A sham

VENUS MONTES

This is not how I imagined my wedding would be.

A sham.

My mother used to say a girl’s wedding was one of the most memorable days of her life. Yet, here I am, faking it all. Doing it for all the reasons except love.

“You look so beautiful, honey,” Lola, my nanny, mouths as she stares at my reflection in the mirror. It takes her words to snap me back from the trace my mind was caught up in. She helped me dress into my wedding gown right after I sent the beautician who did my makeup away. Now I'm in a very huge, beautiful wedding gown, except there's nothing beautiful about the wedding that's about to happen.

I'm getting married to Renato Hernandez. A man whom I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. He might look like a saint in public, but behind closed doors, you can't spell ruthless without his name in it. And a womanizer? I can't even begin. I'm repulsed by the idea of being his wife.

Luckily for me, it's an arrangement with mutual benefits. Love is the last thing on my mind. Thank God!

I smile through Lola's comment and let out a long sigh.

“It's not even a real wedding. It's just for publicity.” I remind her.

“I know, dear. But, just know that I'll always be here. I know how this feels. Especially because a wedding has never been in any of your plans, since-”

She cuts herself short, and we both know the reason. I hate opening that sour topic.

“I want my plan to go perfectly. And this wedding is just the beginning.”

She holds my hand, still looking at my reflection.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“Of course, Lola. And thank you for not telling my father the truth.”

I could hug her, but I wouldn't want to be an emotional mess. Although this marriage is going to be fake, Renato and I agreed that we should make it look as real as possible. Our brief moment is interrupted by a knock at the door.

My father pokes his head in.

“May I?” He asks.

“Come in,” I permit.

Lola and I both turn around to look at him as he walks in.

“Wow!” He exclaims.

“You look-” He stops middway, still scanning me.

Is he finding it hard to connect the words?

“Thanks,” I smile, at least genuinely.

“Can I have a word with the bride?” he requests, and Lola excuses herself.

As soon as we're alone, he takes out a small, black gift box from his pocket. He then opens it, revealing a necklace with a star on it as he holds it out in the air for me to see.

“What's that for?” I probe, despite the fact that it's so obvious.

“Your mother was always fascinated by the galaxy, for some reason. I got her this on our wedding day. And so, I want you to have it.” He explains as he inches closer to me, handing over the necklace. It's a cute gesture, despite the fact that it sparks up emotions in me. Emotions that I try so hard to keep at the back of my mind.

“It could be your good luck, charm,” he adds after he realizes my silence.

Good luck charm?

Look at how your marriage ended.

I don't tell him that, of course. Instead, I take the necklace.

I feel some guilt creeping in, especially because the reason I'm getting married is far from what my father thinks. Wearing my mother's necklace in a wedding that I have zero feelings about?

“Thanks dad.” I still tell him.

He holds my shoulder and looks into my eyes.

“I'm so proud of you. I know what view I gave you about marriage, since…” he pauses.

No one wants to open that wound.

“But this decision you made will mean a lot to the syndicate.”

“Of course,” I hug him.

Except I'm not doing this for the syndicate. Well, that's not my main agenda.

This is for my personal reasons.

—------------

My father holds my hand as he walks me down the aisle. I manage to force a smile under my vaguely opaque veil. All eyes are on me and I try so much not to mess things up. Not to let whatever is in my heart show in my face.

I watched fairy tales before. Those with happy endings where characters marry their loves.

At the time, it was so fascinating.

Well, until I saw the hell of pain that love comes with, making love the last thing I think about.

If me walking down the aisle towards the man I have zero interest in is any proof of it.

Both Renato and I know we're fooling all the invited guests, which includes the families of both our syndicates. Which is an indication of the top-notch security that they might have hired for this event. Especially because the syndicate heads are all here. One of them is walking next to me.

Renato is standing at the altar and on a scale of ten, I would give him nine for the pretense he's putting on his face like he's getting married to the love of his life. That remaining one, would be because he hasn’t shed a tear of happiness. I used to see that in fairy tales too.

But again, why would I expect a man raised in a mafia world to have such intense emotions?

According to the rules, a man is not supposed to show any sign of weakness.

Even if we were a real couple, marriage in the mafia world was solely for political alliance.

That's why my father is proud, I guess.

I know that what I'm doing is the equivalent of making a deal with the devil, but once everyone gets what they want, we would part ways.

The priest goes through the boring recitals that I have no interest in. I'm staring at Renato, and he stares back. There's not a single connection. The only thing running through my mind is the agreement we made. I could say I'm repulsed by him. Considering his reputation behind closed doors, the monster he is. I just want this to be over soon.

“Renato Hernandez, do you take Venus Montes to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better and for worse till death do you apart?” asks the priest.

He doesn't hesitate for a moment.

He wears a wide smile that if we weren't doing this for the plan, I would think it's real.

“I do," he responds.

“Venus Montes, do you take Renato Hernandez to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better and for worse, till death do you apart?”

You mean until our agreement is done?

Because Renato Hernandez is not someone you would wish to have till death. If he doesn't kill you in two days, that is.

Then what am I doing? Isn't there any other way apart from getting married to this monster or psycho?

I look at the crowd. It's so silent. My father is smiling in the front seat. Then there's Lola. She's the only one who knows the real reason why I'm doing this. And I know that if I decided to back out, she would still support me.

This is the moment where one hits the headlines of ‘the runaway bride’, right?

I look back at Renato. My hesitation is so evident, and there's that deep look that tells me I wouldn't live to see another day if I backed out now. I heave silent sighs before opening my mouth to reply to the priest's question.

I barely say a word when, boom!

A bang cuts through the seemingly silent air.

Everyone's attention shifts to the direction of the surprise bang. There's suddenly a collection of gasps in the same air in church. A small group of men are standing at the church entrance, armed. They are all in black, with facemasks on.

This raises an alarm for the security men inside the church and they try to intervene in an attempt to handle the situation. Before we know it, the church looks like a battlefield. The place is in chaos and most of the guests are in panic.

Renato is unarmed. I am unarmed. My father's efforts seem to bear no fruits. The security guards in church are put between a rock and a hard stone when another of the uninvited guests walks in front of the group with explosives covering all parts of his body. If we're not careful, this could be one of the suicide bombing.

We have no idea how they managed to get past the security outside. Or whatever is going outside. The guards inside are too few to be relied on.

“Everyone, stay where you are!” another one shouts as he shoots up, creating more gasps.

This is bad,

but ironically, a vague feeling of relief washes over me.

More points for, ‘this is now how I ever envisioned my wedding’. Tragic, right?