CLARA'S POV
I was startled out of my reverie by a voice that said, "You may now kiss the bride.". I was deep in contemplation. I cannot picture myself with Ralph, a man I will never love. The only reason I was getting married to him was to please my dad.
My father, a billionaire, owned a large company with Ralph's father, with whom he was friends. Ralph and I are each of their individual children. They chose to marry us against our will because of this, disregarding our feelings.
As directed by the pastor, I turned to kiss Ralph, but all I saw was a dejected expression, and I started to cry. We have chosen to be business partners, but our fathers have insisted that we get married.
To avoid making a scene, Ralph and I planted a firm kiss on each other. As the newlywed couple, we were instructed to face the crowd. Seeing us get married, our father's expression instantly brightened, but it's possible that our mothers were unhappy because they knew how we felt.
My mother sobbed as she apologized to me for not being a better mother the day before the wedding.
She knew Cal was the one I was meant to be with, but there was nothing she could do because he was poor, he worked as a clerk in a small business, and my father would never let me get married to an average guy.
I've learned that love is about your feelings and not just about money or status since I've been with Cal. I had a deep affection for Cal, but my father had other plans.
He only wanted me to wed Ralph, the son of his friend, who was a total stranger to me.
Ralph and I had never met before. My father asked me to go with him to his friend's house six months ago. I had no idea that he was going to pair me up with an unknown person.
When I sat down to talk with Ralph's father, he revealed their intentions to us both, dropping the bombshell. We battled for our feelings but the two men were still not convinced. They stood on what they said.
There was not a single phone call or information exchanged amongst us during the six months leading up to the wedding.
Our parents only suggested that we go on a date once.
I’m not his kind of woman, Ralph made me realize that. It's true what Ralph said, I don't drink, smoke, or go to parties but he does.
I am a complete recluse. Father seems to be unreceptive to all of these, but I never want a man who smokes.
I haven't felt content in the past six months, so I started to wonder if this "marriage" would bring me happiness at all.
Marriage is forever, how is father expecting me to spend my forever with a man I have no feelings for.
Cal was threatened with death by Father if he did not stay away from me forever. As my father is a powerful individual who will stop at nothing to ensure his happiness, I asked Cal not to call me again and told him that I would only ever love him instead of Ralph.
Cal promised to stay by me, he also promised to always love me but father seems not to understand all these. All he wants to hear is me getting married to Ralph.
More tears fell from my eyes when I saw my father beaming with excitement. Before I realized he was acting, I believed my father to be my true love. With self-serving interests, he only loves himself. "When are we leaving the church, I asked Ralph, who was still holding my hand, if I would ever be happy in this marriage.".
"Obviously not, we'll never be happy.". I started crying again when he responded to me. I heard some of our guests say, "It's the tears of joy," while I was crying. Seeing what was going on, my mother came over and gave me a back rub.
"You will be safe if you are strong, my love." She spoke in a tremulous tone. It appears she has been crying as well.
From the day I was born, my mother has been my confidante. I have always known that she did everything in her power to prevent this marriage from happening and that her efforts were in vain. What could she do? Her husband, who happens to be my father, had warned her that if she did anything foolish to end the marriage, he would divorce her.
My mother has always been a very submissive person. She respects my father greatly and doesn't want anything to ruin her home, so she remained silent while encouraging me that everything would be okay.
As soon as we left the church, we got into the car. We told our parents that we didn't have to go to the reception hall but they insisted that we go. We arrived at the location. Everything was exquisitely and opulently decorated. The wedding cost a lot of money, according to our parents.
It was time for us to have our first dance. We performed it as though it were required of us, and in a way, it was because nothing had gone according to plan.
The guests mistook our weariness for something other than happiness.
By telling us to share a five-minute kiss, the MC ruined the entire event. We initially just kept staring at each other for over two minutes, but he said that wasn't the point.
We were forced to follow his instructions. There was only a sense of duty and obligation as our lips met, not a spark of passion. With our bodies rigid and our eyes fixed on the front, we kissed coldly. It was a kiss of necessity, imposed upon us by our families, rather than one of love.
The kiss felt longer and more uncomfortable with every second that went by, until at last there was a relief when it ended. Our hearts were disconnected and our eyes were empty as we withdrew from one another.
