A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 46

Zhan

Yibo tightens his grip on my hand as our limousine approaches the theater that Cheng Xiao’s latest movie is being screened at. This is the first time all three of us will be present at such a public event and it’s the first event we’re attending as a married couple. There’s so much pressure and so much could go wrong. So far, we’ve been safe from the media’s attention in large part but we can’t escape them tonight.

We can’t escape Cheng Xiao.

“Bunny,” Yibo says as he raises my hand to his lips. “How do you feel?”

I turn to look at him and shake my head. “Nervous.”

He nods in understanding and kisses the back of my hand. “You look stunning tonight,” he murmurs as his eyes roam over the red evening gown I’m wearing. It’s figure-hugging, with a deep V. It’s eye-catching yet classy and it is by far one of my favorite designs to date.

“Zhan, it’s going to be okay. I won’t leave your side and if it all becomes too much, we’ll just go home.”

I nod, trying my hardest to calm my nerves. I stopped attending these events with Cheng Xiao years ago but I still remember how they go. I remember all the photos Yibo takes with the cast, with her. I always hated how intimate they looked and how she’d lean into him, his hand wrapped tightly around her waist. He’d look at her like she was the only girl in the room and she’d smile at him like the star she is. It hurt to see them together then, but it’ll hurt even more now.

“We’re here,” he says, a sweet smile on his face. “I can’t wait to show you off to the entire world Mrs. Wang. I’m about to walk down the red carpet, my hand in yours and there will be no doubt about who you are and what you mean to me, you hear me? There is only one Mrs. Wang and it’s you, Zhan.”

I nod at him, grateful for his attempts to take the edge off my nerves. I never even have to tell him about my insecurities. He realizes and takes them away before I even have a chance to voice them.

The bodyguard in the front seat looks back with an apologetic smile on his face. “I’ve just been informed to wait for a moment. Cheng Xiao is about to make her entrance.”

Yibo chuckles darkly. “I don’t wait for anyone but my wife,” he says. “Inform the organizers that we’ll be making our entrance now.” Then he looks at me and smirks. “Come on, let’s go steal the show.”

He steps out of the car without a second thought and cameras start to flash, blinding me straight through the car’s tinted windows. Yibo walks around the car and opens my door for me, offering me his hand with a wicked smile on his face.

I place my hand in his and smile up at him. “This,” he tells me as he helps me to my feet. “This is what I’ve always wanted, Zhan. It’s you. You’re the one that’s made all of my dreams come true.”

I smile and shake my head. “You’re trying extra hard to reassure me. Are my insecurities that apparent?”

We walk down the red carpet as cameras flash, the crowd throwing questions at us that we ignore.

“No,” Yibo tells me. “Not to anyone but me. You look confident and radiant as always but I can see beyond it. I see the way you keep touching your wedding ring, the moments of absentmindedness as doubts steal your attention away from me. I notice every little thing about you Zhan. I can assure you my darling wife, you don’t have a single thing to worry about.”

I nod, my nerves put to ease as we reach the end of the red carpet, where a select few reporters and photographers await us. Yibo and I approach the flower backdrop that’s been put in place for the event and his hand wraps around my waist, his touch possessive.