The substitute groom
1553 Words
Nina waited at the alter, waiting for her soon-to-be husband to appear who seemed to be a bit late.
Anxiety fills her head. even though she didn’t want it to appear on her face, it did show up.
Her furrowed eyebrows were the living proof of it. she kept staring at the entrance now and then.
“What seems to be the matter?” someone whispered among the crowd of guests who were invited to the wedding.
“Where is Nolan? Isn’t he supposed to be here already?”.
“No one came from the groom’s family yet.”
“Did they call off the wedding suddenly?”.
Nina’s eyes widened in shock when she heard that.
She clenched the flower bouquet in her hand tightly enough to crush the flowers by force.
“Well, it’s not surprising considering the rumor.”
“Are you talking about the rumor of her seeing another man two days before the marriage?”.
“Yeah.”
“They were seen in a car together, it seems. It was shown in the news also.”
“Didn’t you see it?”.
Nina tried to ignore the words of the guests and closed her eyes recalling the text that she received earlier while she was dressing up.
“You are only mine, Nina. You can never be someone else’s.”
She shook off all the thoughts from her head and only prayed for Nolan to show up.
“Nolan, are you alright?” She prayed earnestly, staring at the entrance once again.
“Did he do something to him?”.
“Please, be safe.”
“Even though a year had passed still he’s not over it.”
“Why’s that?”.
“There’s nothing left between us. Why doesn’t he understand that?”.
“Is the groom not here yet?” the priest asked, standing next to her.
Nina looked up at him and nodded in disapproval.
“Not yet.” She replied, staring down at her feet.
“I can’t contact Nolan!” her brother comments, stepping up onto the alter, and standing next to her.
Nina looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Her face went pale for a second.
“You couldn’t…”.
“His phone is ringing but seems to be out of reach.”
“I tried to contact his family as well but they aren’t picking up either.”
“See, they called off the wedding,” one of the people whispered loudly.
“Stop it, they’ll hear.”
“Nina,” her brother called, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do something.” He said in an assuring tone.
“Maybe he got into trouble on the way or something. I’ll go over to his house.”
“There’s no way he can be absent in his wedding. This has to be the sickest joke ever.”
“Wait for me here, will you?”.
Nina nodded, patting onto his arm.
“Please…..bring him back, and you come back safely as well.”
“I know, and don’t mind the word of others.” He kissed her forehead and left.
Nina watched him go. But the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was growing even worse.
“Maybe you should take a seat for the time being, shouldn’t you?” The priest offered with a smile.
“No point in standing and hurting your feet.”
Nina glanced at him. “Yeah, that seems-“.
“Look, a car arrived!” one of them spoke among the guests.
The nearby whispers drew Nina’s attention.
She looked at the entrance and saw the big limousine standing. The doors flung open and someone came out of there.
The slightest hope in her heart that had diminished away was starting to form once again.
“It has to be him!” Nina whispered. She grabbed onto her wedding dress and started running along with the bouquet in her hand.
“Nolan!” she called joyfully while approaching him from a distance.
But she sprained her ankle and tripped.
The moment before she fell, a pair of arms grabbed onto her waist, securing her in place.
She opened her eyes slowly, recognizing the perfume on the person holding her.
“It can’t be!”.
She looked up to see the living nightmare standing before her eyes, making her go awestruck.
Words weren’t forming in her mouth, but she still tried her best to talk.
“Y-you?” she murmured slowly, but loud enough for him to hear.
The guy who held onto her smiled softly.
“It’s not good to run in a gown, is it? You almost tripped as a result.”
“Be more careful.”
His hazel orbs shone in the light, as they carefully observed Nina.
“L-let go of me!” Nina yelled, struggling in his arms.
“I thought you were Nolan!”.
“Why are you here, anyway?”.
He paused for a second and replied in a cold tone, “Nolan isn’t coming.”
His face turned serious for a second.
Nina looked at him and her face became even more pale.
“W-what? Why’s that?” she stuttered.
“Why won’t he come? Today’s his-“.
He pulled her close to his body, staring down at her face.
“Today’s our wedding.” He replied with a smile.
“Nolan won’t be attending. He’s a bit busy at the moment having fun with Kiara.”
“I don’t need him anymore, so stop mentioning him.”
“Kiara….” Nina remembered that name very well.
She’s been her best friend since her high school days. They even went to the same university and talked about their boyfriends together.
But, never in her wildest nightmares did she think she would have an affair with Nolan.
Nina’s eyes lost the sparkle they had a few moments ago.
“You are lying right?” she murmured, looking down.
“Hm…not at all. That’s why he couldn’t pick up his phone.”
“He’s my brother after all. I know him better than anyone.”
“Brother?” Nina looked up at him in confusion.
“What do you mean by brother?”.
“How do you know-“.
“Shhh……” he lifted a finger on her lips, making her go silent.
“You chat all you want later.”
“Let’s have the ceremony first. The guests are waiting.”
Nina glanced back at the people, and it made her feel even more depressed about what they might be thinking at the moment.
“You can’t walk, can you?” he asked, picking her up in his arms princess-style.
Nina wrapped an arm around his neck out of shock.
“Let me down! I don’t want to marry you!” she yelled, looking away.
“But, I do want to,” he added in an amused tone.
“Remember what I said before,” he started walking back to the alter.
“You are only mine. You can never be someone else’s.”
Nina fell limp in his arms, as she felt her heart throbbing in pain.
“And, before you say something else. Let me tell you something.” He mentioned.
Nina had no interest in listening, so she ignored his words.
“Your brother, Tyson was it?”.
As soon as she heard his name, she became alarmed.
“Tyson?”.
“Yeah, my men are holding him hostage in my car.”
“I can throw him under a car or whatever.”
“No!”
He glanced down at her with a smile.
“Unless you don’t want me to make a scratch on him, go ahead with the wedding without any struggles.”
“Or else…”.
“You know what I can do.”
“No, don’t hurt Tyson!” Nina pleaded. “I’ll do everything. Don’t hurt him.”
He chuckled.
“Relax.”
“As long as you listen to me, nothing will happen to him.”
“You can see him off after the wedding. My car is waiting after all.”
Nina’s face became saddened more than ever.
“So, do we have a deal?” he asked, keeping his head high.
Nina gave a light nod without saying anything.
“Uh, Mr. Priest, she can’t stand properly.” The man said to the priest.
“Can we have the ceremony while I hold her up in my arms?”.
The priest seemed to be a bit stunned. But he regained his composure.
“S-sure.”
“Exchange rings first, then chant vows.”
A man appeared out of nowhere holding out two rings in his hands.
He took the ring for Nina. It had a big diamond on it.
“Hold out your hand.” He said with a smile.
Nina stared at the ring for a second.
"He....came prepared. All of this was his plan since the first place."
"Not surprised."
"He had always been like this."
"Whenever he wants something, he'll go out of his way to get it."
"No matter what he has to sacrifice for it."
- Writer
