The Wedding

"Princess Esmeralda, are you ready?" Said Victor excitedly.

"Yes, I am." She said while emerging from the dressing room of a prestigious salon she was not familiar with. She wears the dress they bought in her own store. It is a body-fit dress that enhances the curves of her body.

Since the motif is the color peach, she wears a white silk dress with a peach accent. This was one of her favorite designs when she was 23 years old. She never expected that Victor would pick it for her. Paired with delicate makeup, her beauty stands out even more. All the beauticians on duty turned their heads to look at her, only to drop their jaws.

Victor was very stunned. He is speechless. The beauty before him is like a goddess from Greek mythology, Aphrodite. But his eyes narrowed upon seeing the shade of lipstick she wears. This girl really loves the brown shade of lipstick.

"May I suggest that you wear another color of lipstick?"  

Although surprised, she agreed. It might not suitable for her outfit today.

"But I don't have any other shades. It's all in shades of brown and tan. Don't tell me we will rush to the store for just a lipstick?" All the cosmetics used by the beautician are for her own personal use and no other colors.

"No need. I have a way." Just like that, he embraced Esmeralda tightly by her small waist, while towering over her. The salon employees squealed in excitement at the lovebirds before their eyes.

Her heart flutters so much that she can hear her heart beating fast. When he cupped her face and gave her a long passionate kiss, their world stopped. She didn't even notice that she put her arms around Victor's neck. When Victor released her slowly, she was red in embarrassment. How did she react? Oh, she only hugged him back!! Oh gosh! She wished she would disappear.

"What a shameless man" she cursed in her heart. 

"That's it. Your lips are naturally red, why cover them with brown?" he said with dreamy eyes.

"I love you, Esmeralda. Please don't ever change even after the wedding." He said with his forehead against hers.

"Do you love me?". He did not mind the people around him. Anyway, all of them are salon employees. He has booked a one-day salon treatment for her. No worries because no one is taking pictures or recording videos. 

Her mind is still in chaos after the kiss. She can't think straight since this is her very first kiss. She never expected it to be this way. Nevertheless, she's so happy. But she's still speechless because of extreme embarrassment. 

"Okay, let's go honey. I took your silence as 'yes'  I love you Esmeralda." Victor said to her, then grabbed her hand and lead her to his car.

"You might wonder where I got this Lamborghini. Well, I borrowed it from a friend." He's defensive. He's explaining though she's not asking. Esmeralda is still speechless until they reached the venue of the reception.

When they entered the hall, they were welcomed by an usherette who is stunned by them. She wonders who are these celebrity couples. All eyes were on them until they went to their seat. They are so amazed by the beautiful couple who entered just in time. 

When the entourage began, they shifted their attention to the bride and groom. They are equally gorgeous. They noticed that the groom had a resemblance to the last guest who just entered. The wedding ceremony proceeded.

After the announcement that Alexander Tan and Gretchen Lim a.k.a. Greta now husband and wife,  Greta spotted Esmeralda from afar. She was shocked, that her fingernails dug into her palm. 

She forgot to look for the esteemed guest she was anticipating - the owner of E.M.Fashion. She doesn't care anymore whether that CEO attends or not.  She was focused on the fired secretary she hated to the core. 

She recalled the praises from the employees about this woman's excellence and the way Alexander look at her with fondness in his eyes. That's why she warned the secretary to resign immediately, but she was very stubborn. And now she has the audacity to show up on their wedding day? 

"Alexander, the secretary you fired has the audacity to attend our wedding. Have you invited her?" She wondered.

Alexander nods his head "No, but I think that's the girl my son is dating. From now on, let's just accept her. I don't want to intervene with my sons' happiness. By the way, the man beside her is my son."

She agreed but deep inside, she promised herself that no one can steal Alexanders' wealth from her. She thinks of a way to embarrass her and let her see that their status is compared to heaven and earth. They are the heaven(unreachable), and the girl is compared to Earth which can be stepped on.

After all the guests said their best wishes, it was time for the newlyweds closing remarks and announcement.

 "I am very glad to have you today. Please allow me to take this opportunity to welcome my only son, the heir of the Tan Company, Victor Alex Tan. Let's give him a round of applause!" Its Alexander. He knows, it's about time to let the world know the real heir.

Victor already expected this to happen, so he was prepared. He held Esmeralda's hand tightly and pulled her up to stand beside him.

She was very surprised. She never expected that the man, her co-employee she is in love is her boss. Her boss! She can't hear anything right at the moment. Her mind wanders to the scene a while back in the salon. She can still recall how her lips tingled with the kiss. And now, how on earth this is happening?

Victor, on the other hand, smiled sweetly as they are standing. He planned to introduce her to everyone as his beloved woman. But when he is about to speak, his stepmother Greta speaks over the microphone while looking at them. 

"We are also happy to announce that my stepson finally found someone to be with him forever! Maybe they will be the next couple to hold a grand wedding." She exclaimed happily. No one knows it's a mask. 

"As a future part of our family, would you mind rendering us a song? Or for your fiancé. Just sing for us." She looks down at Esmeralda. She knows she can't sing. No one in the lower class has the courage to sing in front of the upper class, not to mention the huge number of guests.

To her surprise, Esmeralda agreed. Esmeralda gave a song titled "Can This Be Love? " by a Filipina Artist name of Sarah Geronimo. The song is not familiar to them so they took note of the song title to play it on youtube in case it is a beautiful song. When the accompaniment was played in the air, you can even hear a pin drop. 

All eyes and ears are on her, especially Victor. He had paid attention to her every move. So he never noticed anyone except Esmeralda.

When she began to sing, everyone gasped in astonishment. Her voice is too good that everyone forgot to breathe. 

" ..this is the first time, I'm gonna say I love you.."  when she sings the chorus of the song, she looked at Victor lovingly. Now she was sure, Victor is the man she would introduce to her parents. He is proud of her even though in his eyes, she's a mere secretary. 

"..this is the first time I’m gonna say ' love you ."

"Is that for me?" Interrupted Victor while she was singing. 

"Yes," she answered back, in between the lines. After her song, everyone has dreamy eyes full of admiration for the young couple. 

"I love you so much, Esmeralda," he said passionately while he held her hand.

 "I love you too Victor" Esmeralda replied while conquering his very loud heartbeat. They forgot that they are holding a microphone, so the huge crowd was frenzied when they heard their words of love.

Everyone is chattering happily but then, a sound of a gunshot echoed through the hall, and a scream and shriek of a terrified crowd followed through.