Marina's POV
I stood at the altar, my heart hammering against my ribcage as the priest's solemn voice echoed through the grand hall. The scent of fresh lilies and burning candles filled the air, but all I could smell was the sickening weight of anticipation, pressing down on me like a vice.
Then it happened.
"I do not accept Marina Jones as my wife."
The words sliced through me like a blade, cold and merciless. The room spun for a second, my knees threatening to give way, but I clenched my fists around the bouquet, my nails digging into my palm. I wouldn't fall. Not here. Not now.
Gasps erupted around me. Murmurs spread like wildfire through the sea of elegantly dressed guests. Some covered their mouths in shock, others whispered behind gloved hands, and a few merely watched, their eyes gleaming with morbid curiosity.
I felt them all. The pity. The mockery. The judgment.
My parents rushed forward, their voices a blur of desperation and disbelief. My mother clutched her chest, eyes brimming with unshed tears. My father, always so composed, was visibly shaking.
"Jayden, this is madness! What are you doing?" My father's voice thundered through the hall, but Jayden didn't flinch.
I kept my gaze fixed ahead, unwilling to let my eyes betray the storm raging within me. My fingers tightened around the bouquet until my knuckles turned white, the delicate petals trembling in my grasp.
Jayden turned toward me, his face filled with something that almost looked like regret. Almost.
"Mari... I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this here, but I had no choice."
No choice?
A bitter laugh threatened to escape my lips, but I swallowed it down.
He had every choice. He had months, years—a lifetime to tell me. Yet he chose today, in front of hundreds of people, to rip my dignity to shreds.
The whispers grew louder.
"She looks so pitiful."
"A rejected bride? What a curse."
"No man will ever marry her now."
I barely heard them over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. The humiliation clawed at my chest, threatening to suffocate me. The pain burned deep, but I refused to let it consume me.
Jayden reached for me, his hands gripping my shoulders as if that would somehow make this better.
"Mari, please... say something."
Something inside me snapped.
The years of being the perfect daughter, the perfect bride-to-be, the quiet, obedient woman who swallowed every ounce of pain—it all shattered in an instant.
"Take your hands off me."
My voice came out low, trembling with barely contained fury.
Jayden froze. His hands dropped to his sides, eyes widening in surprise.
"You rejected me not once," I said, my voice growing stronger, sharper, "but twice." My words sliced through the tension like a blade. "And now you expect me to stand here and forgive you?"
The room fell into a suffocating silence. Every pair of eyes was on me now.
"Did you ever think about what I wanted, Jayden? Did you ever wonder how I felt all these years?"
The murmur of whispers stopped entirely.
I lifted my chin, finally meeting his gaze. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. He had no answer—because he had never cared to ask.
"Take your hands off me, Jayden Hawthorne!" My voice rang through the hall as I slapped his hands away. He staggered back, shock flickering across his face.
A part of me had waited years for this moment.
I turned to the priest, ignoring the stunned expressions around me. My pulse was racing, but there was something else coursing through my veins now—something unfamiliar, yet intoxicating.
Strength.
"Priest," I said, my voice unwavering, "it's my turn now."
The priest hesitated, glancing between me and the whispering guests, uncertainty written all over his face.
Jayden stepped forward, desperation creeping into his voice. "Marina... what are you doing?"
I looked him dead in the eyes, my lips curling into a slow, dangerous smile.
"What I should have done a long time ago."
The priest swallowed hard, gripping his book tightly.
"Do you, Marina Jones, take Jayden Hawthorne as your lawfully wedded husband—"
"No, I do not."
Gasps erupted around the hall.
The priest blinked, clearly caught off guard. He hesitated before repeating, "Do you take Jayden Hawthorne—"
"No, I do not."
The whispers turned into an uproar.
The priest tried one last time, his voice almost pleading. "For the last time, do you—"
I stepped closer to Jayden, looking him straight in the eyes, my voice firm and unyielding.
"No. I do not. And I never will."
The hall exploded into chaos.
Guests whispered, some openly stared, while my mother sobbed into my father's chest. Jayden stood frozen, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.
But I didn't care.
I stood on the altar, my heart pounding so loudly I was certain everyone could hear it. My bloodshot eyes locked onto Jayden's, a smile curling at the corners of my lips. His words echoed in my ears, but they didn't hurt anymore — not like before.
"No, I do not and will never!" My voice rang out, steady and sharp, cutting through the whispers filling the hall.
Jayden's face contorted in anger. His perfect little plan was falling apart right before his eyes. He wanted to humiliate me, to watch me crumble.
"What are you doing, Marina? Are you trying to get revenge on me? I already apologized. Why are you still so angry?" he barked.
I tilted my head slightly, my smile widening. Angry? He thought this was anger? No... this was something far more dangerous.
The murmurs from the guests only fueled the fire burning inside me.
"She's creepy... she didn't even cry."
"What if she's actually crazy?"
"Maybe we should leave."
My eyes flicked toward the woman clutching her purse, ready to sneak out. My smile vanished.
"No one is leaving until I get married." My voice was calm, but it carried across the room like a command. I turned slowly, scanning the crowd. "We all came here for a wedding, didn't we? It would be unfair to let you leave without one."
A few gasps echoed through the hall. My mother's panicked voice broke through the tension.
"Marina, that's enough. Come, baby. Let's go back to your room. You need rest."