Chapter 3 –  Eternal Damnation

(Alexander’s POV)

Chase wasn’t done explaining to me yet where on earth she got me a bride when the pianist started playing the Bridal Chorus. My forehead creased as I turned toward the woman in white walking alone in the aisle. She was wearing a simple silver-white wedding gown Mei had chosen.

Mei, running away on our wedding day was devastating already, taking a bride from somewhere was another highly upsetting decision.

“Trust me, Alex,” Chase whispered as we both watched the bride walking slowly in the aisle. Until she got here in front, I would not breathe. “Just be ready because I will be pursuing her after your divorce. She’s a Kiera Knightley, very beautiful.” He chuckled as he excitedly shared with me a little detail about her.

I took a deep breath, holding to his last words as he gave me hope and assurance that the one walking in the aisle was a person, and the face behind her veil was beautiful.

Should I have known they would be picking a bride for me on this day, I should have just asked Ms. Runaway and offered her a deal. For sure, she would not turn it down if I offered a hefty amount to join me on the altar today.

Despite Chase’s promise, my heart was beating wildly as I lifted the veil, uncovering her face. I heard the guests laugh because her eyes were closed, and I bet she had been crying since she walked the aisle.

My heart leaped out of my chest, seeing the same girl I had in mind who just said I do a while ago. I sneered and scoffed at her.

“So, you are escaping from me,” I said, taking my handkerchief to wipe her tears in her cheeks.

Her eyes widened as she recognized me.

“You are crashing your own wedding?” Kayleigh asked as she hiccupped.

“I was the monster groom.” I cleared it to her, then looked at her staff Ella as she mouthed, “kiss the bride.”

She didn’t need to tell me because I had hoped to kiss her lips since I met her in the elevator. Seeing her licking her lips after drinking the martini drove me nuts, wanting me to pull her closer to me and claim her mouth.

“Questions later. Let me kiss my wife.” I uttered in a low voice as I finally sealed this ceremony, kissing Kayleigh David, my wife, on her soft lips.

***

“When you’re happy, and you know it…” Leigh stops singing and turns to me as she blocks our hotel room door. “Come on, husband, complete it.”

I take a deep breath as I look at my drunk wife. A few strands from her braided hair loosened, and she blew them away from her face. She giggled when the loose strands just flew back again to her face. I scoff, trailing her face with my fingers and tucking the strands of hair to her ears.  

She pouts her lips, making her look more adorable. “Come on, finish the song.”

“Clap your hands,” I say in a monotone voice. “Now, can we go inside the room? I’m tired, wife.”

“Na-ah!” She shakes her head. “My family’s really superstitious, and I’ve seen this many times. You don’t want to disappoint my Abuela.”

 “What?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. I could not believe there are still people in this generation that believe in superstitions.

She grabs the collar of my dress suit to pull me closer to her. “We have to go inside together,” She whispers in my ear, making me want to kiss and touch her. “Or you have to let me enter the room first to avoid the bad luck,”

“Leigh,” I groan, pushing her to the side so I can open the door, but she remains standing and guarding the entry.

“I had too much bad luck today, husband,” she says, batting her eyelashes to me. “Please…”

She is my bride, after all, so I pull her closer to me and carry her as any husband should do. She giggles, weaving her hands to my nape, moving her closer to my body.

“Will your Abuela be happy now?” I ask her.

She smiles. “This is better. No evil spirit will follow us, husband,” she says as she buries her face to my neck.

When we enter the room, we both collapse in the bed, causing Leigh to giggle and spread her arms above her head. She seems not to mind I am on top of her, which gives me a better view of her face down to her cleavage.

I swallow hard as I gaze at her gorgeous face. Her brown eyes under her long and thick eyelashes are dreamy and beautiful. My fingers trailed her pointed nose down to her full lips. Chase might need to have his eyes checked. Kayleigh David is not a Kiera Knightly, but she is more beautiful at a closer look. He always had this habit of comparing women to the celebrities he liked, and recently, he has a thing for the Elizabeth Swann character.

“You’re so gorgeous, husband,” She breathes, raising her hand and caressing my face with her delicate fingers. My eyes close, breathing deeply as she strokes my cheeks gently and lovingly. When her fingers reach the corners of my lips, I hold her hand and put her index finger into my mouth, biting it playfully.

She closes her eyes and moans in pleasure, and then she surprises me when she giggles excitedly and opens her eyes.

“It’s funny we can’t touch each other as we wanted,” Leigh utters, watching me as I kiss her palm.

“You’re my wife now. I can take and have you as I pleased,” I said, meeting her eyes. “What do you want, wife?”

Her hands touch my neck down to my dress suit. “I don’t know...” She starts to unbutton my shirt. “What do I want?” She bites her lower lip after sighing deeply, and then she pouts her lips. “It’s a hard decision when in front of me is my gorgeous and sexy husband,” She whispers, then giggles again. “Oh! I’m dead!”

I lowered my head, brushing my lips into her soft mouth.

“You’re drunk, wife...” I whispered into her ear, causing her to gasp.

“I know...” She utters in a low voice and gives me her sweet-sad smile. “If I were Mei, I wouldn’t run away. Why would I, when you’re too perfect,”

If she only knew that no one wanted to be wedded today. Mei and I didn’t love each other, but we were a perfect match in business. I just didn’t expect she would run away on this day instead of telling my face that she was no longer interested in our agreement. 

She groans, pushing me gently and sitting down on the bed. “I’m sober now, Alexander.”

“That fast?” I chuckle, sitting beside her.

She nods, turning to me to show me her cute and still drunk smile. “Still drunk, juuust a tiny bit.”

She gestures her hand that I should go behind her.

“Why?” I ask, thinking that Kayleigh David is full of wonders.

“My scalp is complaining already. My hair wants to breathe, and those hairstylists made sure not a single strand of my hair wouldn’t run away during the wedding ceremony,” she explains. “Help me with these pins,” she adds, taking the pins from her head.

She sat crossed-legged, placing the pins she had already taken and arranged them in line in the bed. I went to her back, spread my legs, and she came closer to me, almost touching my crotch. I heave a deep sigh, thinking this woman really knows how to make me suffer.

“Let me lay my conditions now, Alexander Hearst,” Leigh utters, rearranging the pins according to their sizes.

I tilt my head to peek at her, but she is busy puckering her eyebrows, rearranging the items she got from her hair on the mattress.

“I only agree to this to save my face and my business,” she started. “Plus, I didn’t want to be dragged to hell without tasting heaven first,” she laughed bitterly. “Just kidding. I wanted to prove to my family that I can do this and am not cursed!”

“What do you want?” I already thought she would ask for some sort of payment, but she pointed out something else when she spoke.

“First, you have to be there when I explain to Seb that all these happened because of your bride,” she said, raising her hand, wiggling her fingers for me to see the engagement ring on her finger. “He would be calling tomorrow. Second, until we sign the divorce papers, I will be your wife and submit to you, and you will be husband, except we’re not to consummate this marriage.”

“Your point?” I ask, wanting to clarify her second condition.

She glances at me and smiles sheepishly. “Let’s just say, Alexander, we’ll be playing house.”

My forehead creases, not understanding her point.

“My family’s very traditional, husband,” she groans, causing me to hate it whenever she calls my ‘husband’ as an endearment. “Besides, I don’t want them to think I didn’t try to make our married life ideal… somehow.”

“We didn’t need to pretend, wife!” I said, emphasizing my last word. “You’re free to do whatever you want to do. Besides, tomorrow, Chase will be here to bring us the papers so he can process the divorce right away. Like what he said, you’ll be walking home tomorrow afternoon single again.”

Her lips quiver, and then she laughs giddily. “Just play along with me, okay?”

“Whatever!” I groan. “What’s your next condition?” I ask, giving her the last pin.

She starts to untangle the braid in her hair. “Finally!” She stood up, taking the pins she arranged carefully, and placed them inside the small box. “Later,” she said, yawning. “Can I take a shower first?”

“We could shower together?” I smirk, thinking of what I would do if she agreed.

“Tempting, but no!” She turned her back on me and went to the bathroom.

I opened another martini bottle and drank straight from it while waiting for her to go out of the bathroom. I didn’t bring many clothes because I was thinking of going back to my house after the ceremony and expected Mei to do the same. All I had was one pair of pajamas and jeans and a shirt that I brought because I was also considering staying in the hotel after the wedding.

“Husband, I hope you don’t mind me wearing your PJs,” Leigh said as she went out of the bathroom door.

I turn around, swallowing hard as I see my wife wearing only the top pajama. My eyes went down from her upper thighs to her legs. She smiles at me, looking embarrassed for a while as she brushes her hair.

One thing is sure in this rollercoaster ride. Chase and my father brought my eternal damnation when they chose Kayleigh David to be my wife today.