The wrong bride

Chapter 8 — The Wrong Bride

"Who are you talking to?"

The room fell silent as Amelia's heart slammed against her ribs.

Alexander stood in the doorway, his dark eyes fixed on the phone in her trembling hand yet The anger in his expression wasn't loud.It was worse than the type he usually portrayed.

For a second, Amelia considered lying but Then she remembered who she was dealing with.

Alexander Sterling looked like the kind of man who could smell a lie before it was even spoken so she decided it would be in her favor if she went with the flow.

"It's none of your business."

His eyes narrowed and The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.

"None of my business you say?"

Slowly, he stepped forward and Within seconds, Amelia and Alexander were faced off one on one alone. It was very terrible and it seemed more frightening as His gaze never left her face once.

"You're about to become my wife so Everything concerning you is my business. The earlier you get that into your thick skull the better it is for you and the remainder of your miserable stay here!”

Amelia’s heart shattered at the cruel words he uttered but she decided to keep her emotions under check.

"Your wife?" She looked up at him slowly."You've spent the last twenty-four hours treating me like a criminal and you dare say such horrendous thing to me."

Alexander's jaw tightened.

"Least you forgot You tried to run."

"I tried to leave."

"It’s the Same thing and we are done revisiting the same issue over and over again."

"There is a difference."

"No there isnt ."

The frustration building inside Amelia finally spilled over.

"Do you ever listen?"

Alexander folded his arms and he stared down at her lithe frame.

"Yes I listen now what?"

"No, you don't."

Her voice shook as she tried to hold herself from breaking down for the uptenth time in the last two days.

"Every time I say something, you've already decided I'm lying. You don’t care to listen to any explanation or even excuse I have to offer. Why can’t you just leave me alone if you so much as feel disgusted by my presence?” Amelia screamed.

She was tired and everything weighed down on her heavily. She felt there was no way even the most coldest man on earth wouldn’t have a sense of reasoning to let go of baggage’s he despises.

She looked upward into Alexander’s eyes and his tall frame but she was surprised His expression didn't change And somehow that made it worse.

Finally, he spoke.

"Because every fact says otherwise."

Amelia stared at him incredulously.

"What facts?"

"The original bride disappeared and You appeared."

Amelia looked at him stunned and couldn’t believe what she was still hearing. How hard was it to digest that she didn’t want any of this arrangement. If she did,her sole plan would have been to to get into his good books.

She looked looked away at last because she was tired. So incredibly tired that No matter what she said, it didn't matter and No matter what she did, he had already judged her.

Alexander's gaze dropped briefly to the phone still clutched in her hand.

"Who was messaging you?"

Amelia's grip tightened around her phone.

For one second she almost showed him at last because it was a solid proof that this was all set up but Then she remembered that He wouldn't believe her and instead He would find a way to twist it Just like everything else.

"No one important."

Something flashed across his face like Suspicion Immediately.

"There it is."

"What is it?"

"The lie you are so good at weaving."

Amelia scoffed bitterly before dabbing her under eyes with her knuckles.

"You really are impossible."

"And you're avoiding the question again. I really hope you learn your lessons once Amelia. There are mistakes unforgivable under the Sterling family rule.”

They both stood and glared at each other as Neither of them moved or looked away.The tension stretched until it became almost unbearable and it could be cut with a scissors.

Then a sharp knock interrupted them as One of the wedding coordinators rushed inside.

"Mr. Sterling."

"N-nearly all the guests have arrived."

Alexander's attention shifted immediately as he side glanced at the staff. Without another word, he turned toward the door and Then paused again.

With His back still facing her, he said

"Be downstairs in ten minutes."

And the door closed shut signifying that he was gone.

Amelia closed her eyes and released the breath she never knew she was holding back.

The wedding hall looked like something from a dream.

The perfect Crystal chandeliers,White roses,Gold accents. It screamed of Luxury everywhere.

In fact Everything was extraordinarily beautiful.Everything was perfect and at the same time Everything represents fake.

Amelia stood at the entrance gripping her bouquet as Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

A coordinator adjusted her veil and with the little action, she couldn’t stop the involuntary flinching at the guest.

"Ready?"

No she wasn’t. Not even in a million years would she be ever ready to wed her captor but at that instant The music began and The giant doors slowly opened.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward her and The whispers started immediately. She felt the momentum increased with every passing eyes that lingered on her far too long. She could hear them Judge her and Her throat tightened.

She took One step at a time and Then another one with different thoughts racing through her mind,The aisle suddenly felt endless.

At the end stood Alexander. It seemed Taller than he was 10 minutes ago as he stood there waiting. Even a passer by watching could tell it was Not because he wanted her but Because he had to.

His expression remained cold as she approached.Not once did he smile or offer reassurance.

As she came to a halt standing before him The officiant began speaking.Amelia barely heard the words as it droned and hummed past her like busy bees.

Marriage…Commitment….Partnership.…Promises blah blah blah and all bullshit. Every sentence felt like a cruel joke. This wasn’t how she envisioned the most joyous moment of her life but because of a deal she knew nothing about, her life was thrown under the bus.

Then vows came and The officiant turned toward Alexander first.

"Do you, Alexander Sterling, take Amelia Hart to be your lawful wife?"

A pause that could be classified as too deadly followed as the Guests shifted uneasily.

Amelia's heart took a different turn as she could feel the taste of something entire different but akin to a positive energy.

But Then….

"I do."

The words sounded forced and Mechanical at best Like he was signing a begrudging paperwork.

The officiant turned toward Amelia.

"And do you, Amelia Hart, take Alexander Sterling to be your lawful husband?"

She looked at him solemnly.At the man who believed the worst of her, the man who had locked her inside a room and At the man who had promised her hell first hand.

For one terrifying second she thought about the outcome of defying and She couldn't speak.The hall went silent but Alexander's eyes narrowed in Warning.

There was a look of Pressure and Expectation in the stance he took as he towered above her.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath as they waited patiently for the slightest turn of events that moment.

Finally she responded.

"I do."

The words barely left her mouth as the whole officiating process finished in the blur of an eye and every other necessary formalities were carried out.

Soon The ceremony continued But Amelia couldn’t relax into the impending arrival of her suffering as she had the strange feeling that something was wrong,As though disaster was quietly approaching.

Not long A loud gasp echoed through the hall.

One guest stood abruptly and Then another and another.

Confusion spread across the room as everyone exchanged glances as to what was going on.

Amelia frowned as hands turned clammy all of a sudden. What was happening now again?

The giant screen behind the stage suddenly blurred and The wedding slideshow disappeared. Instead A photograph appeared splitted into different image frames.

Amelia's blood turned cold instantly Because the woman on the screen Was Sophia And she wasn't alone.

The entire hall erupted into shocked whispers and Alexander slowly turned toward the screen.His face darkening with every passing second.

Then another image appeared And they followed each other simultaneously as another And another kept on appearing.

The images entailed Sophia Laughing,Vacationing and Living freely While her replacement stood at the altar.

The room exploded into chaos as they ve never encountered such as of before.

And then One final image flashed onto the screen. It was An image that made Alexander go completely still.