Chapter 1

Xyrra POV　

“Alana will be so mad if she knows that I arrived late,” commented Brett as we took the seat at the back, not wanting to draw any attention toward us. The traffic was terrible on workdays, let alone on a Sunday.

I glanced at the bride and the groom standing in front of the priest who was preaching about how sacred a union such as marriage truly was. Each of his words felt like a jab to me because I was not sure whether I wanted to get married at the age of eighteen yet glancing at Brett, who listened to every word with a sparkle in his eyes, I knew he would not be on the same page with me. He always wanted to get married young, like his parents, and build a life as soon as we graduated from high school. I let out a small sigh and decided that one of these days, I had to find a way to tell him that I was not ready for marriage without breaking his heart.

Instead of thinking about marriage and Brett, I tried to focus on the ceremony and glanced at the bride whose dress was very beautiful. “She looks beautiful,” I commented absentmindedly while I was actually wondering how she did it. I pondered what it was that caused her to be so sure that the person next to her was the one for her, that she would be spending the rest of her life with him. Then I moved my gaze to the groom. I could not see his face from where I was sitting but if anything, his black tux fitted his tall frame and solid arms did nothing to hide the taut muscles beneath his clothing. Maybe he was a nice-looking bloke with an amazing body but it still did not give me the answer I needed.

“Alana has a great body,” Brett agreed. “I think everyone had a crush on her at some point.” As if he realized what he was saying and to who, his chuckle died and he turned to me nervously. “But, of course, no one can beat you, babe,” he added as he was trying to decipher my expression.

In all honesty, I could not care less if he had a crush on her, and the fact that I did not care surprised me more. A girlfriend should at least feel a bit jealous or annoyed and yet I felt neither. I shook those thoughts away and focused on the ceremony. The bride was making her wedding vows and once she was done, it was the groom’s turn.

“I love you, Alana, I have been in love with you since we were kids, and growing up, I realized that I have never stopped loving you. I do not think I ever will. And this day, we will finally be bound forever in a union that is so sacred. No matter what fate has dictated to us, we have decided our own path, we have chosen our own destiny so today I promise you—” Then the groom stopped. He actually stopped in the middle of his vows and caused a few people to whisper and wonder what on Earth was happening.

Even from far away, I could see his head jerked up and he stared ahead instead of glancing down at his bride. He shook his head before saying the only words a bride should never hear on her wedding day, “I am sorry but I can not do this.” He actually said that quietly to the bride however since a microphone was probably placed on his attire, the volume was amplified and everyone inside the church could hear his every word.

“But you said you are going to do this,” replied the bride. From her voice alone, everyone could tell that she felt betrayed and was deeply hurt. “You said that fate does not matter, that it will not break us.”

“I am really sorry, Alana.” He shook his head, still not meeting her eyes. “I can not do this. He will not let me because she is here.”

I frowned because the groom was not making any sense and for a moment I thought that perhaps Alana had dodged a bullet by not marrying this guy. Yet the second the groom had completed his sentence, Alana turned to the audience as if what he had said actually made sense to her. Her eyes seemingly searching for someone. I could see her nose was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks before they dropped on her beautiful white dress. I clutched Brett’s hand as I was feeling really bad for the bride. This was supposed to be her special day yet it had turned into a nightmare and everyone was watching her.

I shifted my gaze to the groom whose face was showing no emotion, almost as if he had not just broken someone’s heart. He looked as if he had not just humiliated his bride in public on her wedding day. The groom actually looked like he did not want to get married in the first place and although I understood his reluctance as I was not sure I wanted to get married either but I could never approve of his way of informing her about this at the very last minute, on their wedding day. My other hand curled into a fist and I had an urge to punch that douchebag even though I did not even know Alana that well and today was actually the first time I saw her.

Then the strangest thing happened. I could swear I saw the groom’s nose twitch before he turned his body towards the crowd and his eyes locked with mine. Alana seemed to notice this as she turned to him and then followed his line of sight. Now both the bride and the groom were staring at me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see the groom’s face clearly, and I gasped when I recognized him. He was that man I had made out with inside the ladies’ bathroom at the back of the club. He was the man who creepily said ‘Till we meet again, Love’ and the one I had wished I would never lay my eyes on.

Before people thought that I was the one he had been referring to, I quickly broke the eye connection and started listening to Brett’s angrily talking about things he would do to the groom for hurting a sweet girl like Alana. I was not really paying attention to what he said but when he finally stopped, I looked up at my boyfriend and nudged his arm, “Are you okay?”

But Brett’s eyes were not even on me. He seemed to be looking up at something so out of curiosity, I looked in the direction he was looking and nearly gasped when I realized that the groom had walked all the way from the front of the church to the back and was now standing only a few feet away from me.

“Xyrra Lancaster, you are my soulmate and the love of my life,” the groom said solemnly, his silvery eyes locked with mine and there was something intense about the way he gazed at me. It was as if he could see through my walls and peek into my soul. It scared the hell out of me.

“W-what are you doing?” I replied to him. My hand was still clutching Brett’s hand, no doubt causing some bruises there. I glanced at Alana who was bawling her eyes out. Even though I could understand his reasoning for not wanting to marry, I would never tolerate what he had done and there was no way I would let him use me as his reason to break things off with Alana. “I do not know you.”

He continued to speak as if I had not said anything. “I will father any child you carry.”

“Are you crazy? I am not carrying any child and I am sure as hell not carrying yours!” I blatantly yelled at him out of frustration. We had only made out once and we barely had done anything.

“Nonetheless I am bound to you and I am forever yours.”

Before I even yelled or argued with him, the hell broke loose and at that moment, I knew two things for sure. One was that my life would never be the same. Two, everything was not what it seemed, and there were far too many secrets in the world.