SOME THINGS ARE MEANT TO BE

CHAPTER 3

With the wedding veil on, she was able to hide her imperfect face. She was fortunate enough that she had the veil to conceal everything — her embarrassment, her sorrow, and her love.

“Let’s go, bride-to-be.” Abigail opened the door. A joyous wedding march started to play outside the hall. It might not be a wedding that everyone was looking forward to, but it’s still a wedding, nonetheless.

Julianna went to the hall, dressed in the bridal gown that she personally chose. She made and arranged everything herself. There were no wedding photo shoots or bridal maids and men's groom . Even in the midst of preparation, she did not see him.

Mr Hanson glanced at his wristwatch while his wife, Lorraine , kept looking outside with anxiety slowly sinking in her system.

“Do you know what our son is up to? He wanted to marry this girl. Look at the time, he is nowhere to be found. Does he still want to proceed with the wedding? How can one marry a bride without the groom?”

They couldn’t possibly let the daughter of the Roberto family go through the wedding alone, could they? What kind of wedding would that be? Both families are influential. If so happens, it would be a scandal made for the next day’s headlines.

“Don’t worry. Hanson knows what he is doing.” This was the only way that Hanson knew how to comfort his wife. However, he found himself looking at the bride who was in her white bridal gown.

He wished he was wrong.

Julianna bit her lips out of sheer nervousness. Everyone was eyeing her with so much irony and contempt. She was standing alone at the altar without her groom. She had nothing.

Seconds turned into minutes. She merely gave a helpless smile as she softly breathed out. She believed in her heart that he would show up, even if it was not for love but for hatred.

He loathed her.

While the guests showed their impatience, a man in a black suit walked in with one hand in his pocket. The classically styled suit wrapped his tall and well-built frame perfectly. His strides were strong and steady. His flawless features resembled a well-carved sculpture. He had a somewhat westernized look with a sharp nose bridge and a pair of long and narrow eyes. Regardless of that, his slightly thinned lips were pursed in a way that made him seem heartless.

This man was not used to laughter.

His sharp gaze rested upon his bride-to-be, Julianna , as his lips curled into a blood-thirsty sneer.

On the other hand, Diego breathed a sigh of relief. He gripped his wife’s hand. When he and his wife shared a quick glance, they saw the look of worry in each other’s eyes. Diego may have shown up, but they were still worried. After all, their son’s temperament was too unpredictable.

Diego strode over with his long legs. It only took him a few steps to reach Julianna . He lowered his head and looked at the woman, who was only as tall as his shoulders, before pulling her hand.

Julianna ’s fingers suddenly began to shake as she felt a pang of pain wrap around her wrist. Despite the pain, her body went cold when the man shot her a profound look.

He really loathed her.

“Come, my bride.” His voice lacked the tenderness of a man who was about to get married.

He mostly pulled Julianna along. When she took a glimpse of their hands, her fingers had already turned white with the grip he had on her.

She bit her lips tightly, so she wouldn’t utter any sound of pain.

She walked on the red carpet in her high heels when all of a sudden she twisted one of her feet. She lost her balance and fell face down. Diego decided to release her hand at the same time and allowed her to fall forward.

In that instance, she fell down with a loud bang. The white bridal gown flew around, exposing her long legs and vaguely revealing her white silk underwear. The paparazzi went into a frenzy as they tried to take her photo. Julianna frantically pulled on her gown as she felt a wave of sheer humiliation and misery wash over her.

Diego did nothing. He looked at her in her embarrassed state with the corner of his lips curled into a smirk.

He eventually extended his hand. Julianna tilted her head up at him, and a single drop of tear fell on the back of her hand. Sneers echoed everywhere, and even the appearance of Mr. and Mrs. Roberto ’s face was contorted into an awkward expression.

It was a scandal that was definitely going to hit the headlines the next day.

Julianna stretched her hand out with caution, for there were indistinct traces of bruises on her hand. But Diego grabbed her and exerted force again. All that Julianna could do was muffle a cry in pain. He tightened his grip one more time, only this time, the pressure nearly crushed the bones in her hand.

Slightly battered, she could feel the waves of pain in her left foot as she stood up. She had no choice but to follow him with an unsteady foot. Under her veil, no one could notice that the bride’s complexion had turned a ghastly pale. No amount of blush could conceal that kind of paleness.

Everything appeared to be so holy as they stood in front of the priest.

“Julianna , do you take Diego as your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?”

Julianna looked in front of her and felt her vision considerably blurred. She could see the cross hanging on the priest’s chest. It was an apparent sign of a woman’s destiny being bound. And her name— Julianna .

“Miss Julianna , do you take Mr. Diego, as your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?” the priest repeated the question.

Julianna suddenly snapped out of her stupor. She turned to look at Diego and saw no emotion in his immensely remote eyes. There was no love or hatred.

“I do,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. She was more than willing to marry him even if it meant that she had to forfeit her life because that was how much she loved him.

Even if Diana was the only one he had ever loved—her sister.

Even if she knew deep down that her pain had only just begun.

“Diego, do you take Julianna as your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?”

Diego pursed his thin lips and answered, “I do”. It might have sounded voluntary. However, there was not an ounce of emotion detected in his tone.

“I now invite the bride and groom to exchange their rings,” announced the priest. Diego took a diamond ring out of his pocket. It was designed by a famous French couturier, but it was not meant for her.

He took her slightly bruised hand in a crude way. The look in his eyes turned more remote and it made Julianna ’s body slightly quiver. The ring wasn’t meant for Julianna, because he initially wanted Diana to have it. He swore that he would go through such lengths to humiliate her. He was willing to use every method.

The ring was too small for Julianna ’s hand, but Diego didn’t care. It did not bother him for a single bit whether it would be painful for her. If she felt the pain, then she deserved it.

Julianna inwardly stifled a groan from the throbbing pain in her finger. Her heart had been shattered and numbed countless times on her special day. But did all matters lead to the heart? No, she was wrong, for that was not just the matter. It was the pain in her finger that had shattered her soul completely.

She took the other ring with her bruised, shaky hands. She put it on Diego’s finger and it was a perfect fit. However, the one on her finger was so tight that she could not help but feel sorry for herself.

“The groom may now kiss the bride.”

As soon as the priest finished speaking, Julianna found herself in a complete daze. She could not even hear anything that surrounded her. The veil lifted, and all she saw was the man’s icy facial expression. His orbs screamed extreme hatred. Then his head lowered down and moved closer towards her. Julianna could only close her eyes in bitterness.