章 14: It's done (4)

Shelby felt so uncomfortable as she walked to the front of all the seated guests. This should have been a happy day. The day that most brides-to-be looked forward to...

...but to Shelby, it was not even a day she had been given a chance to look out for. It had been thrust on her, and she was anything but happy at that moment. To add to it, no 'Prince charming' was waiting for her at the top of the altar. None that she could see at that moment, though.

Heated whispers found their way into her ears. Some about her and others, obviously about the groom.

"Oh, she looks so breathtaking!"

"As expected of the bride of Ian."

"But, where is he?"

"Do you think that the rumours are true?"

"About the fact that he refuses to come out?"

"That is not what I heard. Apparently, he has been sick for a while and has been rendered incapacitated!"

"Maybe… who would ever know? Let's wait and see."

"She's so pitiful! She is the first bride I have seen whom no groom is waiting for…. How sad!"

Gabriel tugged at her hand and whispered quite loudly for all those within earshot to hear,

"Don't mind them, Mama Shelby,"

Shelby smiled, squeezed his hand just as they arrived at the front, and stood under a makeshift flowery archway. Those few words spoken by the son she had just met pulled her heartstrings in ways she had yet to experience in her life.

Most of the people there heard the child as 'whispers' of a child, are usually as loud as their own voices. Some turned away, embarrassed, and others looked on, waiting for what would come.

The officiating minister smiled at her awkwardly and looked through the crowd at the in-laws. He had been called that same day to officiate the ceremony. This was not in accordance with what was usually done, but the Thornston family had promised to send a generous donation to an orphanage he managed, and that had been enough to get him there on short notice.

James couldn't care less what happened there, as his contract had already been signed.

'Let's get this over and done with so that I can get back home,' he reminisced on what he could gain from the project and the funds he had been given.

"My poor Shelby, what am I going to do about this? All this humiliation on her first day at this house!" Clara clutched James's sleeve and whispered, "James, what are they doing? Where is Ian? Why are they doing this to Shelby? Do something!"

'What am I supposed to do?' James rolled his eyes and rather smiled at her, "You worry too much…."

He took her hand in his and started rubbing it gently.

"Gabriel, come here…" Both he and Shelby turned towards the voice. It was from a young girl who looked barely twelve and sat beside Geneva and her husband, Alex, in the front row. Her face was scrunched in displeasure, but she still sat obediently beside the older Thornstons. Shelby had a hunch of what the problem was, so she turned to the young boy who was glued at her side,

"Go and sit for now, I'll join you soon, okay?" Shelby bent and whispered to Gabriel,

"You promise?"

"Of course, I promise."

"Okay!" Gabriel's childish voice sounded, and he ran towards the girl and the seat by her.

After a few minutes, a tall man made his way lazily to the front and stood right beside Shelby.

A loud uproar erupted as the man stood at a standstill on the altar.

"What is going on?"

"Why is he here?"

"Where-"

The words were lost to Shelby, who turned to look at the man. The thing was that Shelby was not familiar with the Thornston men and was, therefore, not sure about what the uproar was about.

'Was he also forced into this marriage? Is that why he came in late?'

"Can we start?" his deep male voice vibrated.

Shelby snapped her head up to look at him again, "That voice!" It was so familiar….

'Where did I hear this from?'

Shelby thought hard but could not place that voice. It was as if a sense of déjà vu had gripped her. The officiator started talking, cutting off Shelby's train of thought.

"That lucky bastard! You look beautiful!" He drawled and winked at her. Shelby blushed but did not get what he meant at that moment. She secretly examined the man in front of her. Tall, handsome, a typical ladies' man. A man who was very handsome and full of himself. He knew his worth and carried himself as such.

"Dear beloved, we are gathered here today to join Ian Thornston and Shelby Monroe in holy matrimony."

"Repeat after me," he said, turning to Shelby, "With this ring …."

"Skip and move forward with this!"

Katie hurried up to the minister and spoke quietly to him. The minister looked slightly surprised, but glancing at Alex and Geneva Thornston, he nodded and continued...

"Do you, Ian Thornston, take this woman, Shelby Monroe, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live with and love dearly, to comfort and to honour, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in bliss, from this day forward, for as long as you both shall live?"

"Yes, he does,"

"He?"

Shelby buttered out, as did the minister.

"Yes, HE does,"

He stared at Shelby and asked, "You don't know your husband-to-be? I am his younger brother and only standing in for him today,"

Shelby's mouth dropped open, as did the minister. There wasn't much reaction from the guests as they already knew Brad. However, it was the bride's reaction that puzzled them.

Shelby knew that she had no right to protest in any way because she was just a contracted catalogued bride and nothing else. But he just continued,

"Do you, Shelby Monroe, take the man in whose stead…."

"What is your name, young man?", the minister asked,

"Brad … Brad Thornston,"

"Do you take Ian Thornston in whose shoes Brad Thornston has stepped in today, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live with and love dearly, to comfort and to honour, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in bliss, from this day forward, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I – I- do,"

"Please exchange the rings … I mean, put the ring on her finger and send Ian's ring to him…"

Brad slipped a huge rock on Shelby's gloved ring finger, but she was in no mood to admire it still reeling from this revelation.

"By the powers vested in me, I pronounce you, and Ian Thornston as husband and wife… You may – I mean, … we are done!"

"Hey, why aren't you letting me kiss the bride?"

A few murmurs erupted from the small, seated crowd.

"Is that not part of the ceremony? You should end with "You may kiss the bride in your brother's place or something! Hurry up and say it!"

The shocked minister opened his mouth and wiped the non-existent sweat from his face.

"You may…" Brad raised his hand as if to encourage him to continue….

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