The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 53: The Vow

Chapter 53: The Vow

Marlon glanced at Erik and then Aryana. ’Why is she not answering? Is she backing out?’ Marlon was nervous.

Alex looked at Marlon in confusion.

The mayor coughed.

"Do you Aryana Jones take Erik Lee to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish always?" The mayor raised his voice, afraid that the bride did not hear him earlier.

The corners of Aryana’s lips curled upwards.

"I do." She said in a crisp clear voice.

An audible sigh was heard from the four men in the room, the mayor, Marlon, Alex, and Ariel.

Erik relaxed.

The mayor asked for the rings to be exchanged. Marlon passed the ring to Erik.

"Yana, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow to you, and with all that I am and all that I have, I will honor you, take care of you and protect you."

Aryana smiled as she watched Erik slip the ring into her finger. She was a tad disappointed in her heart that Erik had chosen his words carefully.

"Erik, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow to you. I offer you all that I have, all that I am, and all that I will ever be." Aryana slipped the ring on his finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The mayor smiled. "You may now kiss the bride."

Aryana was in a daze. Was that it?

Erik lifted her chin and pressed his lips gently over hers. It was a brief kiss but sweet and gentle.

A marriage certificate was passed to them for their signature. Erik signed first and she signed hers beside his name. Marlon and Alex signed as witnesses.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Lee. I am honored to have solemnized your marriage." The mayor said in a warm voice.

Erik and Aryana thanked him.

"Mayor, I just want to remind you of the confidentiality of what happened today. I hope you can keep this a secret." Erik said sternly.

"I understand Mr. Lee." The mayor responded.

"Bro, if I have not signed on your marriage certificate I can’t believe that you are married." Alex teased Erik.

Erik remained nonchalant and ignored Alex. He took Aryna’s hand and led her to the stairs going up the roof.

Aryana looked at Erik in bewilderment. Erik just smiled at her.

Marlon could tell that Erik was in a good mood. He smiled to himself. Looks like marriage was a good thing for his buddy.

Erik has a villa located at the top of the hill overlooking the bay. It was a two-hour drive from the central district but since they took the helicopter, they reached the place in a matter of minutes. He did not book a restaurant but decided to host lunch there to prevent accidental exposure to his secret marriage.

When they arrived at Blue Bay Villa, Franco was already there waiting for them.

"Dude, congratulations on your marriage. So how did you like my wedding gift?" He was grinning from ear to ear.

Erik regarded him with an amused smile. "Yana, this is my other friend, Franco Seba."

Franco extended his hand to Aryana and she took it and gave him a quick handshake.

"How beautiful. No wonder Erik, bound you to him. Julia really paled in comparison." He lifted Aryana’s hand towards his lips but Erik slapped his hand away.

Franco chuckled. "How possessive."

"Holy shit! Is this Franco?" Alex shouted in disbelief. His eyes were bulging out as he gawked at his phone screen and his fingers kept swiping up. "How did Julia hook up with you? I thought she is dead set on marrying Erik?"

Franco chuckled.

Marlon snickered.

Erik’s face was plastered with a devil’s grin.

Aryana’s eyes widened and she hurried to check her cellphone which was turned off since the marriage ceremony.

"Julia miscalculated. It is as simple as that." Franco answered Alex in a nonchalant manner.

"Hey, let’s eat. I am so hungry as I used all my energy last night." He made insinuations that caused Marlon and Alex to look at him indignantly.

They had a sumptuous lunch. Erik hired famous chefs to specially prepare the food even if it was just a few of them.

Erik sent off the mayor after lunch. They retired to the entertainment room to continue to play billiards.

"Marlon, can you check if the Lopezes will be holding a press conference?" Erik suddenly blurted out.

Marlon checked on his cell phone and looked at Erik with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you know that they will be holding a press conference?" Marlon asked.

"Intuition." was Erik’s short reply.

Aryana was sitting on the couch sipping hot tea. She had a lot to eat for lunch and needed the tea for digestion. Erik sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. Aryana looked at him shyly.

"The privilege that comes with marriage," Erik whispered to her.

’Is he flirting with me?’ Aryana blushed.

"Let’s put off the game for a while. The press conference will start in ten minutes." Marlon said as he turned on the television before exiting the room. He came back with two bottles of wine. A maid was following behind him with five wine glasses.

"I’m excited to hear what Julia will say." Franco studied the wine in his glass before swirling it and finishing it in one gulp.

Erik felt his cell phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket and saw it was Julia calling him.

"Someone is calling you," Aryana said softly but frowned when she saw the caller ID.

Erik declined the call. He checked his messenger and saw that he had countless messages from the Lopezes, from his father and even his stepmother.

He smirked. His arm slid down to Aryana’s waist and he pulled her a little closer to him. Aryana turned to him and smiled shyly.

"Aren’t you scared, Franco? The Lopez family after all is influential. You screwed their only daughter." Alex looked at Franco who seemed unperturbed. "I also wonder why such a big scandal happened when Erik got married." He threw a meaningful gaze at Erik.