Wedding Gone Wrong
1187 Words
GRETA:
"Where the hell have you been, Greta?!" Kylian yells as he slams the door, following me into the room.
I am too tired to get into an argument right now. This whole week has been nothing but a mental and emotional turmoil. I walk towards our room, dumping my purse and taking off my dress. I've been wearing the same dress for the past five days, refusing to wear anything else in my defiance.
"I am talking to you!" His yell comes again and I turn to him.
"Can I at least rest? Then I can answer all of your questions."
But he shakes his head. "No, Greta. You aren't going to wave this off. We are going to talk about it, right now!"
"For God's sake, Kylian! Let me rest! I am going nowhere."
He draws close to me and I can feel the heat of his breath on my cheek. His eyes are wide in anger. I have never seen him this mad. "And I say, no. Tell me. Did you really go to your friend's wedding party? Because I searched up her name on all social media platforms and I found no one that came close to the description of her. No f*****g wedding, no pictures including you or silver clad bridesmaid so where the hell did you go!"
I decide that ignoring him is the best thing to do. Climbing into my bed, I try to lay down but he snatches me by the arm and pushes me hard.
My body crashes against the lamp behind me and I yell out in pain as something sharp cuts through me. Kylian stands over me, his eyes wide.
Slowly, he walks over to me before crouching to my level and roughly pulling my chin. "Don't even think about lying to me because I know where you went."
"What are you talking about?" I whimper as pain rocks through my body.
"A few men came two days ago to threaten me to stay away from my fiancée, Greta! They threatened to kill me if I came anywhere close to you. Apparently, you're getting married to some royal bastard and he must have bought you over with his riches, right?!"
"You don't know what you are talking about!" I scream at the top of my voice but I am immediately silenced by the hard whack of his hand across my cheek.
Gasping, I look up at him in horror. "What has come over you, Kylian? What is wrong with you?"
"I love you but you go sleeping with another man? There is nothing I wouldn't do for you in this world, Greta! I sacrificed everything for you! I didn't go to grad school because I wanted to get married to you! Do you know how depressed I have been staying locked up in this place? You think I don't want to do something important with my life? Every day, you remind me that I have no job!"
"Because you don't." Tears stream down my cheeks. "I love you, Kylian. Let's not fight. Let's not have this argument."
He nods and sniffs. "If you want me to forgive you, you must do something for me."
I nod immediately. If this is going to take the guilt away then I am willing to do it. "Marry me."
I frown. "But we are getting married next week."
He shakes his head. "Our wedding attire arrived tonight. We are getting married tomorrow morning."
It's a good idea. Although Klaus didn't tell me why he wanted me to leave all of a sudden, I had a gut feeling that he was going to come back someday. So this marriage was going to seal everything.
********
The next morning, I am seated in front of a large mirror in a makeup shop. Klaus drove me here after apologizing for hitting me and throwing me against the wall last night. Although there is an angry mark on my cheek from the impact of his hand, I lied to the makeup artist that I got assaulted on my way back from work.
At nine, I exchange marriage vows with Kylian, the love of my life. Last night, he tossed out the heirloom ring Klaus's mother gave. It didn't feel right to do that but I knew the wise thing to do was not return the ring.
I barely slept last night. All that filled my mind was how he had slapped me across the cheek. How he had thrown me against the wall. I asked myself several questions. If he could do this to me, then he could do worse in the future.
About an hour later, my face is flawless and I look like a very beautiful bride.
"Your husband is lucky," The makeup artist says to me as she walks me out of the shop. "You're so beautiful. Happy married life, ma'am."
Soon enough, I am in the bridal car that would be driving me to the church. Of course, a few of my friends are coming. Just two of them and a bunch of Kylian's friends.
On getting to the church, I step out, taking in the familiar environment. As I walk towards the isle, there is a strange sense of fear that washes over me. Like I am being watched by someone.
But I ignore it. My friend, Brenda, is waiting by the door to take my arm. Her smile is broad as we walk into the church. Soft music fills the whole room, sending chills down my spine.
Kylian stands before the Priest, grinning at me and I smile back, happy that this day is happening and feeling less afraid of Klaus striking again.
But I haven't moved a few steps when we hear gunshots in the air.
Brenda screams and the other ladies begin to run around in a way to look for cover. I am pulled behind one of the pews by Brenda.
"Greta!" Kylian calls out to me. "Let me go, you bastards!"
Grunts of pain follow and I immediately move out of my hiding place. Kylian is on the floor, covered in blood from being punched several times.
Screaming, I rush over to him, falling to my knees amidst the chaos. "Kylian! Oh my God!"
"Run, Greta! Run!"
Shaking my head, I cradle him in my arms as tears stream down my cheeks. "No. I can't leave you. I can't leave you here."
I am suddenly pulled into the air by strong arms. My scream breaks through the gunshots and I reach out for Kylian who pulls his wounded body against the ground. One of the men hits the side of his head with the butt of his gun and he blanks out immediately.
"What's going on?!" I scream, thrashing wildly against the men. "Let me go! Let me go!"
Nothing works. Not my screams or curses work. The door to an SUV is pulled open and I am thrown into the car. Just as I try to escape, my screams are muffled with a kerchief and slowly, consciousness leaves me, darkness taking over.
- Writer
