Chapter 4

Mark's POV

Violet gave the screen nothing more than a cold glance before breaking the chocolate into small pieces and passing them to me.

"Here, Mark. Have something to eat first. We wouldn't want you keeling over from low blood sugar."

As I let a piece of chocolate melt on my tongue, the anger in my chest still refused to go away. I took out my phone and liked Nicholas' latest post.

Then I commented, "Talk about a perfect match."

Less than 30 seconds later, Lana called me. "Mark, what is that comment supposed to mean? Delete it right now! Nick just got his hair done, and the second he saw your comment, he ran his hands through it and messed it all up again!"

It had only been 30 seconds, and he'd already messed up his hair again. There was a hint of mockery in my voice as I said, "Am I wrong? One of you is in a suit, the other in a white dress. If that's not a perfect match, I don't know what is."

Lana was getting annoyed. "What are you even saying? I was only taking some pictures with Nick. If people see your comment, they're going to get the wrong impression of him!"

"You didn't have time to take engagement photos with me, but it seems like you have plenty of time to take dozens of pictures with him."

"How can you even compare those two things? Nick really loves this suit, and I—"

"Lana, I'm the groom today, not Nicholas."

Lana took a deep breath, clearly losing patience. "I know you're the groom, but Nick is going to be your groomsman. If he looks sharp, that will reflect well on you too. How can you say something so nasty?

"Mark, stop being childish. It's not going to kill anyone if the wedding gets delayed a little."

The door swung open, and the emcee came rushing out, drenched in sweat. "Is the bride still not here yet? It's 11:57 am! We have to start the ceremony right now if we want to follow our local custom!"

I gave a nod and repeated to Lana, "It's 11:57 am."

Lana clicked her tongue, her irritation evident. "It's our wedding. The emcee doesn't get to call the shots. I'm not there yet. You can't exactly get married by yourself, can you?

"Stop making a fuss, Mark. Nick is fixing his hair right now. Just wait a little longer. As soon as I get there, we can start. He was really hurt when he saw your comment. Remember to apologize to him later."

I could hear the concern in her voice when she mentioned Nicholas. I pushed myself up from the chair and motioned for Robert to take it away. "Forget it. We can still have the wedding without you."

I hung up, glanced over at Violet, and tapped Robert on the shoulder. "Get your sister to help me out and go through the wedding with me instead."

The corridor outside went dead silent for two full seconds. Violet straightened up in surprise, her mouth falling open as she sucked in a sharp breath.

Robert was so caught off guard that he nearly choked on his own spit as he tried to get a word out.

The bridesmaids' faces fell. But before they could rush over to stop me, the emcee's frantic voice drowned them out. "Somebody get a veil! You're wearing a long dress—perfect! All you need is a veil to walk down the aisle!"

Robert immediately turned and ran. "There's a spare one in the dressing room. I'll get it!"

I looked straight at Violet. "Violet, can you do me a favor?"

A few seconds later, Robert came sprinting back with a veil in his arms. Violet took it from him, pinned it into her hair, and came over to stand beside me.

"Open the doors."

Robert's eyes were practically shining. He'd originally been assigned to bring the rings over to us, but now he wasted no time putting the ring box in my hand.

He shoved the frantic bridesmaids aside and stood with the other groomsman. They each grabbed one of the door handles.

The emcee ran back through the side door, gasping for breath as he shouted, "And now, please welcome the bride, Violet Decker, and the groom, Mark Waters!"

The double doors swung open. Violet took my arm, and we quickly walked onto the stage.

Just as Robert started clapping with all his might, his eyes red with emotion, my phone started ringing.

He answered the call.

"Mark, what did you mean by that? How can there be a ceremony without a bride?"

As Lana's protests rang out, the emcee announced loudly, right on time, "Now, will the bride and groom please face each other and exchange wedding rings?"

Lana was stunned for a moment. She then screamed, "Mark Waters, who exactly are you exchanging rings with?"