"The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract" by Alyssa Urbano is available internationally through: Amazon, Kindle, Smashwords, CreateSpace, Barnes and Noble, Nook, Itunes/Ibooks.

For the Philippines, printing is per batch. You can pre-order and the books will be shipped to you.

Full details and links are on my blog: http://aerithsage.tumblr.com/tbdmc

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CHAPTER 6- NIGHTMARE (Part 4)

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Do you, Nikos, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold; and do you promise, forsaking all others, to cleave to her and her alone, for as long as you both shall live?”

Nikos did not hear the question and he did not understand the words. He assumed that it was just a part of the things that a priest must say so he remained silent. But he felt Antonio nudge him. He looked at his friend and Antonio mouthed the words “I do” repeatedly.

The priest coughed and repeated the question. Once more, this caused their beloved guests to laugh. Nikos finally understood it and he said “I do.” But he said it in a voice which just showed everyone how drunk he was.

“Do you, Cassia, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold; and do you promise, forsaking all others, to cleave to him and to him alone, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Cassia replied.

Antonio’s heart broke for her once more when he heard that her voice was barely a whisper. He also heard all the heart and humiliation that Cassia kept bottled up inside of her.

“Please repeat after me,” the priest instructed and Nikos obliged. But it took them several tries before he was able to finish his vows.

“Is there something wrong with the groom? He seems drunk. This wedding should be stopped,” the priest whispered to Antonio.

“No!” he cried.

Then he coughed to right himself.

“He just had some nerves and we gave him some medication. He reacted badly to it and he became very drowsy. But he is fine. Please just bear with him. Thank you. We are almost at the end. It would be such a shame to have to reschedule,” Antonio implored.

“Very well then,” the priest agreed after a long silence which Antonio spent sweating bullets.

Nikos tried to say his vows once more.

“I, Nikos Demakis take you...err...Cassia... to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. By God's holy ordinance I pledge to you my faith...” Nikos managed to stammer after a few tries.

Antonio shook his head at Nikos who looked at him like a child awaiting praise for having said something so profound.

The priest turned towards Cassia this time and made her repeat the vows. And she did that in a voice that both the audience and even the priest himself barely heard.

“I, Cassia, take thee Nikos, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,  in sickness and in health,  to love and to cherish, till death do us part. By God's holy ordinance... I pledge to you my faith.”

Yet again, Antonio’s heart broke when she heaved a great sigh filled with melancholy after she said her vows.

“The rings please?” the priest asked as he held out his hand to bless it.

A boy who served as the ring bearer approached the altar and offered Nikos the rings. Nikos bent low to receive it but almost fell towards the ground again so Antonio took it and then handed it to his friend.

Nikos fumbled with the rings before he was able to hold it steady.

He reached for Cassia’s hand a few times before he was able to grasp it. Then, he noticed the engagement ring on her finger that he unceremoniously gave her at one of their dinners. He did not even bend his knee or any of those dramatics. He just presented her the ring in the middle of their dinner. She was so happy and enthusiastic about it that he felt like a giant fool immediately afterwards.

“This was my grandmother’s ring,” he told her as he touched the engagement ring.

Then, with his hands shaking, he went back to the task at hand and tried his best to place the wedding ring on her finger. But he was shaking too much and he kept on missing. With another sigh, Cassia held his hand and guided it to her finger. Finally, the intricately carved wedding ring fit perfectly on her finger.

“This ring I give as a token of my affection, sincerity, and fidelity. Will you wear it as a symbol of your own affection, sincerity, and fidelity toward me?” he managed to say.

He did not know the words and kept on glancing towards Antonio who patiently whispered in his ear what he should say.

“I will,” Cassia whispered. Nikos frowned when he detected that she was crying.

Why would she cry at her own wedding? Or maybe they were tears of joy? But he looked closer and tried to peer at the sheer veil she wore. That was when he saw that she looked as if she was just told that this was her last day to live on earth.

He forgot that particular line of thought when Cassia reached for his hand to place the ring.

“This ring I give as a token of my affection, sincerity, and fidelity. Will you wear it as a symbol of your own affection, sincerity, and fidelity toward me?” Cassia repeated.

“I will,” Nikos answered with a frown as he noticed that her voice shook as she cried.

Shouldn’t she be ecstatic by now? She finally had the husband she wanted! She bought him and here he was, delivered straight at her feet. Shouldn’t she be jumping with joy because she owns him now? Was she sad that he was drunk?

Well then that was just tough.

The contract only indicated that he had to marry her. It did not specify what state he should be in during that marriage. She would just have to deal with it.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife,” the priest announced and the audience clapped and cheered.

Nikos faced Antonio and gave him a huge grin.

“Thanks for keeping me up at my own wedding,” he told his friend and Antonio rolled his eyes.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest ordered.

Nikos smiled at Cassia.

A kiss...now that was something interesting.

This would be the first time he would be able to kiss his wife. How would it feel? Would her lips be as soft as it looks? Would she be passionate or would she be frigid?

Nikos thought of all these as he reached for her veil and lifted it. Slowly, he reached for her and cupped her chin with his fingers. He lifted her head and that was when he noticed her tear-stained face. He frowned when she averted her gaze but the audience was now cheering for him to kiss her. Well, he could not disappoint them.

So he bent low and placed his lips on hers.

Bliss.

He was more than right. They were soft, warm and inviting. He moved his lips over hers and she responded briefly with passion. But before he could kiss her further, he heard her sigh against his lips.

Then he stopped when he tasted her salty tears.

He frowned at her but before he could ask her if something was wrong, the crowd erupted into applause and the bridesmaids threw rose petals over their heads.

The ceremony was finally over but there was one last thing to be done.

They approached the priest and signed the copies of their marriage certificate. It took Nikos a few tries to grasp the pen but he was finally able to scrawl his signature at the document; a great feat for someone as drunk as him.

Then he pocketed the damned marriage certificate.

Costas Andrade approached him after that and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“You have fulfilled your terms of the bargain. You have married my granddaughter. And now I fulfill my side,” Costas said and then handed him a sealed envelope.

“The merger is complete. I have signed it. And I welcome you, my new grandson as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Andrade-Demakis Shipping International...”

And now it was a bit worth it for Nikos for he finally had what he wanted.

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