jest earlier that they would have a lot of leftovers later if many people did not show up to do away with the massive banquet that the caterers had prepared.
Toria was really happy to have been blessed with the best sister in the world.
She was happy about the beautiful second chance she had got in life.
Reyona deserved the best of everything and Maxwell was one of the many things she deserved.
And she made sure to include that in her toast, after tossing in some embarrassing information, of course.
Then it came to the bouquet-tossing moment.
Toria did not bother to rush forward like most ladies did.
She sipped her wine in salute to Sehima Hasanova, one of the few specially invited guests.
She was prepared to go have a conversation with the woman when the bouquet flew past all the expectant ladies, hit her on the head and landed right at her feet.
"Ouch," she said dramatically as everyone laughed and one of the ladies snatched up the bouquet with a hoot.
"Good luck with that." Toria mused as she changed her mind about going to meet Sehima and went to the farthest seat from the excitement.
She had nothing against the bouquet.
She had hustled for her share of bouquets just for fun but at the moment, it just held as little appeal as a pulled tooth for her.
She suddenly felt like lying down.
Or maybe she could get her recently purchased motorcycle and ride as fast as she could.
Maybe she would just fall off the edge of the world and get it all done with.
Her sudden melancholy had nothing to do with the bubbly scene behind her.
It had everything to do with the turmoil in her heart.
Distress she had no business feeling.
Not about a fucking liar.
She had caught him in his lies.
Well, it had been shoved down her throat and she had dealt with it.
She had walked out of the asshole's life after leaving a teeny tiny surprise for him.
She had not acknowledged any of his "It is not what you think, I can explain" bullshit.
Then why had she felt like crap these past few weeks?
Why had she hated his pestering so much when he was doing it, then missed it when he stopped?
It wasn't the pestering she missed, she admitted to herself.
Not as much as she missed him. Damn it.
How can she miss someone who…
The glass Toria raised to her mouth paused in the air as her eyes met with those of the man standing some distance away from her.
"What is he doing here?" She wondered, just as she saw him inclining his head at someone to their left.
Reyona! Now she knew how he had gotten here.
Reyona winked at Toria and then mouthed, "Talk to him."
At least that was what Toria supposed she had said before her besotted husband came to meet her that it was time for their dance.
As her sister followed the man who actually cared about her, Toria drained the wine from her glass.
Then she turned to face the liar she missed.
THE END
Author's Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for following this journey from the beginning to this point.
I appreciate your comments, votes, review and continuous reading.
You are my real MVP.
Reyona's story has come to an end here as she went on to live happily ever after while navigating the beauty and trials of life with the love of her life.
But then Toria's story is just about to begin.
What do you say to navigating Toria's new journey as she confronts her rollercoaster feelings for Andreas while dealing with the powerful Kanellis family and forces determined to keep them apart?
Would you like to see if a headstrong, free-spirited lady like Toria can fit into the imperious and honourable family while she fights her demons?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.
Thank you for being here.
Do check out my other books.
I am Kabirat Aleem.