4

Mia's POV

I finally got to where Allen was and I stood in front of him. He had not taken his eyes off me since I entered the church. Strangely, it made my cheeks flushed. Most guys I had dated back in college barely succeeded in making me blush, it made me surprised how my cheeks were all warmed up because of a stranger's gaze.

The doors of the church were closed and Allen proceeded to lift my veil. His eyes widened and he blinked twice when the veil was completely off my face. Had he forgotten that I wasn't Sophie? Or was he surprised for another reason? I honestly didn't know.

I heard someone gasping loudly in the congregation and when I turned to look, other people mimicked the person's action and soon the whole church was filled with murmurs. I looked at Allen's parents and saw that they looked confused too. How could they not be? Their son was marrying a stranger.

Sophie's father rose to his feet and angrily marched out of the church, closely followed by her mother and some people I didn't recognize, probably their relatives. I swallowed hard and looked at Allen, his expression was neutral and he looked undisturbed. How could he be so calm about this? All I wanted was for this wedding to be over real quick so I could go back to my former life. 

"Make it quick." Allen whispered to the Priest, who cleared his throat so he could have everyone's attention.

Allen grabbed my bouquet of flowers and handed it to someone before he reached out to hold my hands. I released a shaky breath as soon as his warm hands wrapped around mine.

The priest began his lecture and he was talking really fast.  My eyes flicked to Allen's face and once again, I met with his cold hazel eyes. His face showed no emotions so it made it hard to know what he was thinking. Regardless of that, I plastered a fake smile on my face, knowing fully well that he wouldn't return the smile. 

He didn't disappoint. He kept staring at me with an emotionless face which made me stop smiling. 

The priest ended his lecture and we exchanged our vows. When it was time for the exchange of rings, my palms were super sweaty and shaky but I was able to pull it through. The whole thing was gradually coming to an end and I was happy and at the same time anxious. What would happen after the wedding? Would my life return to normal? Would Sophie eventually come and cause a scene? I was honestly curious about all these.

"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride." The priest said as he moved backwards, giving us space.

I looked up at Allen, his eyes looked everywhere but me. He hadn't spoken a word to me apart from the vows. His eyes met mine and I quickly looked away as he stepped closer to me. The whole church was silent as they watched us. My heart beat erratically against my ribcage that I was sure he could hear it. 

He wrapped one hand around my waist to pull me closer while his other hand held my chin as he tilted my head upward so I was looking at him. He angled his head towards my ear and whispered.

"This is just an act, Red." Not giving me the chance to process his words, he slammed his lips into mine. My eyes fluttered shut as my hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. I responded to every movement of his soft lips. My lips tingle and the hair at the back of my neck stood as he swept his tongue against my lips. I gasped and he slipped his tongue into mouth, my tongue danced with his in harmony.

A flash went off and instantly, Allen jumped away from me. I stood there, staring at him while breathing hoarsely. My lips buzzed like I had never been kissed before. Allen used his thumb to wipe my lipstick off his swollen lower lip. He looked down at my lips before looking into my eyes, his hazel eyes had darkened and his expression was unreadable. The way he stared at me made my stomach flip.

"Calm down, it's only an act." I muttered to myself.  But my heart didn't seem to get the message, it kept beating really fast in my chest. I ignored the feeling, knowing fully well that everything would be over very soon.

We were now walking out of the church, I stared at the cool metal with a fat diamond on top, that pressed against my skin. The ring was really beautiful but I knew it wasn't mine, it originally belonged to Sophie. I didn't know if I should feel bad or not for snatching the man she was supposed to marry. Well, I didn't exactly snatch him, it was him who asked me to marry him, so I shouldn't feel guilty. And besides, she cheated on him, she kinda deserved this.

The ushers opened the doors and we were immediately attacked by the paparazzi. A lot of pictures were taken, their focus was mainly on me. I almost went blind with the camera flashes, I had never been in this kind of situation before so I didn't know what to do. Different questions were thrown at Allen, asking him why he didn't marry Sophie but he answered none of them. Instead, his hand snaked around my waist and he pulled me closer to himself. This increased the flashes of the cameras and I couldn't take it anymore. 

I was about to shield my face with my hand when a bouquet of flowers was thrown at me.

"You bitch!!" Someone yelled. We all turned towards the direction of the voice and gasped. It was Sophie. She was standing there in her wedding dress, her hair was a mess and her face was so red with anger. The paparazzi parted ways for her so she could walk straight to us. Allen's hand tightened around my waist as his ex walked closer to us. 

"How dare you do this to me?" She screamed as she punched his chest so many times, but Allen looked unaffected.

"And who the fuck do you think you are? How could you marry my man?" She asked as she stood in front of me.

I opened my mouth to talk but no words came out. What was I supposed to say? What do people say when it gets to this part? I knew this was going to happen but I honestly wasn't prepared for it. Hell, I wasn't prepared for what had been happening in my life since yesterday.

I hadn't noticed that Sophie was about to slap me until I saw Allen stopping her.

"Get the fuck away from my wife if you know what's good for you, Sophie," He said in a dangerously low voice that had me shuddering.

"But why, Allen.  Why did you do this to me? I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me." Sophie whined as she sat on the ground, she held Allen's leg and cried. If I hadn't known that she was cheating on Allen, I would have believed the drama she was performing. She was a really good actress. 

"Mr Walker, can you tell us why you married someone else instead of your fiancee?" One of the paparazzi asked. The people inside the church were already outside. Allen's parents waited patiently for their son to answer the question he was asked. 

"The truth is, I found out Sophie has been cheating on me for a while now." Allen said bitterly as he eyed Sophie, whose eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. She scrambled to her feet as fast as she could and stared at Allen in surprise, probably wondering how he found out her secret. 

"Is that true, Miss Gallagher?" The question was directed to Sophie.

"That's not true. I would never cheat on you, Allen. You are the man I love," She lied as she tried to hold Allen's hand but he gave her a hard glare, which made her keep her hands to herself.

"I have proof and evidence that Sophie Gallagher here cheated on me not once or twice, but I'm not going to reveal that to the public because it doesn't matter anymore," Allen said before turning to look at me, his eyes turned soft as he placed his hand on my cheek and made me look directly into his hazel eyes.

A gasp escaped my lips as his thumb gently rubbed my skin. His eyes traveled to my slightly parted lips and he smiled before saying, " I found the woman that I truly love, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with." If he hadn't said that all this was an act, I would have been completely blown away by his words. No one had ever said those words to me, and now that someone finally said them to me, they weren't genuine.

Then he faced the crowd and said, " Now if you would excuse me, I wanna be alone with my wife." 

He pulled me away from the crowd and towards a limo. The paparazzi kept asking questions but Allen didn't stop to answer any of them. A middle-aged man who was the driver of the limo, opened the door and waited for us to enter. I breathe out in relief. It was finally over, I could go back home now.

"Allen, wait!!" Someone called out, it was a man's voice this time.

We both turned around and saw his parents walking towards us. Allen was a replica of his father, the same color of eyes and hair. He also got his handsome face and height from him. He looked nothing like his mother.

"Dad-"

"What is the meaning of all these? Who is she? And why didn't you tell us when you found out Sophie was cheating on you?" His father bombarded him with questions.

"Dad, this is Mia. And I'm sorry for not introducing her to you earlier." Allen said as he placed his hand on the small of my back. 

"Hello, Mr And Mrs Walker." I greeted his parents with the sweetest smile I could muster on my face. His mother's face immediately lit up and she pulled me into her chest, hugging me tightly.

"Welcome to the family, sweetie. You can call me Jenny. I can't believe Allen kept you away from us." She said as she placed her hands on my cheeks and held me softly. I just kept smiling at her, unsure of what to say. 

"I didn't tell you about Sophie because I know you would be worried about me. I don't want you to worry, because I have Mia. She would never betray me like Sophie did." Allen told his father.

Of course I wouldn't betray you, because after today you would never see me again. 

His father looked at me for the first time since he got here, his gaze swept over my face and then he stared deep into my eyes, like he was searching for something.

"Mia," he called out calmly before reaching out to hold my hands, "even though I don't know you, I'm glad he married you and not that lady. I've always disliked the way men flock around her. I wasn't surprised when I heard she cheated on my son." He said before holding Allen's hand too, joining it together with mine. 

"I hope you two will stay happy and together for a long time. Take care of each other." He said, then he gave his son a pat on his shoulder and turned to leave with his wife. 

I never imagined that his parents would be like this, Allen must have been raised with lots of love. It made me miss my parents even more.

"Shit." Allen muttered as he dragged his palm down his face in a frustrated manner.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I didn't plan for things to go this way, but now there's a bigger issue." He said as he turned to face me. 

'That's because you didn't plan anything at all.' I almost blurted out. Wait, he said there was a bigger issue. 

"What do you mean? I'm not following." I asked him as my brows furrowed in confusion.

"We have to stay married, I mean we have to stay together." He said slowly.

Wait, we have to stay together? What?!