𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐨𝐧

(forty)

"If anyone has any objections, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

The best man and I speak up at the same time, stepping out toward the crowd. "I do."

Siyeon quietly says, "I object as well."

Prince Jaebeom announces that he, too, objects to this wedding."

Murmurs rise from the crowd, asking what happens now if both parties of the marriage have changed their minds. I look around and meet the Queen's eyes. She looks livid.

Time for the shitshow.

Just like we rehearsed, Prince Jaebeom turns and kisses his best man as Siyeon does the same to me. The whole audience gasps. As much as I know everybody has their eyes on the spectacle unfolding in front of them, I feel like I can finally gloat about Princess Siyeon being mine. So I show off a bit. I bite her lip and take control of the kiss. She decides to fight back after a minute, probably filled with the same pride and determination I am. She grabs my waist and leans me back as if we were dancing again, only this time we don't waltz to a slow symphony. Our lips dance in unison to the discordant song of the strange and twisted story of our love.

The room fell silent after each fiance chose someone else, but one voice tears through the silence. "Hell yeah, I knew it!"

Siyeon and I both laugh at my mom's outburst. We stand back up and she lets go of me as we both turn to face the audience. My mom is in the back row, standing with her arms in the air and a big, silly smile on her face. On the other side of the room sits Siyeon's mom wearing the exact opposite expression. She stands and marches up to the altar, absolutely fuming.

"Everyone please calm down," she shouts, "I apologise for the disturbance. Guards! Please escort these two out of the palace so the wedding can continue as planned."

Siyeon stands in front of me as soon as a guard takes a step toward us. "We're not getting married," she states, "I don't care about the contract. I never signed it. If you want benefits from the Seven Cities so bad, marry yourself off."

The Queen again calls for the guards, and Siyeon and I lace our hands together, sprinting down the aisle giggling. My family follows us out and we all climb into a carriage where Siyeon and I stashed our stuff last night. Each of us has a bag of important items and some clothing. We also have a suitcase full of cash we've been gathering since the day she planned to sabotage the wedding. There are so many expensive items and so much money lying around in the palace, and nobody would notice if any of it was missing. So we took it.

My family will never worry about food again, and as soon as we get back to my province I'm taking Siyeon to the courthouse. We already discussed it – we'll get married, legally, which will save her from any potential marriage contract her mother may try to arrange in the future. But it's not just about the legal aspect of it.

I want to be able to call her my wife, and I want to be hers.

All of us are crammed into a carriage, and my head is still spinning from the intensity of today's events. We're going home. We're safe.

I don't care that my family is here. I kiss Siyeon again. I'm both grateful and relieved. Planning this was stressful, and everything had to be timed well in order to prevent execution for members of the wedding party. We almost didn't make it once the Queen sent the guards for us.

We got out safe. I only hope Prince Jaebeom and his best man were as lucky as us.

thank you all for reading!

final word count: 31,537