Temporary

RECEPTION

The clinking sounds of glasses jolted her out of her reverie, and she noticed all eyes were fixed on her except for her groom. He had barely taken a look at her since the wedding started, apart from the time she had zoned off at the altar. If only that counted.

"To the bride and groom," They all raised their glasses.

Weddings were supposed to be enjoyed, but this bride wanted nothing to do with hers. She had her eyes fixed on the ticking hand of his gold wristwatch, impatiently waiting for time to fly by.

Everything in her life has suddenly gone wrong. As a matter of fact, it practically ended in the twinkle of an eye. She had died even before she started living.

Here she was getting married to a man she had never seen before, while her heart thought of another. This was a wedding she had never planned for, never imagined. Her heart gripped her tightly at the painful reality of her life, if only it could abruptly end.

Her eyes anxiously darted towards him, and she couldn't help but notice how strikingly beautiful he looked. His looks didn't match the fearsome personality people had painted for him. 

His face was sharp like a blade and a flicker of light. It was captivating and fierce. A scowl would settle beautifully on it, she thought.

She had never seen such a face before. He didn't look like any of the men she had seen. She wouldn't be wrong to say he was beautiful.

His eyes were an attractive blue and were exceedingly sparkling like the reflection of the blue sky on the clear blue sea. But, it was oddly tainted with a streak of green, giving it a bluish-green look, and there was something about them that tended to pull her in.

His eyes were so attractive that they reflected nothing like the scary man people had painted him to be. He was nothing short of perfection. He looked almost delicate and angelic.

She would have been convinced that he wasn't as dangerous as they had described and that he was the most handsome man she had seen had it not been for the alarming and dangerous aura emanating from him, despite the calm and unperturbed look sitting on his face.

He wasn't even looking at her, but she could feel goosebumps crawling under her skin. 

Fear seeped through every pore of her skin as she tried to stay calm.

This was indeed her husband? 

How had she been married to the man alleged to be the most formidable person in the country? How did she become the bride to the most mysterious person on the planet?

Many called him a devil, a cold-hearted beast, and many other scary things. They said he barely made an appearance, but when he does, everyone shudders with trepidation. 

To be more precise, they called him the brother slayer. Many said he killed his brother during the recent power struggle for the leadership of their father's company, but that was a matter that was yet to be proven, as no one had ever heard of them before until his mysterious arrival.

People only talked about it in their closets, except her sister, who had been foolish enough to go look for trouble.

She had warned her several times not to mess with this devil, but she had been too careless. Maybe this was the reason behind this punishment. She had always wondered why the marriage alliance was in the first place, but no one gave her an answer.

And now here she was stuck, with no way of escape. She turned her gaze away from his face, and her eyes met with her mother, who was equally staring at her, and it brought back the memories of how it all started.

.....

Several Hours Ago.

"Mother, I can't do this. Nothing about this feels right. I can't do it." Her soft and teary voice reverberated across the room, which served as the bride's room.

"What do you mean you can't? You speak like you have a choice here. You will do it, and you must."  Her mother, Mrs. Steele, declared in a commanding tone. Her countenance and manner of tone revealed how firm she was about her decision.

"But I don't want to." The low voice replied faintly. From how faint she spoke, it was almost as if she was begging for her dear life, but the truth was, she is. What her mother was asking for was not a simple task at all. She held onto her mother's hand and earnestly begged, "Mother, please, don't do this to me, I beg you." Heavy beads of tears fell from her eyes.

  "You have to do this for the family. You have to save the family name from shame. You don't want the reputation we've built to be brought to naught, do you?" The angry mother asked fiercely. With the strength with which she spoke, it was clear that there was no room for negotiation on this matter.

This has always been the way her so-called family worked. As a daughter from an aristocratic family, one would think she had a blissful and envious life when in reality, she was the one who envied the lives of others.

Her home hadn't felt like home, one of the many reasons she had left in the first place several years ago. She did not want to return here because she felt something would go wrong, and she wasn't disappointed.

She didn't know if she was wrong, but she sometimes wished to be an orphan. Not that she wanted her parents dead, but she would have preferred to be born of another who had left the world to seek eternal peace. 

"But I'm a part of the family too. If I do this, my life will be ruined. I won't be happy. Mother, please think of me." She begged as her tears rolled down her cheeks. 

"I'm sorry, but you must put on this gown and walk down that aisle with the brightest smile you can muster. Because this is the only way you can save this family from ruin, even yourself." She drawled. She wasn't going to back out of her decision. She knew she was too hard on her daughter, but she had no other way. This was the only way out of the mess they were in. 

"But mom-" Her throat was beginning to burn, and no words could come from it; her eyes had turned stark red, and her heart was aching so bad as it pounded fast behind her chest. She felt helpless and out of breath. The pain from the wounds inflicted by a thousand daggers didn't compare to what she was feeling right now. 

Helplessness, anger, pain, and frustration were some of the many feelings she was experiencing at the moment.

Mrs. Steele sighed deflatedly when she saw her daughter like that. She knew she was too hard, but she couldn't help it. 

Crouching down to the floor where her daughter was kneeling, she wiped her tears and held her hand.

"I know this is hard, but please, I beg you. Save this family, save me, save your sister." Mrs. Steele couldn't help but earnestly beg. She didn't know how else to convince this girl.

Yes, she was sacrificing her daughter, but what other choice does she have? She had to solve the situation on the ground, lest she and her family live in embarrassment for the rest of their lives. Not to mention the trouble that would come with it.

"Do this for me. Walk down the aisle and save us all." She added pleadingly.

"But...but I'm not Elle. She's the bride, not me." She managed to say as another tear rolled down her cheek.

"But you're her identical twin, and no one would know." Mrs. Steele stated.

"But mother, what about me? What about my dreams? What about my life? I don't love him, and I don't want to get married to him. I have someone...see," She hurriedly waved the single diamond cut ring beautifully sitting on her ring finger in front of her mother's eyes, just in case she had forgotten about it.

"Honey, I know all this, and that's why I hate to do this but help mother. I promise to fix all this." Her mother persuaded. 

"How?" She asked, more tears streaming down her eyes. She didn't want to believe those words.

"I'll find Elle and bring her back. Then you, honey, will be free to do whatever you want. Just do this for me." 

The girl kneeled on the floor, still holding onto her mother's hand. "Mother, please, I'll die. I heard he's dangerous." She desperately pleaded out of fear. The man her mother was asking her to get married to wasn't an ordinary man.

And how long exactly was she supposed to live with him till Elle was found? A week? A month or a year? Which would it be?

Mother Steele felt a pang in her heart for her daughter, she also wanted her to be happy, but there was nothing she could do right now. She sighed as she bent down and brushed her hand down her daughter's cheek.

"Neveah, nobody dies in a marriage, not even when they're married to the devil. And this would only be temporary." Mrs. Steele assured her, while another tear rolled down Neveah's cheek.

How did things go so wrong?