My treacherous heart stutters when I finally see Sasha in her snowwhite beautiful dress, with white lilies in her hands and the fire of her red hair under the veil. Something about her appearance makes my mind click, and I realize that this is the wedding I’ve always dreamed of. Even when we dated, I knew Sasha would be my wife someday-and who could’ve known that my life would turn out like this?
I can’t take my eyes off Sasha as she walks down the aisle, holding her hand on Nikolai’s elbow. I see a glint of steel in his eyes when they look at each other at the base of the altar, and something in me flares up in annoyance. Just let her go. But Sasha doesn’t seem to pay attention to her father. She bows her head slightly before turning to me-and I can finally see the features of her face through the veil.
Accompanied by the mellow music from the live orchestra, Sasha comes up to the altar, stops next to me, and it’s time, isn’t it? My throat suddenly turns dry when I reach for her veil, and my chest feels tighter around my lungs. God, she’s beautiful. Her lips are a soft red color, her hair is styled into perfect red waves, and when she looks up at me, her eyes are bright, clear…and full of hatred.
Yes, I almost forgot about that part. My wife desperately wants to kill me.
“Dear family and friends,” the officiant starts a moment later, and Sasha looks away from me, keeping her lips slightly pursed. Oh well, no wedding is perfect, right? “We have gathered today to celebrate the marriage of Louis Messina and Alexandra Pushkova and witness their first step…”
The officiant continues reciting the words of the wedding script, and my focus drifts back to Sasha. She stubbornly refuses to look me in the eyes, keeping her gaze on the officiant, and I can feel annoyance oozing off her. God, I can’t believe she’s still mad at me. I’ve already apologized, haven’t I?
“Are you ready to exchange your vows?”
The officiant’s words are the cue for me to take Sasha’s hands in mine. She knows it’s part of the script, so she allows me to take hold of her hands. Her eyes are cold as ice, but even that doesn’t stop my heart from growing warmer as I repeat the words from the script.
“I, Louis, take you, Alexandra, as my wedded wife. I promise to honor and protect you, to love and cherish you on good days and bad days, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, till death do us part.”
They should mean nothing to me-but for some reason, I feel my throat closing up around the words and my grip on Sasha’s hands tightens. The vow is just a part of the game, so why does it feel so real?
I don’t know if Sasha can feel it, but something in her eyes melts. She looks almost unsure, as if she doesn’t know whether to trust me or not, and I squeeze her hands tighter. For some reason, I want her to believe me -but it’s not the time for that, and the officiant turns to Sasha and gestures for her to do her part.
“I, Alexandra, take you, Louis, as my wedded husband…”
She repeats the same vow, holding my gaze, and I can see the distant look in her eyes. Her voice is steady and emotionless, and I’m sure the words of the vow are empty to her-or at least, she really wants me to think so. But I can feel Sasha’s grip on me tighten as she reaches the end of her vow, and as soon as she’s done she looks away and takes a deep breath as if trying to calm herself.
“Louis and Alexandra have chosen these rings as a symbol of their love and loyalty to each other,” the officiant continues in the meantime and gestures at Riccardo to hand the wedding rings over to me. “Louis, as you place this ring on Alexandra’s finger, repeat after me. With this ring…”
I lick my lips and hold up Sasha’s left hand, unaware of my own carefulness. “With this ring…”
“… I promise to love you today, tomorrow, from this day, and forever.”
I dutifully repeat the promise as I slide the ring on Sasha’s finger, and the sight of her hand in mine, wearing the wedding ring as a sign of our marriage, makes something in me fill with satisfaction. Whether she wants it or not, Sasha is my wife now, and there’s nothing that can change that.
She repeats the same promise and puts the ring on my hand, even though her grip is definitely not as gentle, but I don’t complain. The look in her eyes is unreadable as we finally stand before each other as husband and wife, but I want to think that the moment is just as significant for her as it is for me.
“By the authority vested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now, you may seal the pledges you have made with each other this day with a kiss.”
Oh, and here comes the most interesting part. I look at Sasha with a challenging smirk, and her expression hardens as she looks straight at me with cold green eyes. She knows it’s going to happen, so I don’t give her time to change her mind, hold her shoulder, and lean forward, capturing her lips with a kiss.
For a moment, I feel Sasha tense up. Her lips don’t respond to the kiss, and her shoulder under my hand is almost rigid with tension. But I like the taste of her lips, so I kiss them lightly again and again until Sasha gives up. She kisses me back ever so slightly, but it’s enough to make something in my chest burst with heat.
No matter what she wants me to believe, I know she still has feelings for me.
The thought is exhilarating, and when I pull back I can’t help a wide grin as I look at her. Sasha, of course, gives me a murderous glare, but I see a slight dust of pink on her cheeks as she turns away. She attempts to take her hand out of my grip, but it’s too early for that.
The hall explodes with applause, and I turn to them with proud, straight shoulders and a wide smile. My chest is full of contentment and joy even with Sasha’s nails digging deep into my elbow. It hurts, but it doesn’t matter. I know I’m gonna make her fall in love with me again.
I guide Sasha down the aisle and to the entrance hall, keeping my hand on hers. But when Paolo and Jacinta step closer and distract me enough to let go of her, Sasha disappears into the crowd. Well, it’s not for long. She can’t escape me now.
“The wedding night is going to be tough.” Paolo laughs, keeping his hand on my shoulder, but Jacinta elbows him with a glare before readjusting Luna in her hold.
“They don’t have to do it, you know?”
“Oh, but I bet he wants to.” Paolo chuckles, looking at me, and even under Jacinta’s glare, I can’t help but shrug.
“What? Of course I do.”
She only huffs and, as she always does when she can’t find support in either of us, turns to Luna. “Men can be so dumb, baby. I hope you find someone better.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with me?”
Paolo demonstratively crosses his arms, and it looks like the beginning of another round of bickering. Their personalities are both too heated to live without at least a little bit of arguing, even if all of it is nothing but a pretense. Jacinta and Paolo are, actually, obsessed with each other.
But I have to leave them soon enough to bid goodbye to everyone I know in the crowd-which is not that many people-before going to my car. It looks like Sasha and her son are already in her car, and when I wave my hand at Hector, he climbs behind the wheel. I asked him to be their driver for the night. I wouldn’t want Sasha to get lost on the way to my home. Or should I call it ours?
The thought makes me glance in the rearview mirror where I can see their car following closely behind. What is she thinking about? Is she angry, afraid, or excited? God, I used to be so good at reading her, but these days I can’t be sure anymore. It’s like she’s the same person but with so many walls around her that I don’t know how to get to her heart.
Is it possible for us to rebuild our relationship? I hum to myself and turn my car into a one-way street, following my usual path through a small neighborhood. I don’t think Sasha would want that, and to be honest, I am still confused about my own feelings. Do I want to bring back our relationship? I mean, she still has the kid, and even though I’m much older now, I still don’t know if-
A sudden screech of tires interrupts my thoughts, and I instinctively slow down to a stop-but there’s nothing in front of me. The sound comes from behind me, followed by the thud of closed car doors and loud voices. I don’t even have to hear them clearly to know they’re speaking Spanish.
It’s a goddamn trap! I don’t even have time to turn around before I hear the first gunshot-and my heart sinks.