Emilia: Finding My Forever

3|The Wedding

"I know how much you want me to take responsibility and pull my weight."

"Yes, by learning to protect yourself and working at the warehouse or hardware store; not marrying someone you don't want to marry," he tried to convince me.

"Papá," I said. "I can do this. I'm not afraid of Santo."

He sighed. "Are you sure because if you're not..."

"I am sure," I promised, and he gave me a small smile before nodding.

Bella burst through the door. "The family stuff is cute and all but it's time to go!"

We all laughed before rushing out.

...

The door opened as the song Video Games began to play.

As we slowly walked in, the amount of people that were present scared me. It couldn't have been any less than 600 people.

Everyone was invited; members from our mafia and members from Santo's mafia.

As we reached halfway through the aisle, I finally decided to lay my eyes on him.

He was sharply dressed in his black, three-piece tuxedo; not bad for someone who doesn't want to get married.

He made sure not to reveal any form of expression. He was good at this because I am usually able to read people.

It irritated me that I couldn't read him.

We reached the altar and both of my parents kissed me on the cheek before heading to their seats.

I handed Bella, who was happily smiling at the side, my bouquet.

He keenly glanced at me from head to toe, still not revealing a single expression.

Is he happy, is he angry, or does he just not care at all?

Not that I care or anything.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of Emilia Mariano and Santo Valentino," the priest said before he began the ceremony.

Soon enough we exchanged rings and repeated our vows.

"Do you, Emilia Mariano, take Santo Valentino to be your lawfully, wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I replied as I stared into Santo's eyes. I wanted him to know that I wasn't afraid.

"Do you, Santo Valentino, take Emilia Mariano to be your lawfully, wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," he replied staring back into my eyes.

He think he can scare me away huh?

Santo Valentino, you have just met your match.

Every time he spoke I learnt all over again how deep his voice was.

"By the power invested in me, you may now kiss the bride," he said before stepping back.

My breathing got heavier as he took a step closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. He pulled me closer before gently pressing his lip on mine.

I closed my eyes as I naturally kissed him back.

Soon enough he pulled away and my lips felt lonely again.

I slowly opened my eyes to see him watching me, this time he made the mistake of revealing the expressions he tried so hard to hide.

It was sadness.

As we watched each other, it felt like we were the only two in the room.

Who was he and what caused all this pain and anger in him?

I was immediately broken out of my chain of thought from the loud cheering that was behind us.

We both turned to the crowd and made our way outside.

...

"Well that was one heck of a first kiss," Bella joked as she retouched my makeup.

I scoffed. "You know that wasn't my first kiss."

She gave me a blank stare. "The kiss with the guard doesn't count. You were eighteen. Plus your dad probably killed him."

I rolled my eyes. "Forget it, I only kissed Santo because everyone was watching."

"And you liked it," she added.

"No, I did not!" I tried to defend myself.

"Emmy, he practically had to push you away," she teased.

I moved away from her. "Whatever, let's just get this night over with," I said before rushing out.

I made my way to the head table, where he was seated.

He was on his phone texting away with someone and I scoffed.

He must have heard me because he paused and turned to me. "Do you have a problem?"

"You know what? Yeah, I do," I answered. "You're at your wedding with your wife and you're choosing to be on your phone?"

"What the hell do you want me to do then?" He asked me rather aggressively.

"I don't know," I said sarcastically. "Maybe not ignore me for the whole night?"

He turned back around and returned to his phone. "I have nothing to say to you."

He's such an asshole.

Is this what the rest of my life is going to be like? My husband ignoring me for our whole marriage?

I stood up and walked to the bathroom.

I watched myself in the mirror and faked a smile to see if I fooled anyone tonight.

The only person I was fooling was myself.

I looked back at the toilet and then my dress.

I really wanted to pee, however, this large dress did not make it easy.

After a few seconds of contemplating, I ran into the handicap stall and attempted to pee. I struggled with my petticoat before I finally got to pee.

You never know how rewarding it is to pee until you've been holding it in for a long time.

The bathroom door opened and footsteps approached.

A female voice sighed. "I feel sorry for the bride."

"Why?" another female voice asked.

"Having Enzo Mariano as your father and now marrying Santo Valentino? That has to be hard."

"Oh come on," the other woman said. "It's not that bad."

"They're both psychopaths."

"At least Enzo loves her and is lenient with others," the woman answered. "Santo, on the other hand, he's worse. He doesn't give a shit about anyone."

The woman sighed. "I don't understand how someone so handsome can be like that."

"It's always the good-looking ones," the other woman laughed. "That girl is going to cause a war between the two mafias when Santo kills her. I give him a month."

My heart dropped. What did they mean by when Santo kills me?

The woman laughed. "She has no idea what she's getting into."

"Come on, let's get back before the others start missing us," she said before their footsteps faded.

I waited a few seconds before flushing the toilet and walking out of the stall.

I placed my hand on my chest as I felt my heart beating out my chest.

I went to the sink and started washing my hands.

The door opened and Bella marched in angrily. "Emilia, I've been looking for you. It's time to have the final dance with your papá!"

"Isabella, there is nothing I have to tell you-"

She ignored me and started dragging me out of the bathroom.