“Cheers!”
The hall rumbled with excitement.
When the wedding was about to begin, there was thunderous applause from the audience. Everyone cheered, as though they were the ones who were getting married. For so long, Fabian had led a low-key life, but he was very efficient in his work. Coupled with the fact that he came from an industrious family with a large business, his network of friends and acquaintances stretched far and wide, with a few bootlickers among them.
In the reception hall, Leo could not be prouder. He told everybody who would listen that Hannah was his daughter and that soon she would take Fabian’s last name. On top of that, Fabian also had some business to negotiate with him.
Not far away, Winson glanced at the couple with a silly smile on his face. Among those in the Blackwood family, he might possibly be the only one to wish the couple a happy marriage with all sincerity.
At that point, Helen turned to Jason, her brows beetled. “Aren’t you supposed to be good at this? Why aren’t you doing anything? How useless. And you call yourself a man?”
“What do you mean ‘useless’? How am I not a man? Fabian said we’re to put everything on hold for now, at least until after the wedding,” Jason replied confidently.
“Hmph! They’re the ones getting married, not you! You should hurry up and get to the bottom of this. We don’t want any trouble at the reception,” Helen added.
“I… You…” Annoyed, Jason’s lips trembled as he stuttered, unable to formulate a proper sentence. He turned his head in the other direction, ignoring Helen. It was then that he inadvertently noticed someone eyeing viciously at the couple on the stage.
“Look! I knew that woman was suspicious! I suspect she’s the one behind all this,” Jason told Helen in all seriousness.
But Helen would not have it. She did not even glance at him. Her eyes were glued to the stage.
Tsk! Ignoring me, are you? Fine! I don’t want to be bothered with your tomboyish ways anyway!
The pastor was standing between the couple, holding a thick Bible in his hand. “Do you, Fabian Norton, take Hannah Young to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Fabian gazed deeply into Hannah’s eyes, and replied to the pastor, “I do!”
The pastor asked Fabian again, “Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor her family as your own, to live together in matrimony, to keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, to be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live? Are you willing to make this promise in front of all eyes present?”
Fabian took a deep breath and stepped forward. “I do.”
Next, after a pause, he addressed the audience below. “I, Fabian Norton, in the eyes of God and everyone present here as my witnesses, take Hannah Young to be my lawfully wedded wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, comfort her, honor her, cherish her, be faithful only to her, for as long as I shall live.”
Hannah was slightly shaking as she listened to Fabian say his vows. She could clearly feel the true love he had for her wrapped up in his every word. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
The guests that day were also touched by Fabian’s vows. Although he was not particularly loud, no one doubted the credibility of his speech. The promises laid bare, spoken by a man of his stature, were wonderful indeed!
“Way to go, Fabian!”
Helen sighed as she unconsciously waved her fist at the couple. Then, she looked at the man next to her and said, “See that, Jason? Learn from him, can you? That’s what I call a good man.”
Aggrieved, Jason wondered, why is someone else’s good fortune somehow my fault too? No compare, no despair! Besides, I’m not so bad myself!
The pastor then turned towards Hannah with the same set of questions. “Do you, Hannah Young, take Fabian Norton to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Tears ran down Hannah’s cheeks, but she managed a sweet smile and replied loud and clear, “I do!”
The pastor continued, “Are you willing to marry him, as you come of age, to be his gentle and dignified wife, to love him, to respect him, to help him, to live together in matrimony, to honor his family as your own, to perform your duty as his wife, for as long as you both shall live? Are you willing to make this promise in front of all eyes present?”
