Chapter 18: Chapter 18

"OH. You looked so beautiful, darling."

My mom smiled at me as we both stared at my reflection in the full length mirror. Today was my wedding with Adam.

"Thanks, Ma." I stared at myself. I was wearing a simple white maxi dress. My short hair was clipped with a beautiful barrette. I was only wearing minimal makeup.

"I can't believe you'll be the first one to get married in this family." she said as she continued to stare at me.

I turned my head to my mother. "I'm sorry, Ma."

Mom shook her head. "Stop it. You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm happy for you. I'm happy that you've finally met the person you'll be spending your life with." She smiled. "I can see that Adam is a good man. I'm sure he's also going to be a good husband to you and a good father to your baby."

"Yeah." I answered in a low voice. "He is." I gave her a hug. "Thank you, Ma."

And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm sorry for fooling you and Dad. I just didn't want to disappoint you. I'm not really the good and perfect daughter that you think I am. I'm sorry for that.

"Oh, Claire. Don't you dare cry." Mom said when she saw the tears in the corner of my eyes. "Your makeup will be ruined."

I let out a small chuckle. "I'm just happy, Ma. I'm happy that you and Dad are here with me at this special moment."

Mom smiled at me. "Of course, darling. You're our daughter. It's just a shame that your brothers aren't here with us."

I smiled. "It's okay, Ma. I understand."

My mother and I got interrupted by the knock on the door. It was Marcus.

"I'll just go outside." Mom said, leaving me with Marcus, who was looking at me with an amused smile on his face.

"Hey," I greeted him. "You cleaned up nicely, huh."

He was wearing a black three piece suit. My cousin was dashing.

He raised his brows as he examined my look. "I should say the same to you. You really look like a legit bride." He grinned.

I just rolled my eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I'm just checking that you're a hundred percent sure about this. You know, you can still back out. You've still got time to cancel all of this."

Marcus was the only one who knew about my situation with Adam.

"Shut up, Marcus. I wouldn't do this if I had doubts in my mind," I answered with a confident voice. "The wedding will push through."

He sighed. "Alright. Since I'm already sure that you can't be stopped. I'm just going to remind you to be careful."

I frowned at him. "You talk as if I'm marrying a criminal, Marcus. I already told you that Adam is a good person."

"Well, yeah. But there's nothing wrong with being extra careful. I feel like that man's hiding something."

"Hiding something?" I cocked my brow. "And what would he be hiding? You're just being paranoid, Marcus."

He shrugged. "Well, it's just my gut feeling, okay?" he smiled. "I'm just concerned about you, Claire."

I smiled at him. "I know, Marcus. And you have nothing to worry about."

He looked me in the eyes. "What if you fall in love with him?" he asked.

My lips parted. "What are you talking about, Marcus."

"Oh. Don't act as if you don't know what I'm talking about, Claire." He slightly raised an eyebrow. "That Adam was an attractive man. You're going to be married to him for almost a year. It's not impossible for you to fall in love with him."

I let out a small chuckle. "Just trust me on this, Marcus. I won't fall in love with him."

"And how sure are you with that?"

"I know he's attractive, but he's not my kind of man, okay? Fine. I admit that I'm physically attracted to him, but that's just it. There would be no love involved, I promise you."

Marcus shook his head. "That's a very dangerous game you're playing, Claire."

I just let out an amused chuckle. "You remind me of Ciarra. She also said that to me the other day."

Now, it was Marcus' turn to frown. "Stop mentioning her name to me, Claire."

I chuckled. "Alright. You two are really allergic to each other."

"You know why we hated each other." Marcus answered. But then his face turned serious again. "I don't want you to get hurt, Claire. So if there's a problem in the future, just call me for help, okay? You know, I'm always here for you. I always got you."

I smiled at him before pulling him for a hug. "Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate everything you've done for me."

An hour later, we arrived at the private hall where we decided to hold our wedding. The whole space was decorated with fresh flowers. The place looked beautiful.

I immediately found Adam. He was standing next to the altar. Beside him was his friend, Arthur. I almost held my breath as I stared at Adam.

He was wearing a white tuxedo. His slightly long hair was neatly pushed back. Damn. He suddenly looked like a gorgeous angel.

Our eyes met. He slowly smiled at me. I smiled at him back.

I didn't know why it took forever before I got to him.

"Hey," he greeted me, a wide smile plastered on his face. He offered his hand to me.

"Hi." I smiled back as I accepted his hand. It was warm. Just like the smile he was giving me.

"You looked gorgeous, Claire,” he said in a gentle voice. I felt like something warm touched my heart.

I pursed my lips as I stared at his face. "You cleaned up nicely, too, Adam. You look amazing."

His eyes sparkled. "Well, then. Are you ready to get married?"

I smiled. “Let’s do this.”