No Bride, No wedding

While she stood outside the bare central wooden door, the moans she heard got louder and then she heard it, she knew who those voices belonged to; one of which was Victor's and the other she denied to believe it was actually her. Reign bent slightly and looked through the cracked door and to her dismay she was frozen on the spot. She scrambled away quickly when she heard them getting dressed.

The day after would have been her wedding, but she could not go through with it. She knew it would make her parents furious but for the sake of her daughter and her dignity she had to call the shot. The morning of the wedding came with a bang and a heavy thug at the heart. She was not hurt , however she just became numb after what she discovered earlier yesterday evening. Before everyone had arrived for the wedding, she walked the aisle and looked at the white chairs decorated with lavender and white ribbons and flowers.

It was 6:30 am and the sun had risen over the east horizon, creeping up behind the snowy mountain. The view was magnificent, she could not have chosen a better venue for the wedding. Her dark brown hair was tied in a messy bun to the back. Holding her white thick coat she zipped it shut and stood at the front and looked to face the emptiness of the chairs. 

Thoughts filled her thoughts of what the wedding would have turned out like if Victor wasn’t such a jerk. He was never the best but she hoped the wedding would at least honor her a little more. I guess it was just a figment of her imagination. Everything was. Trying to change Victor when he was a guy built for the streets was a total waste of time.

Taking a deep breath she weighed in on her thoughts. All types of scenarios clouded her mind yet still none seem to give her the answer she wanted.

She was confused and beyond lost. Thoughts of her not being enough dwell upon her. Reign wondered to herself for a long period of time if she was supposed to get married to Victor and see past his infidelity; but the word no echoed throughout her whole body especially in her heart where it ached the most. She could not. This is one thing that could never be possible for her. 

The female voice that she heard yesterday clogged her mind: "We've been doing this for a year and yet you still proposed to her," She said.

Discovering that shattered her. Victor's response however made it worse, “ She's good for me and business. I love her. Also, I do not want this to stop. I will not allow it to stop."

Tears filled her eyes when she thought about it when the door opened she dashed out of sight as quickly as possible. Reign then travelled to her favourite spot to clear her mind before she got dressed for the wedding. The vibrating phone almost fell off the car seat, she peeped at the lit up screen: she had over 50 missed calls and couple text messages.

Reign was loving the coziness of the cafe. She loved the smell of freshly made coffee and it always set the mood for her. She was on her third cup of coffee when she received the text message she had been waiting on.

~***~

She slid in through the back door that she used to enter this morning  and went to get dressed. The hair stylist came, did her thing within an hour and then left. She knew it was not necessary but she wanted to look her best when she dropped the bomb on them, besides she could not let all that money go to waste nor could she let them see her at her worst.

Her white, off shoulder body fitted dress was expensive and designed by one of the best designers in town. It suited her small figure well.  It was time for the wedding to begin and she stood eagerly inside her dressing room awaiting her dad’s arrival to lead her down the aisle. 

The band played “Dancing In The Moonlight'' by Toploade. The grey hair, big body structured man in his mid fifties, led her down the aisle slowly. Everyone had a smile on their face, some gasping in awe, others smiled, took photos and whispered how she looked. And by some, she meant Victor’s workers who she saw him flirting with. Her daughter was beaming, her mother was struggling to keep the child from running towards her. Her eyes then landed on Victor and she saw him wiping tears from his eyes. She tried hard not to curse or rolled her eyes. It was hard to keep a genuine smile on her face as she made her way down the aisle but she did.

It was a bad thing to wish for but she wished those lying tears could blind him. She wondered how many Oscars he had won for acting and hid it from her. She finally reached him at the altar and it took hercules strength from her to not rip him apart right then and there. With a hurtful smile she let him take her hands after kissing her dad's cheek. She handed her flowers to her sister and shortly after the pastor gestured for them to sit then he began. Reign blocked out most of what he was saying until it was time to exchange vows, it's a good thing she's a sucker for romance movies. She quoted words from a  romance movie she watched a thousand times for her vows. 

Victor's wavy black hair was gel to the back, his grey suit hugged his body, his brown eyes deceivingly looked pure. He had a slim thick structure, 5'9 ft tall, broad shoulders and bow legs. Damn his figure was perfect. His smile was perfect, everything about his outward appearance was breathtaking. He would have fooled anyone and is fooling everyone. They say the devil was one handsome geek. Expecting anything else from a money hungry, manipulative billionaire was the worst thing she ever did.

His ways, characteristics, personalities, insecurities and his urge to win and control was absolutely disgusting and a bug turn off. Of course she looked past it ignoring the red flags.

“Do you Victor Barnes take Reign Davis to have and hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health until death do you part?” the pastor asked. 

“I do,” Victor answered, smiling his perfect smile with his perfect thirty two white and shining.

"Do you Reign Davis take Victor Barnes to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" he asked her.

"I don't," she smirked at him and withdrew her hands from him.

"What!" he yelled. "Why?"

"I'm going to be brutally candid," she turned towards the guests. “So listen keenly because I’m only saying this once.”

“Reign, do not be a fool.” Victor hissed, grabbing her arm.

"This piece of douchebag here has been creeping around on me. He is nothing but a no good liar and a cheat" she spat angrily, letting all the hurt out. "Oh, don't look so surprised”

At that moment a passerby in his car was playing “I’d Rather Be Alone” by Karyn White loudly which broke her more but also set the mood for her.

"Reign, you will regret this if you do not marry him," her mother growled at her.

"Mom, just shut it please," she spoke flatly. What she hated more than Victor was that her mother was using her for money and never cared about what she did. "You never thought I was your daughter, but you now want some say in who I marry. Why? Because of money. Guess it’s a shame you will not have me to use as a bank anymore.”

"Be like your sister. Listen to mommy and do as I say. She is better than you , she never talks back. She didn't go and get a child at 19. You have no choice. He is your only way out since your sperm donor sped away and left you," her mother fumed, she was about to explode any moment.

"Mom has a point Rei," her sister touched her arms in which she pulled away.

"It’s not my fault Cecile does not have the courage to stand up for herself. And please do not touch me. Well here is the brutal and most heart rending truth," Reign rolled her eyes in disgust at her mom and sister. "I did not drop out of college because I was pregnant. I'm not Amber's biological mother, your perfect daughter over here is. If you remember clearly I spent months in the hospital while she was out roaming the place.”

"You said you would not talk," her sister cried.

"Dry those eyes Cecile I've just started." Reign shouted at her. "I said I would not talk but that was before you screwed me over. You don't deserve my loyalty. This girl standing beside me, who calls herself my sister has been the one fucking my fiance for over a year now. If it was not for me that child would not be here. I was 19 when I took your responsibility just because you were afraid to disappoint our dear mother.”

Gasp and silence took over the guests sitting and listening to what Reign was saying.

"Is this true?" Kolt asked, her sister's boyfriend.

"I'm sincerely sorry to you both. I don't want to lose my only sister or you," Cecile cried. "It was a once in a while thing, he meant nothing to me. I was just jealous of you. You always seem to get everything that’s good and I get the worst of everything."

"All you had to do was be you. Instead you tried copying me, envying me and tried to live my life. Has that gotten you anywhere? You’re such a bad liar. Why did you want to know why he proposed to me?" Reign faced her with raging anger in her voice. “I took your responsibility as the younger sister and looked after myself and you. You’re my older sister who is supposed to protect me but you just could not do that. Everything I get from Victor you get half; whether it’s clothes, jewelry or money. I look out for you more than how I look out for myself.”

“I’m sorry,” her sister sniffed.

“I’m sorry? I was in the hospital for seven months, pregnant and intoxicated. Yes I lost a child because of my foolish behaviour but I still stuck by you even when I was drowning in my sorrow. I was not perfect. I did everything to get mom and dad's attention but it was not enough in and out of a coma and until this day you guys haven’t even asked how am I feeling?, how did therapy go? and all that.”

"It was just sex talk Reign. Your sister is just a fuck toy to me. Babe, please, let's just get married," Victor reached for her.

"Do not touch me," she said in a stern voice. "You both deserve each other.”

"Give me a chance," Victor begged and moved towards her. “You know I love you.”

"A chance for you to ruin me more. I've loved you for 3 years Victor. 3 years!" Reign shouted at him. "You make my skin crawl. I do not want to see the likes of you for the rest of life.”

"I'm sorry Reign, just give him a chance," her sister pleaded.

"Defending your dick?" Reign raised a questioning brow.

"Stop behaving like this," Victor hissed through gritted teeth.

"You're a disgrace to men Victor. I'm so glad you fucked her. I just don’t get how you sit at home comfortable with yourself." Reign laughed through tears. "And you sister, you're embarrassing yourself, you're embarrassing this family sleeping with Victor. I'm not the messed up one, you are. An embarrassment to society and women in general. 

"You could not wait until after. You had to do this now?" Victor growled at her.

"Are you stupid or that brain of yours isn’t functionng? Marry you and do what? Make my life a living hell becoming your wife" Reign said. “I'm doing this for me. All the nights I only had me and all those tears I cried that you did not deserve because you aren’t worth a drop of my tears.”

~***~

"She's my daughter. You can't leave with her," Cecile yelled at Reign, who picked up Reign from her mother and was making her way towards the exit.

"She's mine legally, birth papers and I'm the one she calls mom. Do I have to take you to court again? or you  seem to be forgetting the restraining order that the court issued against you?" Reign stood in her tracks. "I'd rather leave you miserable than let you ruin Amber's life or use her for clout chasing men. You can't even watch her for an hour without something going wrong."

"I want her," Cecile scowled at her.

"Try fighting me in court. I'll enjoy watching you crumble," Reign smirked with Amber clutched to her hip, nibbling on a piece of candy cane.

"Just go with that damn rascal," Cecile shrugged. "You're a monster."

"You helped in creating this monster," Reign smiled. "Life's a cycle, a merry-go-round and karma's a female dog. I'm just sorry I won't be here when you get a bite of it all."

With that said, she walked out in confidence, her shoulders felt burden free, only for Amber that was still attached to her. Dominic, her best friend, had been waiting for her with her suitcases packed with clothes that belonged to her and Amber along with personal documents.

“Let’s go champ.” Dominic smiled, giving Victor his middle finger before closely following Reign.