Once the bride and the groom had signed on the marriage certificate, it was time for their witnesses to step forward and do the same.
However, a new problem soon arose after the groom's witness, his younger brother, had signed the document.
The bride did not have anyone to be her witness as neither her friends nor her family was present at the wedding ceremony.
'I was supposed to be just a guest, so how would I have anyone here who can be my witness?' Seraphina pondered as the only people she knew here were the groom and his family.
Unfortunately, his family could not be considered for the role of her witness so she could only look at her new mother-in-law for guidance.
Understanding the look of distress on her face, Theresa Rion, the groom's mother patted her shoulder to calm her down.
She then turned to the crowd present and finding a familiar face, she gestured for that person to step forward.
An older gentleman, who looked like he was in his early forties, stepped in their direction upon noticing her attention on him. ^bd4e10
The two whispered for just a few seconds before he nodded and smiled at Seraphina before heading towards the documents.
He soon signed his name and turned towards the bride.
"From today onwards, you are my God daughter." He announced and patted her head affectionately.
Though confused, Seraphina did not feel uncomfortable at having the stranger touch her head.
Instead, she felt a warmth spread through her chest upon noticing the kind look in his eyes as he gaze down at her with affection.
He then spoke to Theresa once again and stepped down from the altar, walking out of the chapel and disappearing from their sights altogether.
Seraphina did not even know the man's name yet she had somehow gained a Godfather.
However, she was not averse to the idea of having someone looking out for her in this town.
After all, her family had moved cities long ago and she did not have anyone she knew here anymore closely, apart from the Rion family.
With the signing of the marriage certificate completed, the wedding ceremony had thus come to an end.
The bride and the groom stood with the family members present as their pictures were taken by the guests and the photographers present.
Soon, the newly wedded couple stepped out of the chapel and entered the brand new car which would drive them to the hotel where the wedding banquet would be held.
__
As soon as the doors to the car shut, the couple let out the breaths they had been holding.
The driver had shut the partition between them so no one had noticed how they slumped into their carseats.
Tobias turned his head in her direction and narrowed his eyes while looking at the woman who was now his legally wedded wife.
"How did it end up being you?" He finally asked the question that had been on his mind.
Seraphina's eyes, which had been shut as she rested her head on the seat, opened as she too turned to look in his direction.
The man she now faced used to be her best friend at one point in her life but they had lost touch due to various reasons.
However, fate had played a cruel joke as she had someone ended up marrying that same man whom she had not spoken to in close to a year.
The emotions bubbling up inside her right now were too complicated for her to understand so she shoved them down and focused on the question he had asked.
Since the journey to the hotel was long, Tobias made himself comfortable while waiting for her explanation.
"You invited me..." Seraphina muttered while blinking her eyes with a blank expression on her face.
Last week, she had just finished a crucial project and had returned home when she found a package waiting for her.
Usually, her parents were the only ones who would send her care packages on a regular basis so she had expected something similar this time as well.
However, when she saw that the package was from the Rion family, she became curious to know what could be inside.
The package was big and heavy so she wondered what they could have sent for her.
Her curiosity was soon quelled when she found a beautifully crafted goodies hamper along with an invitation card lying in it.
Upon opening the card, which turned out to be a wedding invitation, she found that the groom was none other than the man she had once called her best friend.
They might have been best friends since childhood, all the way through their college years.
However, when he had started dating his then-girlfriend, who wasn't too fond of her, cracks had begun to form in their friendship.
The distance between them only intensified when Seraphina's family had moved to a different city for their family business.
She too had soon moved to another state altogether for further education and continued to stay there for her job.
Therefore, she was thoroughly surprised that Tobias was aware of where she stayed and had even sent her the wedding invitation to her address.
"Mother must have sent it..." The man explained in a guilty tone as he had, in fact, forgotten to invite his best friend to his wedding.
There was a lot to accomplish in very little time so it was unavoidable that he had missed a few guests from his initial guest list.
Hearing his honest confession that he had actually forgotten to invite her and that it was thanks to his mother that she even heard about his wedding, Seraphina could not help but curl her lips to form a mocking smile.
'And here I was happy that he finally thought of reconnecting...' She scoffed while pushing her unnecessary thoughts aside.
Tobias' guilt further increased when he realized his mistake after seeing the pained smile she tried to conceal yet the curiosity in his heart had not lightened with her earlier response.
"But how did you end up at the altar?" He rephrased his question to get a better understanding of how they had ended up getting married to each other in this bizarre turn of events.
This time it was Seraphina's turn to look guilty as she recalled how she had ended up on that altar with him.
Her troubled and nervous appearance made his brows scrunch up as he anxiously waited to hear her side of the story.