Chapter 5 - The time of yes

By Hector Marques

A few months later

I could hardly believe that in a few hours my ”forced” marriage to Catherine would happen. Gradually it seems that the record was falling and my heart pressed to realize that in a few hours Hector Marques would become a married man. Many men in my place would probably be anxious and happy with the moment, but it turns out that I was far from feeling this way. I was a man completely free for the opportunities that life brought me and would soon be trapped in something that did not seem to suit me. That was scary! I was definitely far from a happy man.

The wedding would be held in an impromptu party hall on the outside of my house, and from my room I could hear the screams of my mother who had really freaked out about this wedding story and almost drove me crazy too. She wanted the decor impeccable, as well as all the buffet service.

I heard knocks on the bedroom door and authorized the entrance without caring who would be there, but I was surprised when I saw in the mirror the reflection of my father standing behind me.

”Is there a problem?”

I turned to him trying to decipher his serious expression. He approached me in short steps from where I was.

”None! I just wanted to have a little chat with you.”

”Come to make sure the groom wouldn’t run away in the last minutes of the second half or just make sure his attempt to ruin my life is working?”

Bitterness was present in my hoarse voice. I watched him pull the air tightly closing his eyes, but he did not fall for the provocation, because he knew that otherwise we would end up fighting ugly.

”You probably hate me, in fact you have hated me for a long time. But I couldn’t let you leave this house until we had this father-son talk.”

“You don’t have to do that. Maybe today’s not a good day for us to fight.”

He smiled without humor.

“I always dreamed of the day your mother would give me a son man. My heir, the one who would take my place in everything. And the day you were born I couldn’t feel happier. I was the most accomplished man. But today I only wonder where I was so wrong not to deserve a second chance. Not to have the friendship of my son, love, affection, respect...

“A little too late to think about it, don’t you think?”

“It’s never too late to fix mistakes, my son. Maybe today you don’t see much sense in that, but I’m sure one day you’ll understand. I just need you to know that I am aware that you are not happy with this forced marriage, but one day you will understand that when I forced you to get married it was so that this would mature the man who was born to be.”

“You can only be crazy! Who can be happy marrying without love? Incidentally, love exists?”

“I just need you to try, that you can allow yourself to give the unknown a chance. If you do that, you’ll find your answer.” He said my father as if he knew what he was talking about.

...

I was at the altar waiting for Catherine when I began to observe many faces. Some looked at me with curiosity, others with an enchantment as if witnessing the most beautiful scene ever seen in life. Pure idiocy! I met Stella, who as promised, was sitting in the front row to witness the exchange of vows I would make with Catherine at that time. However, unlike the other guests, his expression was of who was attending a real funeral, which in a way I shared his feelings. For a moment I thought how bizarre it was she is there witnessing that wedding and hours ago I woke up in her bed after an exhausting night of sex, but remembered that there were no feelings between us, so it meant nothing to her that moment. In turn, Kaique smiled at the altar where he took his place as godfather.

Suddenly the traditional music began to be played and we then watched the entrance of Catherine. As I saw her walking towards me I observed that Catherine De Castro was beautiful and could easily be considered as the very charm of that place, but her expression was visibly of confusion and sadness. She took steps towards me and I got lost in thoughts, it was hard to believe that this was the same serious woman who hid behind social clothes in that company. Our eyes met and did not come apart, together we were sharing perhaps the most difficult time of our lives so far.

“Calm down!” Kaique whispered in my ear as I began to breathe hard. ” That way I’ll start to think you’re in love with the bride.”

It was notorious that he was playing with the situation, but the twinge in my chest before those words frightened me. 

“I’m not nervous, asshole.” I grumbled just so my friend would hear.

When she finally arrived at the altar and that distance no longer existed between Catherine and me, I greeted the man who became at that moment my father-in-law, and heard him say:

“Take good care of her. You’re getting the opportunity to hang out with a rare gem.

“I’m not the best person to promise this, but I’ll do my best to make her feel good by my side.” I meant it.

The ceremony has finally begun. Many flashes were fired at all times as our parents made a point of inviting a small part of the local press to cover the wedding. Time and time again I lost myself in admiring the woman next to me who seemed as nervous as I was, she returned all glances in an indecipherable way, which ended up leaving me curious to know what she was thinking.

By Catherine

“Nervous?” Hector whispered in my ear.

“A little bit.”

“Don’t be. We’ll soon be winning this stage again.” She blinked. ” By the way, you look beautiful.”

“I forbid you to embarrass me now. I feigned indignation.” But I must say that you are also not bad yourself.

“I know!” That’s great, besides everything is convinced. I thought to myself. “We’ll make a good couple, don’t you think?”

His crooked smile was disturbing. Why did he need to be so seductive?

“I think you can shut up.” I tried to be rude, but he had the infernal ability to destroy my attempts.

“Don’t be bitter, Catherine. Speaking like that, you don’t seem lucky enough to be hanging out with me.

At this point the bloody ceremony went on without any attention from the two of us who kept that dialogue to whispers.

Despite keeping the devil from that smirk on his lips, Hector was silent and I tried to focus on what the priest was talking about.

“Is everything okay?” I was surprised when Hector seemed concerned.

“Yes!”

“You’re lying and I hate it when people lie to me. - We face each other.

“I’m just tired.” I muttered.

“Don’t cry, you look prettier when you’re smiling.

Unexpectedly my heart warmed... Inexplicably a smile was born on my face as if I wanted to present the man next to me for his kindness.

“The wedding rings, please.”

I heard the Father ask and a soft violin melody began to be heard by everyone as Hector’s sister was bringing the rings to us.

"Catherine De Castro." The priest began with the famous question and I wondered if it was now that someone appeared to prevent the marriage from being realized. " Do you accept Hector Marques as your lawful husband, promising to love and respect her for all the days of your life?"

Hector looked at me carefully, he seemed slightly apprehensive.

"Yes!" I answered with conviction and slipped the golden ring by the finger of Hector’s left hand.

"Hector Marques..." The man repeated the question this time to the man who was now in front of me. " Do you accept Catherine De Castro as your lawful wife, promising to love and respect her for all the days of your life?

"I accept!"

"The groom can now kiss the bride!"

I widened my eyes! How could I forget this important detail? I think Hector realized my despair, but the surprise was on me, because the man did not look at me with mockery, much less seemed to be cheeky as usual, his cynical smile that made me angry did not exist there, contrary to this I observed the serene smile that stamped on his face. Hector approached me calmly and when I thought his lips would touch mine I was surprised by a kiss on the forehead accompanied by an almost fraternal affection. I didn’t know how to act, that wasn’t the man I was used to. I decided not to think much about it, after all we were already married and nothing could change that.