"Divorced!"
Emma Anderson, who was supposed to be called Mrs. Emma Alexander, stared at her now ex-husband.
"Wait, wait, you must be kidding, right?"
"Well, I'm not, Emma," Alexander Darlington replied as he laughed hysterically.
Emma stared at Alex, tears running down her face. A minute ago, she considered herself married and was smiling joyfully when Alexander went over to the signed marriage documents and picked out one for Emma.
"What's this?" she laughed softly, not expecting him to bring out a document.
"Take a look at it first, will you?" he said rather calmly.
Her face turned from joy to sadness as she went over the documents.
"Divorce papers... This must be a joke, right?" Emma smiled, but when she saw the faces of everyone present in the wedding hall, she came to the conclusion that it was all planned out.
"Alex, please don't do this to me. I love you."
"Get out of my sight, you cheating whore!" Alexander roared loud enough for the entire hall to hear.
Another round of laughter and burners followed behind.
Emma stood confounded. What does he mean by cheating? she asked herself.
"Alex, what do you mean? As far as I'm concerned, we got married a few minutes back, and now we're divorced? How in God's name have I cheated?"
"I'm not going to stand here and banter words with a cheat. Out of my way, you bitch!"
Emma didn't notice her best friend approaching her until she touched, and she startled her.
"Janet," she sobbed gently. "Did you hear what Alexander just said? That I'm a cheat and he divorced me without my consent? Tell me, who gets divorced on her wedding day?"
Janet only smiled at Emma, rubbing her cheeks with her slender fingers.
"Wait! Aren't you supposed to be in Los Angeles for a family emergency, Janet? That was why you couldn't make it to my wedding!"
That was when it dawned on Emma that Janet was wearing an outstanding, gorgeous white dress.
Janet let out a chuckle and headed to meet Alexander.
"No... No, this can't be happening. Tell me this is not what it seems like." Emma shook her head in dismissal.
Alexander turned to the priest and said, "Let's proceed. This is my wife," he said, motioning to Janet.
"What the fuck do you mean by that, Alexander?"
"Are you blind, Emma? I don't want you. I just divorced you."
Emma laughed sarcastically at the entertainment Alex offered her.
"Cut... Cut!" Emma said. "Cut the cameras!" she added as she turned to the crowd. "Alright, dear, you got me."
She turned to Janet. "You are a really good actress. Remember you said you were going to give a big surprise on my wedding day, and you pulled it off. Now you can stop."
Janet went close to Emma.
"My dearest friend—no, scratch that—my dearest best friend, Emma, this is no play or drama. This is real."
Alex interrupted the two.
"Alright, Janet, we have a wedding to conclude. My body aches for yours. Let's get this over and done with." Alex smiled as he caressed Janet's face. "Now, if you will excuse us, I will advise you to join the crowd or leave," Alex said as he pushed Emma away from the altar.
"This wedding is not going through—not under my watch!" Emma thundered, bracing herself from the fall.
"Not you or anyone in this world can stop this wedding," Alexander retorted as he drew Janet closely to him.
Emma felt helpless as she scanned through the crowd and found no allies of hers.
Emma stomped through the church, taking the divorce papers with her. She heard the crowd whispering and laughing. She stopped abruptly at the entrance of the church and said, "You all will pay for this. I swear it."
***
Emma walked aimlessly through the streets and found a shade to sit under as the sun was scorching hot. She flipped through the divorce papers and found that Alex had planned the divorce scheme so very well, as he had made false allegations against her.
"Infidelity? Pregnancy? Me?" Emma said, not wanting to believe these were true. "What's all my property doing under his name? This must be a joke."
Emma scanned her surroundings and noticed a guy staring at her. She walked up to him.
"Hello, mister. Can you tell me where I am?"
"Are you lost, miss?" the calm-looking man replied.
A sense of feeling washed over her—a feeling of being called Mrs.—but her best friend and ex-husband had ruined everything.
"Far from that, mister. I don't know where I am."
"Is everything alright, miss?" the young gentleman asked, adjusting his silvery hair while scanning her.
"Do you have an answer to my question?" she retorted impatiently.
Sighs. "You are at Drewview Villa, miss—one of the most dangerous places in this city."
Emma scoffed. "Ha ha ha, thank you for the emphasis," she said. "Now, can you tell me how to get to Town Hall?"
"Are you lost, miss?" he asked again.
"What the hell, mister? If you aren't telling me how to get there, why waste my time?"
Emma drew up her now-muddy wedding dress and clutched the documents in her hands, continuing away from him.
"What an asshole. He knew he couldn't be of any help, and he was interrogating me like an FBI agent," Emma cursed within her.
"What are you looking at?" she yelled as the eyes of strangers met hers.
Emma walked for what seemed like hours, and her feet hurt. She wondered how she was able to walk in her three-inch pencil stilettos. To think this was her wedding present from Janet!
She wished she had gone for a different wedding dress. At least then, she would have been able to tear the gown into a comfortable walking size as she had seen in the movies, but that was clearly impossible with this hundred-layer ball wedding gown.
"Damn you, Janet! I will make sure you pay for this—you and that cursed man!"
Emma was still speaking to herself when a car sped toward her side, almost claiming her legs.
"Get in," the voice commanded in an authoritative tone.
Emma was shocked when she heard the voice.
"Don't let me repeat myself," the voice reminded her.