The two escorts, burly and stern-faced, immediately stepped forward. Without a word, they each took one of Madam Mel's arms.
Madam Mel let out a sharp gasp of indignation, her eyes wide with disbelief, as they began to drag her towards the exit.
"Get your hands off me."
"Who the hell do you think you are? Worthless morons."
"Henry, do something and stop that little slut from getting away with this."
Henry didn't want to admit that the lunatic woman about to be kicked out of the hall was his wife.
"I will surely kill that poor bastard who dared tell these fools to throw me out."
With Madam Mel's struggling form disappearing outside the hall, the crowd was left stunned.
Westley then turned his piercing gaze back to the trembling priest. The old man, still clutching the ancient scripture, swallowed hard and began to recite the sacred marriage vows once more.
"Do you willingly take Ms. Yong to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in your holy matrimony? Will you love her and be good to her, respect her, honour her, comfort her, and protect her in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, until death do you part?"
"Yes, I do." Westley responded with no doubt.
"Do you willingly take Mr….."
The priest paused in the middle of the oath, his tired eyes flicking between Evie and the man next to her.
"It's Mr. Lu." Evie abruptly said.
"Do you willingly take Mr. Lu to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in your holy matrimony? Will you love him and be good to him, respect him, honour him, comfort him, and protect him in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, until death do you part?"
Evie smiled. "Yes, I do."
Eden walked over to the couple and presented them with a ring box.
The couple slowly exchanged the diamond rings, beaming at each other. They then turned to the priest, who continued the ceremony.
"By the power vested in me by the Jade City government and our heavenly Creator, I now pronounce you both husband and wife. You may now seal your union with a kiss."
Unable to believe what was going on, Jessica's face burned in annoyance.
"Lucas and I were about to end our smooth going wedding before you maniacs interrupted. Do you really think I'll just stand by and watch you continue?" She cackled, before turning serious. "Never going to happen."
Westley clenched his fist. His eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, became freezing cold, as he turned to Jessica, who recoiled in fear by his sudden gaze movement.
"Don't worry, let me handle this myself." Evie muttered, holding Westley's hand.
Westley however, nodded, giving Evie the chance to handle the situation.
"I was going to seal my marriage with a kiss when you and this bastard barged in with an act that is so rude, disrupting someone of Lucas and my status. Have you told him who Lucas is? Did he know he's an A-list retired actor who is now going to be the president of the magnificent Qin Group after this wedding? I'm sure this worthless punk acting powerful here is just a thug you picked from the street to play a role here as your husband."
Evie snickered at the phrase "seal my marriage with a kiss." It was as if she and Westley had interrupted two idiots about to seal their marital union.
She, however, smirked. "Oh, trust me, everyone knows exactly who Lucas is. Or rather, who he was before he became somebody with my help."
"You fool. You must be out of your mind for thinking Lucas' success was tied to your help," Jessica spat, then rolled her eyes.
Evie leaned in slightly, a challenging glint in her eyes as she probed in sarcasm, "An 'A-list retired actor' you say? And soon to be president of the 'magnificent Qin Group'? How grand. But tell me, since we're playing a game of 'who's who,' do you know who my husband is?"
Evie's eyes, now freezing, sharp and dangerous, flicked between raging Jessica and the suddenly angry Lucas.
Jessica growled, "Witch! You're shameless to brag about your poverty-stricken poseur husband in front of everyone. I'm sure that the world is going to watch this because my mother hired camera crew will stop at nothing until they get to the end of this….where you become completely ruined and disgracefully kicked out of this city."
Evie rolled her eyes nonchalantly.
Jessica sounded childish and boring, and Evie couldn't help but yawn.
"You're simply jealous of me, Jessica. Only God knows how surprised you'll be after being thrown out from here, just like your brain-dead mother outside."
Hearing this, Jessica's face turned red. She was breathing hard like a bull ready for war.
Evie completely ignored her, then turned to Westley, who had been quietly watching. He finally stepped forward with a faint smile playing on his lips.
When his gaze dropped to her lips like cherry blossoms petal in spring, a blush bloomed on her cheeks like a sudden, hot fire. One of his hands rose hesitantly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers slowly traced down to her jaw.
Leaning into his touch, a soft sigh escaped her lips as his head dipped slowly. Their lips met. It was soft and gentle. Evie felt her heart flutter as it was her first kiss.
When they finally parted, Henry rose from his seat, clapping his hands. Alexa and Ava joined him, and soon the hall erupted with enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Lucas, who saw all this, felt his body heat.
I can't believe they dared to interrupt my wedding, just as I was about to seal my marriage with a kiss. And now, they've completely taken over and sealed their vows instead!
He turned to see Jessica's eyes getting swollen with tears and glared at Evie.
When he saw the escorts weren't looking, he rushed to grab Evie's wrist without hesitation. "Are you out of your mind?" he demanded.
"You and that good-for-nothing man of yours need to leave my wedding immediately and If you're looking for a refund on the loan you used to stage this whole show, I'll call you after the wedding, so now get out!."
Evie took a step back as Lucas released her. Her eyes widened with shock and a burgeoning fury as the words he had just said rang in her ears.
He dared insult her! Who the hell did he think he was?
Her cheeks flushed crimson, not from embarrassment, but from a burning rage. Fueled by the insult, without thinking, her hand shot out.
Pah!
A sharp, resounding slap landed across Lucas' face. His head snapped to the side, and a big red mark was already popping up on his cheek.
Evie's chest was heaving, she was gasping for air, and her eyes were just burning with a mix of hurt and defiance.
"If you ever dare mess with me again, I will show you what I'm truly made of!" She warned and turned to Westley, who had watched it all go down and waved off his escorts when they wanted to retaliate.
He seems pretty surprised himself.
Lucas' eyes blinked. He could agree that his hatred for Evie had just begun to reach its peak. He couldn't wait to get back at her for humiliating him this much.
Finally, the wedding ended.
Evie was already leaving the altar with Westley and his escorts when Lucas came running and stood in front of them. He pointed his index finger at Westley and yelled.
"Look at you! You're such an unlucky, petty pauper who is getting paid with loaned money for pretending to marry her. You're poor and she's illegitimate…." Lucas paused, turning to face Evie before laughing like a madman. "Why should I even care when you both fit each other?"
Meanwhile…
Evie gasped in horror as Lucas exposed her 'illegitimacy'. Her expression turned blank with shock as she was never ready to let Westley know about this yet.
Worried, she slowly gazed at him but couldn't discern his expression because of his sunglasses.
Her heart raced.
"Evie, your itsy bitsy popularity in the entertainment industry is gonna crash by tomorrow and when everyone finds out your wedding is just a show to make me jealous and mess with Jessica and her mom, you will be the entire country's laughing stock."
Evie tried to ignore him and walk away but he immediately stretched out his hand and he continued. This time he was facing Westley.
"Oh! These black sunglasses… So why are you wearing them?" He mocked, "Are you wearing them to conceal your poor identity so that you won't be affected by what will happen to your acting bride tomorrow. Hilarious!" He burst into laughter.
"Do you want me to remove my glasses?" Westley demanded, a dark chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"Go ahead!" Lucas' voice dropped to a whisper, making him sound like a demon.
Westley slowly pulled off his sunglasses, his lips revealing a smirk.
A collective gasp swept through the hall as everyone stared in disbelief.
For the past thirty minutes, no one had imagined the handsome, commanding face hidden behind the dark lenses belonged to the most mysterious, powerful man in the country– Westley Lu.
"Nice meeting you again, pretty boy."
Lucas froze, speechless. His leg trembled uncontrollably as Westley's cold voice pierced his ears.
"Un…uncle!" He stammered.