Chapter 13
**The wedding nightmare II**
The engagement ceremony was to take place at Henry Tegan hall in the palace, named after his great great grand father Henry Tegan who won the battle between the Northern English men for the piece of land which happens to be the country of Wales today. It was big enough to hold a massive wedding but in this case, Adonis sought it perfect for his petty engagement ceremony to Liliana.
He was already dressed in his room when the guests were arriving, all courtesy of his mother who was the biggest social butterfly in the world and managed to invite a whole bunch of people in the span of a day. He adjusted his black bowtie and almost laughed as he read the engagement vowshe meticulously wrote for Liliana, it was only a tip of what he was going to do to teach her a lesson, calling her parents and lying about their engagement was only the start of his plan—now he wanted to see the pure shock on her face when she arrived.
There was nothing sweeter than the taste of revenge, he adjusted his cufflinks as he walked down the stairs and into the hall where everyone stood in acknowledgment of his presence after being announced. The King and his wife watched form their throne, dressed formally with their eyes beaming with admiration as they never thought the day would come when they would see their son get engaged.
The prince sat on the special chair prepared for him and crossed his legs, waiting patiently for his betrothed to arrive. It didn't take too long when Liliana's presence was announced and everyone gasped as she walked into the room, Adonis almost fell from his chair just as his mouth almost opened from the sheer bewilderment of what she was wearing.
The satisfaction was smacked off his face immediately, walking towards him wasn't a woman who was shocked but one who had a beautiful smile on her face striding proudly as the guests clapped. The color red of her dress was clearly sending a message to him, never in his life has he been so shaken by a woman wearing red lipstick like the way she was affecting his being—a part of him liked it, a part of him didn't.
‘You look wonderful'. He whispered as he ushered her to her seat.
‘Hmmmm', she smirked, ’I can't say the same for you, your highness'.
Feisty as always, he liked it, ‘How do you like the place, I had it specially planned to your taste....the secret to being a great husband is making his wife happy', he leaned closer, ‘You're happy aren't you, my dear Liliana?'.
Megan and Marcus felt the tears brewing in their eyes, the happiness on their faces were so vibrant that it almost made Liliana feel nauseated—here she was putting up a proud face when all she wanted to do was throw a dagger into the heart of the man sitting next to her, or shove a loaded gun down his throat instead....the thought of it alone, she found fascinating.
‘It's wonderful I can't lie', she shrugged, grabbing a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray, ‘You do have sore eyes for flower arrangements though, next time try not to place wild roses next to carnation lilies....it looks stupid just like your face'.
It was a good insult, a great one even which Adonis swallowed with great pride as she bruised his ego for a moment—he wasn't going to let it slide and rose to his feet, extending a hand towards Liliana who didn't understand what he was trying to do. The guests who were busy with their starters stopped and focused on the prince who brought his bride to the middle of the dancefloor.
’What are you doing?'. Liliana frowned deeply as he placed his hand on her waist, then proceeded to place her hand on his shoulder.
‘We should dance before we exchange rings don't you—'
‘Damn you Adonis'. She cursed under her breath, unsure of how he had the knowledge of her hatred for dancing, especially the art of waltzing which she could perfectly do after being forced to attend classes from the age of ten by her father who claimed she would marry a prince charming in the future—well he wasn't wrong, she was going to marry a prince but he wasn't charming....an arrogant maniac was a more befitting term to describe him.
They started to dance and to the prince's surprise, she was actually a wonderful dancer, he knew she was good but he wasn't expecting her to be perfect to the point of having to make him keep up with her. A smug expression was on her face as she stared him dead in the eyes, sending a message that she wasn't one to be trampled with, a message that Adonis got clearly when she stepped on him with her heel.
He groaned, forcing a smile as the guests clapped when the music was over and went back to his seat. It was time for the main part of the ceremony, the exchanging of rings. A little girl walked in holding a pillow with two rings on it, she was probably one of his relatives but he didn't care... family ties we're not his strong suit.
The little girl raised the pillow towards him and he smiled, patting her head gently as he took the ring he specially picked for Liliana herself. She did the same and they both turned to each other, rolling her eyes as he brought out a piece of paper from his breast pocket which contained his engagement vows.
Adonis grinned as he opened it and started to recite the vows he specially wrote to spite her, ‘Some call it fate, others call it luck, but I call it destiny that I got to meet you Liliana Brynn. Our wonderful encounter at Maria De Tello was enough proof that I have found the woman I want to cherish forever', he paused to see the look on her face and was satisfied from the scowl on it, ‘I, Prince Adonis Jeremiah Tegan the third, promise to be a wonderful groom and a wonderful husband, to give you beautiful children and to make sure every time spent together ends with nothing but pleasure and happiness.....this is my vow to you'.
He slipped the ring into her finger and everyone in the room applauded, Marcus and his wife, as well as the king and the queen went to the next step of giving them a standing ovation. The cheers and the claps all sounded like poison to Liliana's ears, she was disgusted to her bones, hearing the lies that came out of Adonis's mouth.....he was playing the game and he was playing it well.
‘You will regret this', she whispered as she slipped his own ring into his finger, ‘I promise you'.
He shrugged, ’Smile for the cameras Liliana'.
She almost scoffed as he walked away, plopping down on her seat as the applauding had died down. A waiter passed and a devious idea popped into her head, she beckoned him to come over and grabbed two glasses of champagne—making sure no one was watching, she feigned drinking but rather spit into the glass and placed it on the table.
Adonis frowned deeply as he returned only for her to stand up and give him a glass of champagne, 'A toast', she said aloud grabbing the attention of everyone, ‘To his highness and my husband to be.....to the future king of this wonderful kingdom. Long may you live your highness'.
‘Long may you live'. Everyone raised their glass in unison, waiting for Adonis to take his sip. He cursed under his breath, knowing fully well what she was up to. Liliana smiled as she urged him to take a sip, he glanced around and seeing the subtle frown on his father's face due to his hesitance....he had no other choice.
Muttering a silent prayer, he took a sip and a part of him could swear he tasted her lipstick in his drink. Liliana placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning close to his ear to whisper sensually, ‘Now you know what it feels like.....Welcome to your own wedding nightmare Adonis and Oh—', she pointed at the stairs, ‘I think the bathroom's that way'.