I Tried To Kill Him, Now I'm His Wife

Five

Chapter Five

Lada

"Do you take Luciano Karl Dante to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, and till death do you part?"

.

Through the veil that hung loosely over my face, my eyes worked like a scanner, taking note of everything and everyone I could see while I did the slow march down the aisle towards the altar where Luciano stood. Half of the guests seemed to be guards, while among the other half were faces that seemed familiar. I recognised some of them from the previous night on my botched assassination attempt. A bouquet of roses rested in my palms, and the pin I had retrieved from earlier was hidden in a stem. The oppurtunity to kill Luciano presented itself last night when we signed the documents, but I decided to hold out and find the perfect moment. Men like Dante held the criminal underworld together; killing them carelessly would be like cutting of a head and having three spring up in its place.

The crowd seemed to breathe with every step I took, and so did I, but not from fear or nervousness, but from the thrill that came with a brilliant performance. That was what this whole thing was. Luciano was the only thing that did not sway with me. He stood there, unmoving, watching me intently, like a hawk eyeing its prey. From my observation, there was only one photographer and from the way he moved, I could tell he was carrying a weapon as well. I understood how this was an extremely dangerous affair considering a man like Luciano was involved directly, so I enjoyed every moment I spent walking down alone. It was a silent but energetic tussle for control between us- him standing all the way down at the altar, willing me to come forward quickly and me resisting, refusing the haste. I also knew I stood the greater risk here. Still, I walked gently, letting my eyes scour the large hall.

One man caught my eye. He was a bespectacled middle aged but young looking man, with a sliver of grey in his otherwise jet black hair. In his suit, he was the definition of sophistication, but looking at him made me slightly uneasy. I averted my eyes quickly; it felt as though he could see through my veil. Taking my eyes back to Luciano was almost comforting; he was a familiar evil.

Luciano stood facing me directly once I arrived the altar, no expression in his eyes at all. Before the priest said anything, he closed the space between us and took my veil off. There was a soft collective gasp from the crowd.

"Vows." Luciano said, looking deep into my eyes, loud enough for the priest to hear. I stared back; everything was a battle between us, even the littlest thing like who will break eye contact and look away first.

The elderly man cleared his throat.

"Do you, Luciano Karl Diablo-" Luciano turned sharply to look at the priest who went white with terror. A freudian slip, I thought, feeling victorious that I had won our little staring contest. He swallowed loudly and started again, the slight tremble in his voice more evident now. "Do you, Luciano Karl Dante, take Lada Jade Albatross to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, and till death do you part?"

Luciano nodded. "I do."

The priest shifted slightly. "And you, Lada Jade Albatross, do you take Luciano Karl Dante to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, and till death do you part?"

I held not only my lips but also Luciano's gaze in the seconds that followed. The crowd started to shift in their seats, whispering and murmuring. Luciano's eyes were no longer void of expression. As I looked through the windows of his soul, I felt the heat of the rage that burned in them. Suddenly he did not seem so self assured anymore. When what felt like an eternity had passed, I parted my lips slowly, revelling in the anticipation with which Luciano's eyes fell on them.

"I do."

The relief in the air was palpable, most especially on the priest's face.

"You may now, kiss the bride." He said gleefully.

Unsmiling, Luciano grabbed hold of the back of my neck and pulled me firmly to himself, pressing his lips onto mine. The crowd erupted with cheer. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him back trying to regain control of our tempo. Suddenly, Luciano broke away from the kiss and I bit my lower lip. We turned to face our audience as they cheered our performance on, but the bespectacled gentleman caught my eye again. He was on his feet, clapping, with one corner of his lips tugged up in a knowing smirk.

The feeling of unease crept back in my stomach as we looked straight at each other. He nodded slightly at me as though we had some type of agreement. Slowly, I turned my face towards Luciano who had followed my gaze, the suspicion in his eyes barely masked. In my periphery, I noticed one of his guards step forward and whisper urgently into his ear. He nodded slightly and put on a smile, one that I knew was fake. He put am arm around my waist and kissed me on the cheek, searching out the man he had caught me looking at. He was no longer there.

"Let's go." He spoke into my ear.

The flowers were still in my hands, as well as my intended murder weapon. I nodded and let him lead me away. Everyone wanted to congratulate the new couple, to show Luciano that they showed up to his little stage performance, but he was not in the mood to entertain any conversation. The guards formed a protective circle around us as we moved at rather quick pace through the crowd. My heart started to beat a little faster. I got the impression that something was wrong, or at least something major was about to go down. I looked from the bouquet of flowers that hid my weapon to Luciano's exposed neck as he led me out of the hall. This would be a great time- in the midst of this silent, brewing chaos.

The man caught my eye again. He was standing outside with another man, not far from where our cars were parked. He turned to see our entourage exit the hall with the crowd following close behind, pausing the conversation he was having with... Mikal.

"Lada." He called out.

"Mikal." I responded and Luciano stopped in his tracks. Mikal and the man approached us and the guards got in the way but Luciano gave them a gesture to stand down.

"Congratulations." Mikal said to Luciano and then he looked at me and smiled. "Don't miss this time."