Carlos took Micaela’s hand and Ernesto took Alba’s, walking down the stairs together.
Alba took a good look at Ernesto’s face. It looked like he had specially made it up so that the slap mark was less visible. Alba was slightly relieved to see this.
Amidst congratulations from family and friends, the cars set off on the return trip to Teladia one after the other.
Carlos drove his own car and followed the fleet of cars, with Micaela sitting beside him.
Micaela looked at Carlos’ handsome face and blushed slightly.
Carlos glanced at her, drew a slight smile on his lips and asked:
-Do you want to flirt with me again?
Micaela couldn’t help but smile, looked away and said:
-Yes, Carlos, you are very handsome.
Carlos arched his eyebrows and pronounced:
-What you say is pure fact, not a compliment.
After a moment, Carlos added:
-But I like it when you say I’m handsome. No, to be exact, I like any word you say.
Hearing this, Micaela became cheerful, looked at the bridal car in front of her and took his hand.
-Carlos, Olivia will be very happy, won’t she?
He affirmed in a low voice:
-Of course, but my Mica you will be happier.
Micaela smiled, approached the man and kissed him softly on the cheek.
-My happiness comes from you, Carlos.
Carlos smiled softly and said in a low and attractive voice:
-Mica, I will “punish” you little by little tonight.
Micaela blushed slightly and did not reply about it.
The drive back to Teladia took almost two hours, and it was almost noon when they arrived at the wedding venue. Olivia, Micaela and Alba entered the bride’s rest room first, waiting for the master of ceremonies to call the bride outside.
Micaela noticed that Olivia’s face didn’t look too good and asked, concerned:
-Olivia, aren’t you feeling well? Why are you wearing such a bad face?
Alba handed Olivia a bottle of water and joked:
-You’re nervous, aren’t you? When you go on stage, you need to sing in front of the guests. Alas, now one doesn’t dare to get married if one doesn’t have some talents.
Hearing Alba’s words, Micaela reassured Olivia:
-You have already practiced the song countless times with Leonardo at home. Olivia, be confident and you can do very well.
Olivia nodded, took a sip of her water, took another deep breath, and told them:
-I don’t know why, my heart beats fast and I always feel vaguely restless…..
As she spoke, Leonardo’s mother, Yolanda, dressed in a tight dress, came in with a thermal bucket in her hand. She wore delicate makeup, her hair was neatly combed and she still looked remarkably young.
Olivia unconsciously rose from her chair, and Micaela and Alba greeted her respectfully. Yolanda smilingly nodded at them and said:
-Miss Micaela, Miss Alba, very welcome to the wedding of Leonardo and Olivia.
The three were a little surprised by the cordial and friendly attitude of Leonardo’s mother. They had always thought that Leonardo’s mother was an arrogant and aggressive person, but now she didn’t seem so.
After saying that, Yolanda looked at Olivia. The latter was a little embarrassed, not knowing how to treat her. Olivia thought that if she addressed her as “ma’am”, she would be a bit distant and formal. But she didn’t want to call her by “mom” either, because this Yolanda had been taking it the wrong way ever since she had been with Leonardo.
However, to her surprise, Yolanda spoke first, with a kind and gentle expression:
-Olivia, are you feeling tired after such a long trip? I have prepared a soup that is good for you and the baby. Come and drink it first. Otherwise, you won’t have time to eat when the wedding formally begins.
After saying that, Yolanda already opened the thermos for her, poured the soup to Olivia.
“Is this Yolanda taking the initiative to get along with Olivia seeing that she is going to be her daughter-in-law after today?”
With that in mind, Alba shot a glance at Micaela, who apparently thought the same as she did. After all, Leonardo was the only son in the Pinto family, and he was determined to marry Olivia, so if his mother continued to antagonize Olivia, she would only make her own life more difficult in the house in the future. And reconciling with her future daughter-in-law was her most sensible option.
Yolanda stood in front of Olivia with a bowl of soup in her hand, and spoke in a very thoughtful tone:
-Olivia, the soup is not so hot anymore and it won’t burn you. Drink it first, and very soon you will have to go out into the parlor to receive the guests.
Olivia unconsciously reached out her hands to take the soup, and looked suspiciously at her mother-in-law. Remembering the unkind and sarcastic words the latter had said to her, Olivia really hadn’t expected that this Yolanda’s attitude to her could change so much.
Noticing her hesitation, Yolanda added lowly:
-Olivia, from now on we will be of the same family. Let bygones be bygones, okay?
Olivia felt the kindness in her mother-in-law’s eyes and was finally relieved. With slightly reddened eyes, she nodded her head and drank soup that Yolanda handed her.
Micaela and Alba were very happy for Olivia as she finally eased the strained relationship with her husband’s mother.
Yolanda retrieved the empty bowl and smilingly said to the three of them:
-With permission, I’m going out to greet the guests.
Olivia smilingly nodded.
-Olivia, now you can finally relax.
-Yes, now you can get ready to be a mother without any worries.
Once Yolanda left the room, Micaela and Alba talked to each other happily.
Olivia was also very happy to have relieved her strained relationship with Leonardo’s mother.
In the hall for the wedding, the master of ceremonies called the bride to the stage with a microphone. Alba opened her makeup bag and pulled out her lipstick to touch up Olivia’s lips, while Micaela smoothed her dress.
Olivia then exited the break room to head to the stage with the microphone, followed by the two bridesmaids and two bridesmaids.
The room was warmly and romantically decorated, filled with guests.
The music played and Olivia took the microphone and sang “Let’s get married!”, which she and Leonardo had rehearsed countless times over the past half month.
The groom stood on stage, singing a duet with Olivia, excitedly watching his bride walk toward him.
The two sang melodiously and affectionately, leaving the entire audience deeply moved.
Carlos and Ernesto were behind the groom, looking fondly at their bridesmaids behind the bride, as if he was saying the same words:
-This is the last time I am the best man, next time I will be the groom!
The rest of the ceremony went smoothly, and under the contagion of happiness, everyone present had joyful smiles on their faces, except Yolanda. She had her fists tightly clenched and that woman’s voice rang in her mind again: “Olivia doesn’t deserve to be with your son! As his mother, you have to separate her from Leonardo.”
At this moment, with glass in hand, Leonardo and Olivia approached her and her husband, Julian Pinto, together and she forced a smile.
The metallic voice of the master of ceremonies rang out:
-The daughter-in-law is going to make toasts to her in-laws!
Olivia made toasts to Yolanda and then to Julian.
To one side, Olivia’s parents were smiling contentedly, nodding their heads incessantly. For them, the most important thing was that their daughter could be happy in the future.
The first thing you have to do is get an idea of what you’re getting into.
Carlos pulled Micaela to his side and whispered in her ear:
-Mica, I’m feeling very envious.
Micaela blushed slightly, looked at Olivia and Leonardo and said seriously:
-Me too.
Carlos hugged her by the shoulders and just as he was about to say something, Micaela, leaving aside her shyness, turned her head towards him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
-Carlos, I want to marry you as soon as the contract is over! -said Micaela.
Hearing this, Carlos felt extremely happy and kissed her on the lips.
At this moment, the wedding moved on to the next part: the bride and groom exchanged rings. Leonardo took the bride’s ring from the attendant’s tray and put it on Olivia’s ring finger. However, Olivia abruptly withdrew her hand when the ring had just touched her fingertip. Leonardo did not foresee the situation and the ring fell on the red carpet. And the moment he turned from his astonishment and looked up, he saw that Olivia was squatting with her hand on her stomach.