Chapter 3

Mark's POV

Before I could even type a reply, Lana started blowing up my phone with messages.

Every single one was a photo of Nicholas wearing that suit and a white shirt, shot from different angles. Some were close-ups, while some were taken farther away. There were 18 of them in total.

Lana called right after, sounding almost giddy. "Did you see the photos? That suit looks great on Nick."

I ignored the question and checked the time. "There are ten minutes left."

There was a brief silence on the line before she stepped away and spoke quietly. "Mark, I already told you to wait a little longer.

"I've already got my wedding dress on. The second I get there, I'll just slip the veil on. I promise it won't take long."

I pressed my lips together. "According to our customs, we're supposed to exchange rings at 11:58 am."

"Mark Waters!"

Lana lowered her voice. "Young people like us don't actually care about local customs. Besides, Nick is doing his own hair right now because he was worried you'd be upset. He's already going out of his way for you.

"Just relax. It won't even take an hour. We'll definitely exchange rings within 40 minutes."

She said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. But to me, her words were nothing short of laughable.

For the gallery's groundbreaking ceremony, she'd planned every detail two weeks in advance, down to the exact second, because apparently a half-second delay would wreck the trajectory of Nicholas' entire career.

But when it came to our wedding, suddenly the timing didn't matter because we were young.

"Lana, do you really want 200 people sitting around waiting 40 minutes for you?"

She blurted out, "Just have the wedding staff put on a show. 40 minutes will pass in no time. If all else fails, you can sing a few songs. You used to perform at bars, anyway. You're good at it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she'd crossed a line.

Back in college, my family's business ran into trouble, and the creditors beat my dad up so badly that he ended up in the hospital.

I gritted my teeth and juggled classes during the day with bar gigs at night. Just to make a little extra in tips, I drank until I ended up with a stomach ulcer more than once.

Those were the four most painful years of my life. Even now, just thinking about the past made me feel sick.

Even after Dad got better and we cleared our debts and got back on our feet, I still couldn't bring myself to sing again.

Lana knew how much I hated that part of my past, yet she casually brought it up like it was nothing.

As I pressed a hand to my churning stomach, I heard Lana quickly add, "Mark, I didn't mean to say that. Don't overthink things. I promise I'll be there within 40 minutes for the ceremony. Just wait for me a little longer, okay?"

But I was done listening to any more of her promises.

I hung up without another word and sent my parents a quick message telling them not to worry. But the guests' voices were growing louder, and even the closed door couldn't muffle them.

I looked down at the suit I was wearing. My grandma had made the long trip from home despite her motion sickness, just to see me get married.

My friends had traveled from all over to congratulate me, and my parents had turned down several major business deals just to be here. Just preparing the wedding gifts had taken so much out of them.

A wedding wasn't some trivial affair. It was the joining of two families. Exchanging the rings at the right time meant the marriage would be off to a smooth start and that everything would go well for both families.

Lana might be okay with putting it off, but I wasn't. The side door opened again, and a petite figure handed me a glass of water.

"Mark, have some water. It'll soothe your throat."

Robert's younger sister, Violet Decker, glanced back down the corridor. "Robert, Lana's still not here?"

"She's busy keeping a groomsman company while he gets his hair done. Super important business."

One of the bridesmaids scratched her head awkwardly. "Robert, quit being sarcastic. It's not like Lana isn't coming. She just needs a bit more time—that's all."

While taking small sips of water, I watched Violet pull a chocolate bar out of her pocket. She muttered in a low voice, "I must've been out of my mind to think she was a good woman."

Before I could make out what she'd said, Robert angrily held up his phone. "What the heck? There are hundreds of people waiting over here, and they're over there doing a photoshoot!"

Nicholas flooded his feed with posts, uploading five nine-photo collages one after another.

The first few were pictures of him in the suit. The rest were photos of him posing alongside Lana in her white dress.

The captions were either a string of red heart emojis or the word "nice".