“ARE you ready, Charity?” I almost held my breath when I opened my door. Xander was standing in front of me. He was wearing a black tux and bowtie over a white long sleeve shirt. His hair was cleanly swept up in his forehead. It looked sexy on him. Damn. He was like a modern prince in my eyes—elegantly handsome.
Today was the day I'd become Mrs. Alexander Villarama, well at least on papers.
"Uh… do I look fine?" I asked him after I looked down at myself. I was wearing a white sheer dress up to my knee. Xander bought it for me. Last night, he knocked into my room and handed me this dress. He said it was Austin who accompanied him to the shop last night.
Xander smiled as he surveyed my look.
"You look stunning, Charity."
I felt like my heart melted with the way he looked at me. The way his eyes focused on me made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman right now.
"Well… thanks for the dress you've chosen for me. It's perfect."
He lightly shook his head. "Nah. You're just really beautiful."
Damn. Can I seriously die now?
"Let's go." He handed his arm to me. I looked at his hand.
"This is it, Charity."
I knew from the start that this wasn't real but I still couldn't help but be nervous.
I remembered Mariel's words before I left the Philippines. You'll get hurt in the end, Charity.
Maybe she was right. After all of this… I would get hurt. I would get shattered from loving Xander with all of me. But my heart already decided. I would help him no matter what. Even if it means hurting in the end.
I smiled at Xander as I accepted his hand.
"Where's Austin?" I asked him as we rode to the elevator. Our wedding would be held at one of the function rooms of this hotel.
"He's already waiting for us in the function room. He's the one who picked up the judge."
Everything that happened next was a blur. A moment later, we were already in front of the function room Xander rented.
Xander drifted his eyes at me. "I know it was a hard decision for you, Charity. So I'll thank you again for agreeing to this."
"You're welcome, Xander." I'd do anything to help him achieve his dreams.
Xander smiled before he finally opened the double door of the room in front of us. The whole function room was decorated with flowers. There was even a red carpet filled with rose petals.
Then there was a makeshift altar where the pastor was standing and waiting for us.
I looked around and spotted Austin standing on one of the empty chairs. He looked dashing in his gray suit. He gave me a small smile that I wasn't even able to return because of shock.
My lips were parted in awe.
"I know this is only a contract marriage but I still wanted it to look like a real one," Xander turned to me.
I cleared my throat as I felt the tears building up on the corner of my eyes. "You don't even have to do this."
"But I want to."
Our eyes met. Xander smiled. I tried to return his smile despite the chaos in my chest. My heart was beating loudly inside my chest. Butterflies were playing and invading my stomach.
As I continued to stare at him, I felt my knees start to get weak.
"Charity?"
Xander mumbled, his eyes looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?"
I lightly shook my head. "I…I just feel nervous." I answered in a small voice.
"Have you changed your mind?" he asked in a careful voice. I felt his hand gently pressing my palm. "Just be honest, Charity. It's okay." He gave me an encouraging smile.
"No…" I just couldn't believe this is really happening. That I'd become your wife. That my silly teenage dream would be finally coming true.
"I wanted to do this." I took a deep breath and gave him my smile. "Let's do it."
I STARED down at my hand the moment I settled on my bed. I touched the gold band next to the engagement ring that Xander gave me. I couldn't believe I was now Mrs. Alexander Villarama. I was now Xander's wife.
The whole wedding ceremony only took fifteen minutes. It was fast. Then we left the function room after Austin took pictures of us.
After the wedding ceremony, we had dinner at a restaurant before we went back to the hotel.
I absentmindedly touched my lips. I felt my cheeks heated up when I remembered our kiss earlier. I didn't expect that he would kiss me on the lips. Well…we didn't talk about that part.
“You may now kiss your wife.," the pastor pronounced after declaring our union.
I turned to Xander with a questioning look on my face. We're going to kiss?
We didn't talk about this.
Xander looked at me… before his face went to my side. I felt my heart skipping a beat when his hot breath touched the shell of my ear.
"Can I kiss you, Charity?"
I gulped as I slowly nodded to him. Damn. My heart tripled its beat. The way his deep eyes look at me makes me want to crumble right in front of her.
My breath hitched as I felt his hand on my face. Then his face slowly descended into mine.
I closed my eyes and I waited for his lips. His lips captured mine in the gentlest way possible. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to move my soul…
I bit my lips as I sighed. If only this whole fiasco was real, I would be the happiest woman on earth right now.
But sadly, everything was only temporary.
I got up from my bed to pick up my phone from my night stand when Xander knocked on my door.
"Hi."
Just like me, he had already changed clothes. He was now wearing dark casual pants, brown boots and a maroon dress coat. A scarf was clad on his neck.
I felt the tip of my neck go red when my eyes looked at his lips. I could still remember how soft those lips were against mine.
"Xander," I said. "Do you need something?" Was he going somewhere?
“Charity, can I leave you for a while?” he asked as he glanced at his watch. "I just found out that one of my college friends was here in Bronx street. He was asking me to meet up with him tonight before he flies back to Boston."
"Oh. Sure." I nodded at him.
He smiled as he handed me a black card. "Here. You can go outside and shop while waiting for me.”
I shook my head. "No, Xander. I can't accept that."
"It's fine, Charity. You're already my wife, right?"
Damn. Hearing that word from him really makes my heart flutter.
"But I don't need that," I pursed my lips. "I'll just probably stay here in my room and watch movies."
"Are you sure?" He asked. "Won't you get bored here?"
I smiled at her. "Nah. There are lots of movies on TV to choose from." I've never been to New York, but I don't want to leave the hotel. What if… Luke saw me?
I didn't want to roam around knowing that my cousin was just round the city. I'd rather stay here for two more days than risk him seeing me. I didn't know if I could lie in front of him if he ever sees me. Luke was good at reading people. I won't be able to fool that cousin of mine.
"By the way, you can check your account. I already transferred half of my payment there."
"Oh." I mumbled. I felt like something tugged in my heart. Why do I keep forgetting that no matter how this seems real to me, this was just a business deal for Xander.
Everything he was doing for me was just part of the deal. He's just being nice to me because it's what he is. It's his character.
"Thanks." I managed to give him a smile. "I'll check it later."
"Are you sure you're okay here?"
"Don't worry about me, Xander. I'm good."
"Okay. I'll be back soon."
I went back inside my room and finally decided to call Mariel.
"So you finally did it, huh?" I heard her sigh from the other line. "You really married Xander."
"I did." I bit my lower lip when I saw the disappointed look on Marie's face. "But it feels real, you know," I said. "Xander both gave me an engagement and wedding ring." I positioned my left hand on the camera and it to her.
Mariel twitched her lips from the other end of the line. "Well, the marriage was real. The wedding papers are real. You are his wife now. But only for a few months."
I didn't respond because Mariel's right. If only this marriage doesn't have an expiration date. If only Xander was really in love with me. If only this was real.
I sighed. "Are you mad at me, Mariel?"
"What's the sense of getting mad when you already followed your stupid heart." Mariel shook her head. But then a small smile escaped on her lips. "I'm just glad to see you like that. You looked really happy, Claire. I remembered seven years ago, you told me that in a perfect world, you'll be marrying Xander."
"Yeah…" I said with a smile. "I remember that."
"Wait…" Her eyes slanted a bit as if she remembered something. "Did he kiss you?"
My cheeks heated up with her question.
"He kissed you, didn't he?" Mariel's eyes widened.
I pursed my lip and nodded. "Of course, we got married. I mean, it would be weird if he didn't kiss me in front of the judge."
Mariel raised her brow at me. "Why are you sounding so defensive?"
I cleared my throat. "I'm not. I just don't want you to think that he's taking advantage of me."
"He's already taking advantage of you the moment he asked you to marry him," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, are you two sharing the same room?"
I shook my head. "Of course not. He booked two separate rooms for us."
"That's good. I know you're crazy over Xander. But please don't forget that your marriage was only for business purposes."
"Xander won't do that, Mariel. I told you he's a gentleman. He won't ever take advantage of me."
My friend snorted. "Well, he's a man whore. And you're beautiful. It's impossible if he doesn't feel any ounce of physical attraction towards you. Always keep your guard up, Claire. Don't trust the guy too much…"
"M-Mariel…" My voice wavered when I heard a familiar name from the speaker in the news flashed on the TV.
"Claire? What's wrong?" I heard Mariel's worried voice in the background while my eyes were now glued on the TV screen.
After I felt like my heart stopped beating when I saw a bloodied man with familiar clothes flash on the screen. Black pants, brown coat, black boots…
"X-xander met an accident."