Daniel Smith watched in amusement as his supposed bride was covered in red paint.
Was this supposed to be a joke?
The paparazzi and several reporters were outside like bees waiting to sting and she was messing with him. His initial reaction on seeing her walking down the aisle, he wondered how a woman so calculative was so beautiful.
He remembered the first time his father had spoken about a marriage. At first he thought it was just the usual in which his father would comment on him being a playboy and desiring for him to settle down but when his mother began to chip in and the constant conversations rallied around an alliance, it then struck him what his parents were up to. His father, Gerald Smith had started up the Everest company which was named after the great Mount Everest itself but it was Daniel who took it upon himself when he was twenty to build up the company that his father had laid the foundation for.
He had transformed it from a small enterprise business into a global empire, achieving success that far surpassed his father's expectations. Despite his achievements and reaching the billionaire status , his parents still viewed his status as incomplete so they decided to choose a wife for him, they had to pick Regina, an heiress with a bad reputation for the empire and their family.
Daniel chuckled when he remembered when his parents said he didn't have to meet her and didn't have anything much to do during their marriage, adding that it was an alliance and that they could stay in separate homes for all he wished.
Daniel was brought out of his thinking when he began to hear Regina shriek and yell.
It wasn't blood but paint, why was she making a big deal out of it?
Daniel then rolled his eyes, swiftly removed his suit jacket and walked towards Regina, who was frantically pacing around the aisle, while still surrounded by the guards. He sighed and draped the jacket over her shoulders, hoping it would at least salvage something.
He watched as her blue eyes widened in suprise and when he stretched forth his hand, he was glad she took it willingly and then the entire congregation cheered as they both began to walk down the aisle.
"Why are you pretending to be a gentleman, putting your jacket over me, did you really think that would be romantic?" Daniel heard her whisper softly as they continued to move.
"I thought you might want to start by exchanging pleasantries but since we have skipped that, I wanted the wedding to go faster. I wasn't going to wait for five hours before you get here." Daniel answered, shooting a smile at her.
"How adorable of you, Daniel Smith. Did you think that I would abscond?" Regina replied in a haste as they were now very close to the officiant.
"I never thought of that. I even thought you'd be far more early than I was. You should be more excited to get wedded rather than me. You need this wedding more than I do, Regina Green. Far more than you think." Daniel quipped in as he held her hand tighter.
"You are quick to get straight to the point so I'll do same. You orchestrated this to humiliate me, didn't you? You wanted me to be mocked by thank goodness that the reporters were excluded from the church. Imagine how you would have damaged my family's badly. Is that how you want to get on the right foot with your in-laws and your wife to be in a few minutes."
Daniel let out an inaudible chuckle, "Why would I go through all that trouble just to humiliate you? That's a wild accusation and you should consider that I may not sue you for that but maybe you should think more deeply, maybe your family has more enemies than you think."
Daniel let out as a sigh as they stopped in front of the officiant, he noticed that Regina had gone quiet with her head raised up. The officiant cleared his throat, drawing his attention away from her.
"Shall we begin? " the officiant inquired, his voice calm and steady.
"Yes, we are ready to be married." Daniel sarcastically responded. At least, it was needed to clear the air.
The officiant nodded and began to speak, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...to celebrate the union of two souls, who stand before us ready to embark on the journey of marriage. As he continued, Daniel glanced at Regina, her expression unreadable.
The officiant turned to Regina with a solemn expression on his face. "Regina Green, will you take this man, Daniel Smith, to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"
Regina forced a tight smile as she turned to look at the latter "I do."
The officiant then turned to Daniel. "Daniel Smith, will you take this woman, Regina Green, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"
Daniel's eyes lingered on Regina for a moment, his face blank. "I do," he replied flatly.
"Now, please repeat after me," the officiant said to Regina.
Regina let out a barely audible sigh before starting, her voice sharp and mechanical. "I, Regina Green, take you, Daniel Smith, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Her tone made it clear she didn't mean a single word. Daniel was sure of it. She looked like the angriest bride in the entire world.
The officiant turned to Daniel. "Your turn, please repeat after me."
Daniel's voice was steady, but it lacked any form of warmth as he repeated the vows. "I, Daniel Smith, take you, Regina Green, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Both their words felt hollow, like they were reciting lines in a play they didn't want to be part of. It seemed more like a citation, one that was said and then forgotten afterwards
The officiant then gestured for the rings. A young boy dressed in a sharp tuxedo brought them forward, and the officiant handed one to Regina.
Regina took a deep breath, slipping the ring easily onto Daniel's finger. Her voice was clipped but clear. "With this ring, I give what I have left to give."
Daniel's eyes darkened as he took the ring. Sliding it onto Regina's finger, he said curtly, "With this ring, I bind us to what we can't undo."
He was fortunate to see Regina roll her eyes as soon as the words rolled off his lips.
The officiant smiled warmly, turning towards him. "You may now kiss the bride."
And then it clicked in his head. He had never thought of the fact that they had to kiss. He wondered why the officiant was so eager for it, almost as if he was mocking him most especially.
Regina stiffened, leaning slightly away from Daniel, and whispered under her breath, "Over my dead body."
Daniel shot a subtle glare at her. There was no way she was going to embarrass him, his family or his reputation. He wasn't going to stand for it and so his eyes narrowed, and with a slight tilt of his head, he silently urged her to behave. His left hand reached out to grip her waist as he leaned closer. He noticed her eyes kept flicking as if she thought he was incapable of merely kissing her.
As he closed the distance between them, Daniel's sharp eyes caught movement near the chapel doors. Reporters were beginning to slip in, cameras were poised to capture every moment of what had been billed as the wedding of the year.
Daniel's eyes glazed over Regina's as he noticed that her eyes were shut. He the smirked and raised his hand subtly, brushing his finger against her lips as though it were part of the moment. To the crowd, it looked like a kiss, but in reality, his lips were pressed against his own finger, shielding hers.
When he pulled back, Daniel's expression was calm, poised. When he looked towards Regina, he noticed that she was glaring at him.
"You're insane." she whispered.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as it curved into a smirk. "And you're welcome," he murmured under his breath. As the applause swelled in the chapel and the photographers took shots after shots, he leaned in just enough to whisper, "Here's to forever, Mrs. Smith. Try not to kill me on the honeymoon."