Rejection

“Does it matter?” the boss answered with a booming voice as he stood in front of his son.

“Well…the wedding vow…” the priest whispered hesitantly, his nervous pale blue eyes darting off in random directions.

You tell him priest! Tell him that we can’t get married if the groom is not conscious and cannot say his wedding vows. I mean, does he even know what is going on? Would it even count if he doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into?

“Oh…I see,” The boss said, nodding in understanding.

I watched, surprised at the unexpectedly understanding reaction of the mafia boss as he continued to nod his head.

“He needs to say his wedding vows…I see…I see,” the boss continued to mutter to himself as if in thought.

Hayden was still as unconscious as the dead. I bet if the two men stopped supporting him, he would just fall flat on the floor.

Smack!

I loud smacking sound rang out echoing around the enclosed space of the marble church. I gasped in shock along with the rest of the crowd as we watched the scene unfolding in front of us. Without warning, the boss suddenly whacked his son’s temple with the base of his gun. Hard.

Did that kill him? Shit…he’s bleeding…

My eyes widened as my mouth dropped open in shock. Hayden’s temple is bleeding, his blood spilling out from his wound and trickling down the side of his face.

“Wake up, son!” the boss shouted at the top of his lungs.

His voice was so loud that I had to cover both my ears with my hands. This man is crazy. He just hit his son to wake him up?! I bet everyone here is crazy!

“…hmmm…”

Unbelievably, Hayden began to stir and was making slurring sounds. I watched in astonishment as Hayden suddenly lifted his hanging head upwards into an upright position. Did he just wake up? He woke up…just like that?

“Hayden! Wake up son!” the boss continued shouting loudly directly next to Hayden’s ear.

Hayden suddenly opened his eyes and looked around drowsily. I could imagine that he was confused as to why he was in a church and with so many people. Suddenly, his eyes landed on me before our eyes met. I gasped slightly in astonishment as our eyes finally met for the first time.

I found myself locking gaze with a pair of very beautiful blue eyes as we stared at each other. Me in shock; him in slight confusion. After a while, Hayden cocked his head to the side in confusion as he tried to figure out what was going on.

Slowly, Hayden shrugged off the two men who were supporting him as he stood up straight. He was still clearly drunk and in a daze as he tried his best to stand steadily on his own two feet.

“Hands off…” Hayden murmured in a low voice, his blond brows knitting together in annoyance.

The two men dutifully let go of Hayden and the boss quickly came to his side to check on his son. Hayden lifted a hand and felt the wound on his temple which was still bleeding. I was shocked as to why no one had given him any medical attention at this point. He looked at the blood on his hand in confusion after he felt the wound on his head.

“Did I hit my head?” Hayden asked his father directly.

“No. I hit you on the head with a gun to wake you up! You need to get married right now. This is no time to be drunk!” His father replied, screaming loudly at his son.

Speaking in a calm and collected manner was clearly not the boss’s strong fort.

“Well…fuck…” Hayden cursed as he wiped his blood on his white blazer, staining it red.

“Proceed with the ceremony. We haven’t got all day!” the boss shouted at the priest who quivered in fear.

This can’t be happening. We’re going ahead with the ceremony? I really have to marry that guy? I felt cold sweat on my body and realized how panicked I felt at that moment. If I marry him, my life is really over. I’ll be stuck with these crazy mafias for the rest of my life. No…this can’t be true.

The impatient boss grabbed his son’s arm and yanked him forward. I watched as Hayden staggered a little forward at the force of his father’s pull. However, suddenly Hayden stopped in his track as if his mind had just thought of something.

“…who is she?” Hayden asked as he pointed a finger at me.

I’m the girl you’re supposed to be marrying but I guess you don’t realize that or anything else because you are dead drunk, I screamed inside my own head.

“That is your bride, Hayden!” the boss screamed, clearly losing whatever little patient that he had.

“…she’s not my bride,” Hayden stated firmly.

Oh…wow. What a turn of events. I was sure that no bride standing at the alter expected or wanted to be rejected by her groom-to-be, but I was thrilled at what I was hearing. Please break off this stupid engagement so I can go home with my grandma. Please!

“What on earth are you saying?! We went over this. If I say that she’s your bride, then she IS your bride!” the boss shouted in his son’s face.

I winced at the aggressive scene in front of me. The other gang members and the guests remained glued to their seat as they watched on in complete silence. I wanted to go home, the church was cold, and I could see from the corner of my eye that my grandma looked paler by the minute. She wasn’t feeling well, I could tell.

“What is…your name?” Hayden asked me directly, speaking as slowly and as clearly as he could in his state.

I was shocked that he actually spoke to me. I felt his eyes on my face and I felt my words stuck in my throat. Hayden continued staring at me with squinted eyes as he waited for my answer.

“…Malissa. My name is Malissa Maxford,” I finally managed to say, although my voice sounded shaky and dry.

“Amelia. I will not marry anyone besides Amelia. She is not my bride,” Hayden stated firmly as he pointed in my direction. He shook off his father’s arm and turned to leave.

“What are you saying! Amelia…Arghhh! Men, hold him down now!” the boss ordered as he pointed his finger at his son’s back.

The men got up from their seat and started restraining Hayden’s arms and legs until he was forced to kneel on the ground at his father’s feet.

What now? Apparently, Hayden has someone he is in love with and intends to marry that person. I too have someone I was madly in love with, although, he never wished to marry someone like me…

What happened after that was complete mayhem as the gang members struggled to restrain Hayden and the boss continued shouting at this son. Sometime later, Hayden lapsed back into his unconscious state, and no one could rouse him.

In the end, to my utmost relief, the wedding ceremony couldn’t proceed forward. That didn’t mean that I was immediately free from the mafia but at least, I had avoided my marriage for one more day. The men in black escorted my grandmother and I back to her hospital room after I had changed out of my wedding dress.

I never saw Hayden again that day.

--To be continued…