Who Loves Them? (Who--? Series) (18 page)

Christina
was shocked.  “Why would I do that?  If I disliked Gordon, sure, I would have been happy, but I would have gone along with it.  I don’t want to ruin my family.”

Lilly nodded sympathetically
.  “I know!  I tried to intervene, but your father just told me it was none of my business, and that I needed to take care of my health.”

Christina
frowned.  “Does he know about you and Angelique?”

Lilly shrugged
.  “I have no idea.  All I know is that they caught on as to what was happening, and so now…”

Christina
nodded.  “Well it’s no matter.  What is done is done.  It’s time for me to get married!  I cannot put this off any longer.  They are just going to have to deal with the consequences.”

“But what if
they are here?”

Christina
shrugged.  “Then they will see me get married.”

Lilly smiled and hugged her friend
.  “You are so brave.  And you will be fine, I just know it....”

“As will you
.  Now let’s get me married!”

Before Chris knew it, she was waiting outside the library doors.  The past half hour had gone by in a flash, and yet she was still worried they might not make it in time.  Lilly was her maid of honor, and when she heard the music begin, she watched anxiously as her friend walked through the doors.  She was worried Lilly wouldn’t be up to the ceremony, but her friend seemed fine.  And even if she was sick, she had concealed it well.  Then it was her turn.  She took a deep breath and she stepped through the doors and closed them quietly behind her.  She looked up and saw Gordon looking like a god.  It was the first time she had seen him in a suit and he looked amazing.  Lilly stood beside him, grinning like a little girl.  She was so happy her friend could be here.  She could not imagine getting married without her.  She was worried about what would happen with her after she and Gordon got married, but she pushed the worries aside.  Today was her day, and nothing was going to ruin it.

Suddenly, she realized she was standing there staring
, and she began to walk slowly to the other side of the library.  As she walked, she looked back at her life.  She saw herself, all in wonderful glory of her childhood and where she still waited for her “knight.”  She saw herself as a princess, the apple of the eyes of her parents.  She saw herself growing up, as a young woman, the heartthrob of her high school.  Every boy wanted her and every girl wanted to be like her.

For a moment there, when
Christina walked through those doors, Gordon forgot to breathe.  She looked amazing.  The green dress was perfect and showed off her curves.  Her gorgeous hair was in an elegant updo with a few stubborn pieces that refused to stay put.  She carried a lovely bunch of daisies and pink roses.

Jacqueline smiled as she saw that for those two, there was no one else in the room
.

Christina
felt her heart tighten in her chest.  She had always been a happy person, a fortunate young human being, but this new love in her life widened her views, she was happier than ever.  Oh, the sky didn’t fall, the stars didn’t shine down, the snowfall was not white, the moon was not bigger, the rain was still irritating; but she enjoyed the open sky more, she appreciated the stars shining above her more, she started  loving the moon as much as she loved the sun, and the rain was irritating yet refreshing.  She was in love.

When
Christina finally got to Gordon, he couldn’t wait to take her hand and make her his wife.  He stared in her eyes a moment longer and then shook himself a little and faced the preacher, who for a significant sum, had agreed to marry them on such short notice.

Finally, the ceremony was
almost over.  She must have said all of the right words, because she was marrying Gordon.

Suddenly, the doors were thrown open, and everyone gasped
.  Mindy strode in looking like a sexual goddess.  She wore the shortest dress Christina had ever seen, and the tallest high heels.  Chris wondered how she could walk in them.  Gordon gasped, and Chris felt his body tense.  He dropped his hand, and the ring rolled onto the floor and toward Mindy.  The woman bent over and scooped it up.  “This was supposed to be mine.”

Chris’ heart fell as she watched her put on
her
wedding ring.  Nobody said a word as Mindy walked up to Gordon and kissed him full on the mouth.  Gordon went along with the kiss for a few seconds, and then pushed her off.

“No…Mindy, Christina is my wife
.  Give me the ring so I can give it to her.”

Mindy laughed and looked around at the horrified faces in the room
.  “You really prefer that
girl
over me?  I’m a million times better than her, and you know it!  Don’t you remember what you told me that last night we had together?  You kissed me and whispered in my ear that we’d get married and always be together.  Don’t you remember?”

Gordon slowly nodded, but said nothing.

“And didn’t you give me this necklace,” she said, pointing at the gold chain she wore, “saying I should wear it on our wedding day?”

Gordon nodded
.  “But Mindy…”

“And didn’t you promise me the world
?  And that we’d travel to exotic places together and live happily ever after?”

Gordon nodded
.  “But I love Christine…”

“And didn’t you…”

“
Stop!”

Chris stepped forward and snatched
Mindy’s hand, pulling her wedding ring off the woman’s finger.  Mindy pushed her shoulders roughly and she fell to the floor.  Gordon helped her to her feet and glared at his former fiancé. 

“This is my ring!” Chris said, sliding it on her finger
.  “And I am Gordon’s wife.”

Mindy screwed up her face in anger
.  “How can Gordon want you over me?”

Gordon stepped forward and pulled Christine into his arms
.  “Because I love her and she’s my wife.  Sure, I did want to marry you, but that was only for looks and to show you off.  But you are a mean woman!  No wonder men just want you for your body and nothing else.  You’re never going to be happy!”

Mindy screamed
.  “
How dare you? 
You are a bastard!” She stood in front of Gordon and slapped him on both cheeks.  Gordon flinched, but simply stared at the woman without emotion.  Mindy began to cry.  “I thought you loved me!  But you’re a liar!  Just like the rest of your horrible family!  You never loved me!”

Everyone stared at her until Mindy knew she was the black sheep of the crowd
.  Finally, she turned on her heel and walked away.  When she got to the door she turned back and pointed a thin finger at Chris. 

“You’ll regret this
!  He’ll treat you like dirt and trade you in for someone else.  But don’t worry – I’ll be there to take your place!”

Chris smiled as Mindy left the room
.  Gordon turned to her and frowned.  “I’ll never trade you in for her.  I love you.”

Chris kissed him and laughed
.  “I know.

She looked down at her left hand, at the plain gold band, and thought it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

Gordon saw her looking at it, and mistook the reason.  “I promise, when we get back home and everything settles down, I will buy you a ring that will make everyone jealous.”

“Oh, no you
will not.  I wouldn’t wear it even if you did.  This is my wedding ring, and it is the ring I will wear.” She smiled up at him as he leaned down and kissed her.  “As long as we’re together, nothing else matters.”

They were still in the library
.  The ceremony had only been over for about fifteen minutes and the lodge had graciously provided buffet snacks for them to eat, but no one was really eating much and the tension in the air was thick.  The only people at the wedding were the preacher, the photographer, Jacqueline, Lilly, Christina and Gordon.  The photographer had to stand in as one of the witnesses.  They all knew Christina’s grandfather was on the way and that there was nothing they could do, but it made their celebration tense.

As
Gordon leaned down to kiss Christina, the library doors flew open and her grandfather was pushed in sitting in his wheelchair.  He was red in the face and obviously very angry.  Chris took a deep breath and grabbed Gordon’s hand.  At first she thought Mindy had returned, then when she realized who it was, her stomach dropped.  She was horrified to realize that behind her grandfather, in filed her mother looking very unhappy and rumpled.  Then came her father, looking rather smug.  Following her family, Gordon’s family came in next.  His mother looked disgusted and his father looked like his mother had dragged him along.  Lilly’s mother stood beside Gordon’s mother, red-faced and ashamed.  No doubt she didn’t want her family name dragged though this disgrace.

Gordon leaned down and whispered in
Christina’s ear, “Stay strong.  We are married, and there’s nothing they can do about that.  I love you.”

Christina
smiled up at Gordon and turned to face the three families.

Gordon put on his best smile, “Welcome everyone
.  I’m so sorry, but you just missed the ceremony.  Mom, Dad, may I present my wife, Christina Fontenot-Buck.”

Chris
smiled at them, but they did not smile back.

Her grandfather, still red in the face, looked at her
.  “What do you think you are doing? We had a contract.  Why would you do this?  You are creating a scandal for your family.  You should be ashamed.  You could have had a great wedding with all of the important families there, and you choose to
elope
?”  He said the word “elope” like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Her mother jumped in next
.  “How could you do this to me, Chris?  You have ruined our family.”

Lilly’s mother looked disgusted
.  “And you--you meddlesome little brat.  You knew about this all along and you could have stopped it, but you didn’t!  No wonder we disowned you.  You are just as bad as these two.  I hope you’re happy.”

Lilly smiled
.  “Quite.  Although it is I who should be disowning you!  I was poisoned by my fiancé!”

Everyone in the room opened their mouths in shock
.  “What did you say?” her mother exclaimed. 

“
That is right!  Mr. Perfect poisoned me.  I will not be marrying that
monster! 
I’ve already notified the police and they are probably arresting him right now!”

Lilly’s mother was red in the face with shock
.  Her father stood awkwardly beside his wife, speechless.  “Is this true?” he finally managed to say.

Lilly nodded
.  “I have the evidence.  He thought he could get rid of me, but I’m not going down without a fight.”

Chris
’s mother wrinkled her nose in distaste.  “This is all an elaborate scheme to get back at us!  This ‘marriage’ the ‘poisoning.’  You planned this all along!  And you dragged this poor girl into your plan!” she said, gesturing at Lilly.  “You’re a scheming liar!  No wonder nobody wants to marry you!”

Before anyone else could say a word,
Chris squeezed Gordon’s hand, and said, “Enough.  We discussed it and decided this is what we wanted.  What
we
wanted, not what you wanted or what anyone else wanted.  You sold us off in an arrangement we had no control over.  We did our duty to our families, but we will not be pushed around any longer.  This marriage will be on our terms.” Christina fell silent.  She looked at Lilly for encouragement and received a warm smile.  “And this, ‘poor girl’ is a wonderful woman who doesn’t need an arranged marriage just as we didn’t need one.  People should be able to choose who they wish to marry!  It’s not fair that two people should be made to marry.  I am sure if Gordon and I were simply introduced and not forced into an agreement, we would have grown to like and love each other just as we have done, but the notion of planning someone’s life is barbaric!”

Gordon nodded
.  “I love Christina, but it took me a while to do so.  I was so angry that my rights were taken away from me.” He looked at his mother.  “And that is why we hid this from you.  That is why we hid our relationship.  Because for some reason, our families think that meddling in their children’s lives is okay.  But it’s not okay.  And from now on, you will let us do what we wish to do for the rest of our lives.”

Christina
nodded.  “Gordon is right.  Marriage is about love, not deals or partnerships.”

Everyone in the room was looking at
Christina as though seeing her for the first time.  Gordon felt like cheering and kissing her and running away with her all at one time.  “Never again will any of our families be subjected to marrying someone they do not wish to marry.  Now, Gordon and I were lucky.  We genuinely love each other.  But I will not watch Lilly’s life taken away by the hands of a greedy monster.  And I will not obey the barbaric rules set out by people before my time!”

Her grandfather had calmed down and his face lost its sickly red color
.  Instead, his eyes gleamed shrewdly at her.  “Well, there is still the matter of producing a son to be considered.  Perhaps you have had your rebellion, but the contract stipulates that you must have a son to carry on the name.”

This time Gordon stepped up
.  He wondered if he shouldn’t have talked to Christina about this before, but he knew now was the time.  “Actually, sir, the contract stipulates that we have a son, and that he has the same hyphenated last name as his mother, but that is all it states.”

Her grandfather looked confused
.  “I don’t understand.  How else are you going to produce an heir?  You cannot just buy children!”

“Like you bought our marriage?”

Gordon turned around with a wicked gleam in his eyes, and a smile on his face.  He held out his hand to her.  Loud enough for everyone in the family to hear, he said, “So, dear, how do you feel about adopting?”