Wedding Day is a day that every couple, especially the bride. Led by a father to the altar and greeted by the warm position of the bridegroom who will commit to him for life before the Lord. Surrounded by guests who also felt the sacredness of the marriage to shed tears because they could not hold back their emotions.
However, it didn't seem to apply to the woman standing in front of the altar there. With a long white dress and her beautiful face polished with makeup and face covered by mosquito nets, Indah was unable to hide her anger. That's natural. As a woman who felt flowery the night before until she wanted to soar into the sky, now Indah feels like she has been thrown back into the abyss. He had to swallow a bitter pill because Rama, who was supposed to play the role of his groom in this wedding, ran away somewhere.
Actually, Indah could have followed Rama's footsteps by running away to avoid her embarrassment, but considering that the man's parents had high hopes for her, Indah had to refrain from crying behind her mosquito net. If she was currently holding the knife and was in front of Rama, perhaps Indah would have stuck the knife as deep as possible into the chest of the man who had betrayed her. But, it seems that God still wants to protect the man who is now embedded in Indah's mind as a brazen man!
Arriving in front of the altar, the pastor welcomed his arrival with surprise and confusion. The woman who was about to get married only came alone without a companion. Indah, who felt nervous, just lowered her head without daring to look at the pastor. There was a crowd of whispers from the invited guests who continued to debate where the groom was going. This further cornered Indah's position as the only one standing there.
"Excuse me, if I can find out where the groom is? Does this marriage still want to continue?" asked the priest who jerked Indah from her submission.
Indah couldn't say a word at all from her lips wrapped in maroon lipstick. Everything felt stiff for him to put out the words. Now the future he had planned all this time was over. One of his thoughts was a divorce. Just as he was about to say it, suddenly the groom's position was filled. The man is now positioning himself right to the left of Indah like a groom who should accompany him, by straightening his body.
"Yes, I want to continue with it.." Said a man who suddenly stood on Indah's left side as if he was the bride he had been waiting for. Indah could only be stunned to see that the man who came was Adrian, who was also her future brother-in-law.
"I stand here as a groom in place of my brother. Can we start taking the oath?" asked Adrian in a flat and stiff tone. His bright brown eyes stared straight ahead.
Indah was growling to hear how easy it was for this man to say the sentence that should have been the defining sentence of his life, "You? What are you here for? I'll tell the pastor that I want to divorce..."
Before finishing Indah continued her scolding, Adrian had already smothered her mouth, "Sister-in-law, ... Shut up! Just say your oath." She remembered quietly before finally letting go of her hand that had previously held Indah's mouth.
The priest tilted his head slightly in confusion. But that did not change Adrian's stance who was still sculpting beside Indah with her cold face.
"Hey, take a look. Isn't she the younger brother of Rama, the bridegroom? Did he run away because he was with another woman?" whispered one of the female invited guests who spoke to his next colleague.
Suddenly Indah felt something wrap her hand warmly. "A few minutes ago he sent a message that he wasn't ready to accept all this and didn't want to go any further. And if Mom and Dad want this to continue, then find another man to accompany you. So, I decided that I was the man. " said Adrian who looked at Indah with a pair of cold weasel eyes.
It's beautiful like seeing something hidden behind those sharp eyes. And the longer it lasts, the more Indah feels that she is starting to feel her breathing stop. But on the other hand, he realized that Adrian's statement about Rama's message for him seemed to pierce his deepest bones. He felt that the man had played this sacred event like a bet.
"So, can we start this marriage? Remembering that there is already a groom here?" asked the priest who broke the view of charm implied by Indah for Adrian. Both of them nodded at the order from the priest to continue this event.
"Now, do you accept this man as your husband? Keeping him in a state of sickness or health, in a state of happiness or difficulty, in a state of life or death?" asked the pastor to Indah who kept her head down under the pretext of hiding her sobs.
"I-Yes." Indah replied with a trembling voice because she was sobbing behind her veil.
"Did you accept this woman as your wife? Keeping him in a state of sickness or health, in a state of joy or difficulty, in a state of life or death?" asked the pastor.Â
Adrian, who from the beginning continued to stare at the pastor seriously before looking at Indah who was still hiding behind her veil.
Adrian took Indah's hand into his arms again and looked at her with a warm smile, "Yes, I swore a million times that I would never let her leave my side."
***
The man who made the wedding vows for me was the one I had only met a few times and he was my brother-in-law. –Beautiful
I swore to be loyal to her, the woman who was supposed to be my sister-in-law. –Adrian