The Substitute Husband

Chapter 1: The Wedding

"We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together Lysander Luciano and Andrea Barrameda in holy matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted by God, since the first man and the first woman walked on the earth. Therefore, it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly. Into this holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined. If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

I really am getting nervous with what I am about to do. But I knew that it was now or never. I should finish my plan. I moved foreward and said...

"I am against this marriage..." At first, I didn't know how to say the words, but I just blurted everything out. "I am pregnant with Sander's baby and he didn't want to take any responsibility. But I needed to claim my baby's rights to his father, before it's too late."

There was a deafening silence for a fews seconds before I heard chatters around the church.

Suddenly hundreds of pairs of eyes were looking at me. They were all whispering words that I can't understand. They were all confused with what was happening at the moment. They were curious about my identity. They didn't know who they should side with, the pityful bride whose wedding was is not going to push through or the pityful me who was denied by her baby's father.

Then I looked straight at the person of my interest. Confusion flashed in his eyes at first glance but it was suddenly replaced by an emotion that I can't quite distinguish.

Was he mad at me? Did he still recognize me?   

Then, all of a sudden, flashes of memories came down on me... 

A year ago, I was also standing in the very same position the bride is in today. I was about to be married to the man of my dreams. I was to have my fairy tale ending... But that didn't happen. The person whom I have trusted the most, the person I have entrusted my heart and my life to, left me standing all alone at the altar. 

An hour has gone by. There were no signs that Sander was coming. I looked around me and saw all the people's stares and the look of sympathy in their eyes. I didn't want them to look at me in that way. I didn't want their pity. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide wherein no one could see me. But I was still waiting for Sander. I was hoping that he was just late. I was wishing he would show up in front of me at this very moment . But he didn't.

"What is happening? Where is Sander? What is taking him so long?" I tried asking my best friend, Althea as she was trying to console me. My family and friends were trying to explain the situation to the guests as they were already leaving. "Where is Sander? Why is he not here?" I asked again as a single tear dropped from my eyes.

"Shhhh, Piper, everything's gonna be alright," was all that she said. All the while she was trying to hug me. She was silently by my side. She was my sounding board. 

I waited for Sander long after the guests have gone. He didn't come. I was waiting for his call. I was hoping he would call. I was thinking something happened to him, he might have been in an accident and he might be in danger. Is everything okay? I was really worried.

I was wishing that he would call me. But there was no call. He wasn't even answering his phone. That was when it dawned on me that he wasn't coming. I would never have my happy ending. In fact, there would be no wedding. At first, I was devoid of any feeling. I didn't know how I should feel. I didn't know what I should do. Should I cry? Should I go looking for him? A lot of questions were running through my mind.

"Piper, why don't we all go home?" Althea said. "You are tired. Everybody's tired, Piper."

But, I didn't really want to go home yet. I picked up my phone and tried calling Sander but I wasn't able to do so. Althea grabbed my phone and took it away from me. 

"Piper, get a hold of yourself! Sander isn't coming! We've been waiting here for hours now. He should've have come if he intended to be here. But he didn't." Althea shouted. "So whether you like it or not, we are going home now and you are definitely coming with me."

I have never heard Althea get so worked up before. She was usually calm when it came to situations like this. I didn't dare to argue with her and just tagged along to where she lead me to.

When I got home, I went straight to my room. I still couldn't believe that Sander didn't shot up when I got in my room. I undressed and changed into something more comfortable. I left my wedding gown pooled on the floor. I didn't care. I felt tired. I wanted to sleep. I was hoping that this was just a terrible dream, a nightmare in which everything would turn out to be fine when I wake up the next morning. 

But that didn't happen. I woke up late the next morning feeling the same heaviness in my chest. I saw my wedding gown still lying on the floor exactly where I left it last night. Then it dawned on me that, indeed, everything that happened yesterday was real. Sander is gone. Sander isn't coming back. 

It took me quite sometime to accept all the things that happened in my life. It was really hard to move on from a love which you thought would have been the greatest love of your life. The first few days that followed was hard, I didn't want to face the world. I was so afraid that they would see the hurt, afraid that they would see the pain. But what scared me the most was that it was pity that I will see in their eyes.

Actually, I didn't think that I could ever get over everything. It was really a struggle, at first. I didn't think that I could go back to being okay. But I knew that I needed to move on. This isn't healthy for me. I'm losing a lot of chances to be happy by locking myself in the painful memories of the past.

And so I woke up one day, and I just started feeling better. I started to pick up all the scattered pieces of me, trying to become better day by day. I let go of the memories that hurt and tried to focus on the things that made me happy. It wasn't easy to go back to the happy person that I used to be, but I just kept doing it. I was hoping that pretending to be okay would somehow lead to actually being okay.

And that was a year ago. After all the things that I did to let go of those hurtful memories. After all the hard times that I went through, I really thought that it was part of my past now and that I have already moved on. I thought I was already done with all the grieving and sulking. I almost thought that I was perfectly okay but that was before I saw a picture of Sander on the cover of a magazine standing beside a girl with a tagline, "The Most Awaited Wedding of the Year: Sander Luciano and Andrea Barrameda Nuptials." I saw red lights flash before me. All the hurt and pain that I tried to forget suddenly came rushing back to me. All those tears that I've cried slowly turned into hatred as I looked at the man that I once loved in the past. Now, all I wanted to do is to get my revenge. I wanted to make him understand how it felt like to lose someone you love. And that is exactly what I intended to do. 

This is my revenge to the man that I have once loved but have come to hate.