05

Our Wedding Day- The 18th of December 

“Do you Lara Austen, take Clark Rique to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part.

I smile, pretending to be in love with the man in front of me, “I do”. The priest nods, “do you Clark Rique take Lara Carter to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part.

He nods, “I do”. I inwardly shake my head, so much for pretending to be in love. 

“I now declare you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride” the priest says, stepping backward.

I flash a smile at Clark, waiting for him, inwardly grateful that I’m not the one that has to kiss him. He walks towards me tentatively like every step for him is painful.

Afraid that the guests will suspect that we’re not actually in love, I walk briskly towards him and place a kiss on his cheek before returning to my previous position.

The crowd cheers for us and Clark’s parents walk towards me, each embracing me in a tight hug, before moving to Clark who’s held in a conversation with my parents James and Tola Austen, who are probably over the moon that their 24 year old daughter is finally married.

As I watch their interaction, I smile, feeling at ease knowing that both parents know that our marriage was more arranged than it was for love. I would have hated it, if I had to lie to them.

“Can I please borrow my husband for a while” I say, slipping my hands around Clark which causes him to tense. Carson, Clark’s dad  chuckles, “of course, we won’t keep your husband any longer”

I smile, “thanks dad” I say, which causes Carson and Jane to smile. I intertwine our fingers, pulling Clark along with me.

“What do you want?” He mutters quickly, I shrug, “nothing really, I just needed someone to speak to, after all it’s not right that a bride is bored at her own party. And who could I speak about these things with, if not you” I say, flashing him a smile.

“You know what just came to my mind” I say, taking a seat. “What” he asks, following suit. I smile, “there was this guy at your office that kept saying we were meant to be together, I was almost out of excuses but now I have a permanent way out”

“No man will try hitting on my wife” he exclaims, annoyed. I chuckle, “you should calm down, you don’t want me falling in love when you get so cute”

He rolls his eyes, “you know that’s not possible”. I chuckle, “I know, but you almost made my heart flutter with your jealous tantrum” I tease.

“I wasn’t jealous” he states, “it’s just disrespectful, that’s all”. I nod, “sure, whatever you say Mr Clark”.

My eyes fall on Lai, who’s walking towards us with a huge smile on his face, “look where the happy couple is” he says, exchanging handshakes with Clark before pulling me into a hug.

I’m so glad he’s taking our marriage well. He really wasn't happy when he heard I agreed to the arrangement, but after a lot of persuasion and reasoning he finally agreed. I know that inwardly he hopes Clark and I will fall in love.

“Don’t hurt my sister and don’t hurt my best friend” Lai says, looking at Clark and I. We both nod, “I won’t” we simultaneously say.

He nods, “good. I need to go and check on the wedding guests, since the actual couple won’t”. I shrug, “what can we say, we’re so much in love that we don’t have time for anyone else” I joke.

Lai chuckles, “I’ll be sure to let them know” he says, before walking away.

I yawn, “I can’t wait to get home to my bed, I’m really tired. Who knew planning a wedding was so stressful”

Clark nods, “let me call the car around” he says. I shake my head, “no need for that, I’ll just let Lai know I’m ready to go home. Thanks for the offer to drop me home though”

“Why will you go home with Lai?” Clark asks, confused. “I don’t know Clark, but maybe because we live together” I respond sarcastically.

“You do know you’re supposed to go home with me, right?” He states. I shake my head in disbelief, “what? You’re telling me that I have to live with you?”

He smiles in disbelief, “you didn’t think that it ended with us just getting married; of course we have to live together. Imagine what people would think if they found out that we lived separately”

“They’ll think we are a contractual couple” I reply solemnly with my head down, “but I’ll be very careful to not get caught” I say, flashing him a smile.

He shakes his head, “No, and besides since we are married we need to live together, not for show, but because you’re my responsibility now”.

I nod, “I understand, give me some time to pack my things and mentally prepare myself. This is all too sudden for me”. He shakes his head, “there’s no need for that, I’ve already ordered that all your things be moved to my home”

“As we speak your things are neatly arranged and placed where they should be in our new home” he says, walking towards me.

“As for mentally preparing yourself,” he says, intertwining our fingers, “you can do that on our ride home” he adds, dragging me along with him.