The Tyrant's Wife

332 Wedding night

She walked towards the place she knew Ximena would be after such a long day—her room. There was no way she would wait a second longer before going back to her room to grab a snack and take a nap.

But when she got close to Ximena’s room, she realized the door was only partially closed and by the time she heard the unmistakable gasp, it was too late.

Her cheeks reddened as she turned to walk away, but Liam’s voice stopped her in their tracks.

“We have to leave tonight if no one is to notice.” He said.

She paused. Leave?

“I know, but…” Ximena hesitated.

She debated between barging in and asking what they were planning and what it had to do with leaving, and going back to the party since she shouldn’t be here eavesdropping on her best friend anyway.

Before she could decide, Ximena said what she had in mind. “I still think we should at least speak to Zaria and Desmond. I’m sure they would support us.”

“They will still be mad at us either way.” Liam interjected.

.....

“I know.”

“Well, let’s go back to the party. I’m sure they are waiting for us.” Liam said, and it was too late by the time Zaria realized he was walking toward the door. She crossed her arms and waited for them to step out of the room before she asked,

“Where are the two of you planning to go without telling anyone?”

“Zaria!” Ximena gasped, cupping her hand around her mouth. “Oh my God…”

“Did you ever plan to tell me?” She questioned.

“Yes. We just…”

“It’s not her fault.” Liam stepped in between them to shield Ximena.

Zaria rolled her eyes at him. “Get out of the way. Ximena Morel, I’m going to kill you and no one will stop me.”

Liam peeked behind him at Ximena to ask if it was okay to leave. Was Zaria serious about killing her? No one could tell with this firecracker. What if she meant it?

Zaria narrowed her eyes at him and he had no choice but to leave. “I’ll just check on the flowers.”

“You better have a good explanation.” Zaria demanded.

In response, Ximena pulled her into a hug. “How could I tell you? You were preparing for your wedding and you were so happy. I didn’t want to ruin it.”

When Zaria huffed, she made the pitiful face she used to make to Theodore while begging for more cookies when she was a little girl.

“Don’t give me that.” Zaria ignored her.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked.

Zaria frowned. “I’m not mad. I’m furious! What the hell made you think wedding preparations were more important than my best friend’s feelings? How could you not tell me you felt so trapped?”

Although she was being scolded, Ximena felt so emotional she was on the verge of tears. “I swear, if I knew this is how you would see it, I would have long told you. I thought you would want me to stay, so I had to wait until the wedding was over to break it to you.”

“That makes one of us.” She pretended to huff even though she knew deep down she couldn’t stay mad at Ximena. Not when the latter was giving her those eyes again.

“Fine, I’ll forgive you under one condition.”

“What condition?” Ximena asked, but Zaria was already walking out of there and was headed for the reception. By the time Ximena gathered with the other women to catch the wedding bouquet, she still had a gazillion questions on her mind. What was the condition? And why did it feel like Zaria was deliberately holding back so she would spring it on them when they least expected it?

Perhaps, because that was exactly what Zaria was planning, she thought. The woman was way too cunning.

After the countdown, most of which she had missed, the bouquet came flying toward her. No fucking way! Zaria had been planning this and she didn’t want anything to do with the bouquet now or ever. She dodged and dragged and nudged at the next woman beside her, who she realized was Natalie just as the latter managed to grab it before it could fall at their feet.

“Nice catch,” she winked at Natalie.

“You should have caught it.” Natalie pointed out, cradling the flowers. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“It’s okay. I don’t want luck in marriage.” As soon as her words fell, she met Liam’s gaze in the distance and instantly realized he had witnessed what had gone down. Oh no…

Now that the bouquet was out of the way, Desmond took Zaria’s hand and led her to a couch that had been prepared, then he took her leg and kissed it.

Zaria blushed. Luckily, he wasn’t planning to do more than that, aside from take off her garter in a room full of people, that is. Was it too late to give up and run for the hills?

He held her gaze as his hands ventured under her dress without exposing too much of her skin, but he was not just taking off her garter. He was caressing her skin and making it harder by the second for her to keep a straight face.

“I’ll make you pay for this later.” She whispered under her breath, to which he simply smiled.

“I’ll be waiting, Mrs. Fort.”

When he finally slipped the garter off her thigh, he straightened up as the male guests hooted in excitement at the thought of slipping the garter on one of the most beautiful women at the wedding. They had been eyeing her all evening.

To their disappointment, Desmond tossed the garter at Devonte, who grabbed it with a sigh of relief. When the guys booed their complaint to Desmond, he chuckled.

“Sorry, gentlemen. She’s taken. Now, since I wouldn’t want my wife to be a widow before the night ends, let’s leave it to her boyfriend, shall we?”

They laughed even though they were not placated. Why were all the beautiful women taken? First, Zaria, and now Natalie, not to mention Ximena!

Speaking of Ximena, she had just followed Liam out of the hall yet again.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

He was still angry when she approached him but when she placed her hand on his shoulder, it was as though that soft hand was magical. He couldn’t be angry anymore. He held the little hand against him with a sigh. “It’s nothing. This wedding business just made me think a lot. Too much, it seems.”

She didn’t dare to ask. She had seen his gaze when she evaded the wedding bouquet. She knew what he thought her evasion meant.

That wasn’t what she was thinking. She was not afraid of commitment. Hell, he was the right man for her and she knew they were perfect for each other or they wouldn’t be planning their escape. However, marriage wasn’t something she had ever desired.

It worked for some, but when she thought about every marriage she knew of, her heart shattered. Marriage did not strengthen love. In most cases, it ruined perfect relationships.

Alas, she didn’t want to open this can of worms just yet. She wanted to enjoy her time with him for as long as it lasted before their differences in beliefs caught up to them.

When he caught the sadness in her smile, he kissed her lips. “What’s wrong, my love?”

“Nothing. This whole marriage business made me think a lot too.” She skirted around the question and said, “Zaria wants to throw us a farewell party. You know her—she makes a big deal of such things. But before that, you and I are going to face off against each other in a few minutes, outside the bridal chamber.”

“Oh yeah?” He wasn’t sure what she meant until she was dragged away by the ladies and him by the men, and soon they were standing in front of the door to the bridal chamber.

Apparently, Zaria was inside the room but Desmond couldn’t get in unless he passed one test from each of the women. He and Evan were here to help him pass the tests, some of which involved riddles.

When they mentioned riddles, Desmond dragged over Leo and Carlos and they hooted in joy. They were sure to win…but that was until the evil Ximena managed to lure Shera, Nina, and Zaria’s recently-discovered cousin Kara to their side.

He shot his best friend with a sympathetic look. “I hate to rain on your parade but you’re not seeing your bride tonight.”