Rafael's POV
And the game started. I smirked from behind the row of reporters when Viona gave her wry smile. The zombie expression on that motherfucker Roman should satisfy her for now.
She handled the first blow well. It took her long enough to muster that kind of courage.
"What are you talking about?" The groom shouted.
"Roman…" The bride gripped his arm, a desperate attempt to control his tone.
But the groom was too irritated to maintain even a poker face. Of course. My name must have rattled his pride that much.
Viona bowed her head and drew a shaky breath. I arched an eyebrow. Was she going to cry? That wasn't in the script.
"Lately, I was a bit depressed and got anxious. I even did a prank to her with the invitation and the wedding photo at the front gate. I even edited her photo to be a bit fuller because I was sad. I was sad she needed to diet too much for this wedding when she loves to eat."
"But the thing that made my episodic worsening was, she told me I couldn't tell my parents I was madly in love with Rafael. All of that because Kingston is the rival of Housley. Why? Why can't I be happy, but she can?" Viona clutched her head, stumbling. The entire nave hushed in worry.
I flinched too, unsure if the stumbling was part of her act or if she was genuinely dizzy.
Her blood pressure was normal this morning, and she'd taken her vitamins. She should be fine.
She improvised. She should be an actress, her mimicking a manic patient was too real. How could she do that?
"Viona… dear… come here. We can talk again after the wedding." Her mother stood, coaxing her.
"Sister… I know… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I was so selfish and neglected your feelings. I didn't know you were truly serious about Rafael, you just said it. I never saw him around. I'm sorry I didn't know it made you…" She sobbed. "It made your depression worse. I'm sorry, Viona…"
Vivian rushed toward Viona and gripped her arm.
I almost choked on my own chuckle.
That was unpredictable. She was playing along with the lie. This Vivian was a slick, sly fox.
The hushed murmur from the crowd showed confusion.
Some expressed empathy for Viona; others pitied Vivian because her wedding was being disrupted.
I could see Viona was taken aback, her grip on the podium tightening violently. Could she continue the next blow? Should I step up now?
"No… don't be. Please. I know you're a victim too in this. You loved him so much until you blindly trusted the Housleys' diagnosis for my depression." Viona hugged her sister.
"Wh—what do you mean?"
She broke the embrace and smiled, filled with a sudden, tear-filled sincerity.
I couldn't tell if this was an act anymore. It was too real.
The reporters were tensely recording, frantically taking notes, and clearly confused.
"Vivian… The Housleys, your fiancé, ah, now your husband, fabricated my diagnosis. It wasn't Hormone-Induced Psychotic Depression. I… I got a test from Lanford Psychiatric Associate. They said I just have Acute Mood Swing and didn't need the medication the Houston hospital prescribed. Those… those medications were what made my symptoms worse. I'm… I never actually needed those drugs."
Viona hugged Vivian again, sobbing. Vivian looked stunned. Her face was stiff. She couldn't counter the argument. A rat caught in a trap.
"Viona! What are you talking about? Why are you slandering me like that? Are you really gone crazy?" Roman burst out.
"You… how dare you slander the Housleys like that? What kind of nonsense is this? Can you prove that? You're just talking trash. Chief Prosecutor, why are you silent? Your daughter is truly sick. Ask your guard to take her out, now." Caroline chattered frantically.
"If I am truly crazy now, it's because of you. Your family drove me crazy, so I would keep asking myself if I was worth loving. That diagnosis fooled my sister, my mother, and my father. Because you didn't want me acquainted with Rafael. You didn't want Kingston entering the Island family, did you?" Viona attacked Roman and Caroline, hitting back hard.
A second blow just landed. The entire nave was in chaos.
But the reaction I'd been waiting for remained unmoving. Dimitri Island.
While everyone else whispered anxiously, he remained unnervingly calm.
Even when Roman's parents demanded action, he merely told Victor to leave and guard outside the wedding.
I chuckled. Of course, he wouldn't act rashly in public. He was calculating.
I flicked my coin with my thumb, catching it in the air. I opened my fingers. Heads. This was my cue.
I straightened my suit jacket and discarded the gum I was chewing.
I tapped the shoulder of the reporter in front of me, signaling him to move.
He stood stunned, his mouth hanging open.
"You… Raf… Raf… RAFAEL KINGSTON. RAFAEL IS HERE."
I ignored the reporter's shout and the others frantically pointing cameras at me.
It was expected.
My men were neatly arranging themselves, lining the aisle as I walked.
They blocked the view, forcing guests to crane their necks just to catch a glimpse of my face.
I hate crowds, but I didn't mind being the center of attention.
The Housleys looked as though they were staring at the Grim Reaper.
Maybe I was. Here to turn their world into hell.
But the almighty Dimitri still wore a flat expression despite seeing me.
Why? Weren't you afraid of me? Fuck.
"The PROOF!" I yelled, "Is here…"
My men began distributing copies of Viona's diagnosis from Lanford Psychiatric Associate, the owner of the most elite psychiatric hospital in the world.
"I didn't know why my girlfriend needed to receive a misdiagnosis while I was volunteering in a war zone, just because we love each other. That paper contains the results of her tests a month ago. It states that my girlfriend, Viona Island, simply has Acute Mood Swing. It's far from the depression the Housleys claimed."
I approached Viona and extended my hand.
"How dare you all make this lovely girlfriend of mine consume unnecessary antidepressants?"
She took my hand, and I possessively slid my arm around her waist. The motherfucker groom stumbled on his feet. I smirked at his pale face.
Then I glanced at the Housleys and the guests, who were still busy, half-disbelieving the papers in their hands.
"No… This is fabricated. You… You intend to humiliate the Housleys, don't you?" Caroline yelped. "We… we can never trust a Kingston. We all know that they—"
"Wife! Enough!" Raymond Housley snapped at his wife to be silent.
"You can check the legitimacy with their Chief Doctor, who's received the World Anti-Corruption Award for five years straight." I landed the third blow.
Caroline couldn't fight back.
She stood frozen, her fists trembling with suppressed fury.
They couldn't beat that. I made sure of it.
In a crisis of humiliation, silence was the best defense they could manage in this moment.
"I don't know why you all made her simple mood swing seem like a dangerous plague. For me, it was the cutest thing that made me fall harder. Are you okay, dear?" I turned to Viona, who was smiling stiffly, trying to subtly loosen the pressure of my hand on her waist.
"I… I'm fine, Raf… Ah, I'm fine, dear…" She shot me a smiling glare that promised a curse later.
Yes. I changed the script.
"Good." I winked.
My hand tightened on her waist, and I led her toward her father, who remained seated, poker-faced and silent.
"What are you doing?" Viona whispered low.
"Giving the last blow," I whispered back.
My lips brushed her temple. Soft. I fell too deep into the act.
This was not supposed to be this intimate.
We stood in front of Dimitri. The atmosphere was tense. Too tight.
The surrounding whispers faded. He looked at me with a scornful squint.
That gaze was enough reason to be riskier.
I took a deep breath.
"Mr. Island, I've fallen hard for your daughter. Can we have your blessing?" I asked. Firmly. Clearly.
His jaw tightened. His finger tapped his lap. Calculating.
"You are very disrespectful. What will you do if I say no?" He said with a chilling calm.
Our eyes locked in a gunfight. He tested me.
I turned to Viona. Pulled the ring box from my pocket. And knelt.
"Then we'll just run off and get married anyway. She is twenty-two years old and doesn't need parental consent to get married."
I opened the ring box, offered it to Viona, and looked up.
"Viona, will you make me your protector as your husband?"
I smiled at her stunned face. Her breath was short. I could guess her heart hammering loud in her ears by how flushed red her face was. She looked fascinating.
What will you do, Viona? Will you take my hand in front of the man I intend to destroy?