Chapter 29 — The Big Day

Ivan looked at himself through the mirror. After all, today was the royal wedding day. He was wearing a tux and his hair was brushed neatly.

"Are you ready for the big day?" Suzanne stepped in and asked. She vowed to not force her decisions on any of her sons from the moment Diana taunted her. However, she couldn't believe that she lost the perfect daughter-in-law. She hadn't accepted Rain Summers. Yet. She knew that she would never be able to accept Rain, but she sealed her mouth for the sake of her son, Ivan.

Ivan kept quiet. He was missing Diana dearly. He didn't want to feel like that, but the emotions were too strong to ignore. After all, today was the long-awaited day, where he would marry the love of his life. How would I do that when Diana ran away? She is the love of my life, not Rain, he thought.

You promised to marry Rain, Ivan Candelstone. You cannot break your promise. You are going to be a king soon, poked his subconscious.

"Ivan?" Suzanne's voice brought him out of the trance. He glanced around the bedroom; every part of the room screamed Diana's name and craved for her touch. The room felt empty without her.

"Yes?"

The queen scanned his face. She knew that he wasn't happy, but she promised herself she would not interfere with Ivan or Jasper's life anymore. She wanted Ivan to say to end all the drama going on. If he did, Suzanne would cancel the wedding and appoint all the guards to trace Diana.

"Are you okay, son?"

Ivan nodded, not letting a word leave his mouth. The more silent he stayed, the more normal he would look when the time of him waiting in the aisle came.

"It's time to go," Devin, the king said, entering the room. "Everyone is waiting." Devin knew that he would be defamed once people saw Rain walking down the aisle instead of Diana. He treated Diana as his daughter, so he had to keep her request. He already paid the paparazzi and made arrangements to handle everything.

"Let's go," Suzanne let out. Ivan walked out along with his parents. The wedding was taking place inside the palace. Diana decided the location and she thought that a wedding inside the palace would be the best royal wedding of the era.

Meanwhile, Rain was already in her wedding gown. It was very beautiful. The design didn't match her taste, but she selected the dress because Jasper said that it was beautiful. The dress nicely fitted her. She was confused as to why did she listen to Jasper and chose her wedding dress as per his taste.

She couldn't believe that, finally, it was the big wedding day. She was getting to marry the love of her life, Ivan Candelstone. She couldn't be more grateful to Diana than she already was. "Finally, two lovers are being united," Rain mumbled. Her hair was down. When the hairstylist tried to tie it into a beautiful bun, Rain immediately objected.

"Lovers? United?" Jasper let out, walking inside the room. Rain stood from the chair, making Jasper gaze at her from head to toe. She looked breathtaking. He cleared his throat and asked, "How does it feel after separating two lovers, Ms. Summers?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Jasper? Two lovers are finally being united and—"

"I am talking about Ivan and Diana, not you and Ivan."

Rain turned towards the mirror after hearing him. She glanced at herself one more time and sauntered away, avoiding him.

Before she could go, Jasper held her hand. "Walking away from the truth won't turn the lie into reality, Rain."

She looked into his green irises with her caramel ones. She said softly, holding back her tears, "Sometimes, walking away is easier than accepting the truth."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Why can't you understand? Ivan and Diana love each other. If it wasn't for you, they would've been together already."

Rain freed herself from his grip as she shook her head continuously. "No, it isn't true. Diana may love Ivan, but she left him because Ivan loves me!"

Jasper let out a humorous chuckle, finally understanding the truth. Rain scrunched up her eyebrows, not recognizing the sudden change in Jasper. He was angry and beyond frustrated. He saw everything from the beginning. The part which wounded him the most was that he had taken part in all of this. He had an important role.

Now, he felt the need to end everything before the wedding. If the wedding happened, many lives would be ruined, and the country would be affected as well because Rain would become the queen. Jasper didn't want to play with lives anymore. He had enough.

"Ivan doesn't love you. It was infatuation. You know that very well, Rain Summers. You are just too afraid to accept the truth," he informed her. "You cannot digest the fact that 'your' guy loves someone else over you. You noticed this from the very beginning and acted up accordingly."

"No, it isn't true. I—" Rain started shaking her head again, unable to digest his words. Sadly, every word of Jasper was true.

"This is the real you, Rain. You challenged yourself to make Ivan yours by hook or crook. When Diana was royally chosen over you, it bruised your ego." Jasper was having a hard time saying it because he felt betrayed. Finally, he saw the real person Rain was.

Rain had been portraying a facade. Jasper couldn't believe that he fell for it. His mom was right. Rain was never the nice girl. No wonder why the queen couldn't tolerate her.

"It's not true... It's... Ivan loves me. Only me!" Rain kept mumbling as she took a seat on the couch. She let her tears out. "I love Ivan, and he loves me. You are lying, Jasper."

He inhaled a deep breath and faced her. "Didn't you realize you were ruining three precious lives? Didn't you realize that unknowingly, you ruined my life too?"

"Your life?"

"I love you, Rain. I ended up falling in love with you," he let out. Rain was stunned at the sudden confession. She wasn't expecting it at all. "I don't know if you could ever feel it, but I could feel the sparks between us. I thought when Ivan marries Diana, you and I will really have a chance. I wanted to ask you out, but I saw the real you today, Rain. It was all a lie. You were pretending to be a person you never were," Jasper's voice broke at the end.

She stayed quiet, not knowing what to say or feel anymore.

"You ruined everything, Rain Summers. I hate the day I agreed to help my mom to keep you away from Ivan." Rain's head snapped in his direction when she heard his words. He nodded and said, "Yes. Mom knew you were trouble, so I was the one assigned with the duty to keep you away. Believe me, I ended up enjoying every moment with you, and now, I regret everything. The game you played ruined my family. The game Mom played could've brought happiness for everyone. Now, I know why my mom was made the queen."

He continued, "Because she could sense trouble and act accordingly. Even Diana is like her. She made a wise decision. Diana is one of the most wonderful women I've ever encountered, and only she deserves to be the next queen. Not an egotistical and fake person like you."

Rain started sniffling at Jasper's words. "Only if you could show who you really were," he said before leaving the room.

***

Rain was walking down the aisle, holding her father's hand. Against Ruyeli's will, she was assigned to be Rain's bridesmaid. Everyone watched Rain, chattering distinctly.

Where was the royally chosen bride? This question popped in everyone's head.

Ivan was standing still, not even glancing at Rain once. All he could think of was about Diana. Where was she? How could she leave me? Will I ever see her again? The thoughts irked him to a large extent.

Suzanne felt like crying when she saw the condition of her sons. Ivan was broken, and so was Jasper, he looked upset and hurt. She was blaming herself for ruining the lives of her sons. Devin placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Rain reached the aisle, her beautiful face looking gloomy. It seemed like she had cried her eyes out until she lost her tears. She glanced at Ivan, then at the paparazzi.

Looking at everyone, she took a deep breath. Before the priest could say something, she held Ivan's hand and said, "Go and get the love of your life before it's too late, Ivan."

The entire palace became silent as soon as they heard Rain. Ivan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He gave her a blank look.

"Go and bring Diana back. She deserves to be here, not me. You deserve to be loved, Ivan. I don't want to ruin any more lives," uttered Rain.

Everyone looked confused at the situation, including the king and the queen. Ruyeli jumped in between them and pushed Ivan while saying, "Are you waiting for Diana to appear? You have to go, silly!"

Jasper gave Rain a smile, feeling proud of her decision.

Ivan heaved a sigh and looked at his family. "How do I find her? I don't even know where she is! What if I lose her?"

"I will order the guards to help and appoint some people to do the same," said Suzanne and she looked at her sons. "I am proud of both of you. I love you."

"We love you too, Mom, but my brother here has to say this to someone else now," Jasper uttered and put a hand on Ivan's shoulder. Ivan was freaking out now. He didn't want to let Diana go anymore. He wanted to hug and kiss her senseless. "Before you get a cardiac arrest, let me tell you. I know where she is."

"What?!" Ivan let out. "Take me there, now!"

"I will, but we need to close all the flights today."

"I will handle it," the king let out and walked away with a phone on his ear.

"Well, now that everything is in control, go!" Ruyeli hollered.

"Take me there, right now," he ordered Jasper.

He replied, "Let's go, then."

Ivan's heartbeat quickened at the thought of seeing Diana again. He muttered under his breath, "Here I come, Diana."