Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 568: At The Altar_Part 2

All attention immediately shifted in his direction, for he stood taller than every other man in that church.

He found himself walking toward where his family was gathered around Red.

The crowd faded away from his senses until only her remained in his vision.

What the hell are you doing? he asked himself.

I’ll be damned if I know, he answered silently.

When he reached where they were all standing, with Elle hugging her mother, his father turned to look at him at the same time as his mother did. They didn’t ask him what he was doing, as if they had already guessed, when he reached out his hand and slowly took Elle’s hand that was holding her mother.

Enny looked at him with tears in her eyes, and he offered her a reassuring smile. Elle turned to him with a look of confusion; her eyes, which he had thought might still be filled with tears of heartbreak, were dry now but her leashes were wet.

She wasn’t that hurt by the marriage not going through, he realized, and told himself he didn’t have to go through with the ridiculous, outrageous idea that had suddenly began to cook in his head, yet Max went through it anyway.

"Come with me," he whispered calmly. Had Red fought him and said she wouldn’t go with him, he would have snapped out of this, but she didn’t. She only moved away from her mother and followed him, her small hand gripped tightly in his large ones.

Instead of pulling her out of the hall, like many had expected he planned to do, Max guided her up to the altar, where the priest looked displeased at their presence so close to him after all he had just heard about the bride.

Max’s expression remained calm even as he looked at the elder priest and announced, "I want you to marry us. Since the original groom was foolish enough to leave behind a sunshine, I don’t mind taking his place. I will marry Arielle Hathaway."

Everyone in the hall was stunned at that announcement, including Elle herself, who had no idea why he had taken her hand, but because she trusted him despite everything he had done to hurt her, she had followed him. He wanted to marry her? Elle turned to look at him in surprised disbelief. He was staring at the priest, his hand still holding hers in a firm but gentle grip.

Was he insane?!

Elle wanted to jerk her hand back and step down from the altar. She didn’t want him marrying her just to fix things again, just like he always did in the past, putting everyone else before himself. She didn’t want to be another burden he took on out of duty or pity.

But then she recalled the words of the guests and the way they had insulted her mother. The memory rooted her to the spot. Her fingers refused to pull away, and she found herself remaining where she was, standing beside him despite everything screaming inside her to get away as she didn’t want to marry him.

She had known something was bound to happen and go wrong today, because her gut instinct had never been wrong before. But she had never believed Eryx would jilt her in such a manner that would cause the biggest scandal ever to befall her family. He had not only ruined her reputation, but also her mother’s and her brother’s.

She didn’t want to hurt or insult her family. She had wanted to be married like every girl her age, to bring respect back to her household, and to learn to fly on her own without her mother. She adored her mother with all her heart, yet she could never bring herself to say that she longed to be free and try new experiences on her own.

Being married would give her the freedom to do as she pleased and to take responsibility for her own choices, even if she fell sick because of them, without burdening her mother. Her mother would blame herself over the smallest thing, even if Elle had nothing more than a cold or a fever, and that was what Elle hated to see the most.

But now, after Eryx had not only betrayed her but ruined her reputation, Elle couldn’t help but feel she had achieved the opposite of what she had hoped for: to bring respect to her family by marrying into a respectable family like the McKays, and to earn her freedom to see the world through her own eyes.

I’m sorry, Mama... Aryen... I didn’t mean for this... Tears rolled down her cheeks as she realized that if she married Angel, it might repair some of the damage a little. Though her mother didn’t care about society, Elle knew people would shun her and refuse to do business with her because of this. She had seen it happen to others before, where people deliberately made someone’s life difficult and even stores owners refusing to sell their goods to someone they consider a disgrace to society.

When Angel turned to her and asked, "Will you be my wife, Red?"

Elle only hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded, more tears of misery spilling down her cheeks as she believed she was actually ruining Angel’s life along with her own, because he was marrying her to save her image and her family’s reputation.

The Dagons were well known and respected, with her marrying him, people would fear to offend them.

Max turned to the priest with a satisfied look and said, "You heard her. She is willing to marry me. Start the ceremony, sir."

Instead of starting the ceremony, the priest crossed himself and made a spitting gesture to the side. "I shall not bless or solemnize a cursed marriage with a woman who has—"

The priest didn’t even complete his words, as Max’s eyes locked with his and he compelled him effortlessly, without changing his expression. "Don’t keep the guests waiting, sir. Start the ceremony."

The priest nodded his head and reached out for the holy book.

Under Max’s compelling, he began to pray. When he finished, he looked at the groom and said, "Say your vows like you have practiced."

Elle belatedly realized that she and Eryx had been given a rehearsal template to study and memorize the vows they were meant to exchange, and she knew Angel had not rehearsed any of this at all. Yet if he felt ignorant or unprepared by what the priest had asked of him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he gave a simple nod of his head and turned to her, his dark eyes settling on her face with a focus that made it feel as though the entire church had faded away.

As he parted his lips to speak, his voice came out calm and unwavering, like a man who had practiced and knew his vows by heart.

"I, Angel Maxwell Dagon, stand here under the eyes of our families and all that is sacred," he said, "and I vow to you, Arielle Hathaway, to be faithful and true. I swear to honor you as my partner, my friend, and my wife. I promise to stand by you in joy and in sorrow, in strength and in weakness, to protect you, to respect you, and to cherish you all the days of my life. And if ever I fail in this vow I make to you today, may the weight of all that is holy bear down upon me, and may I face the full consequences of breaking the trust and loyalty I swear to you before God and all who witness us."

Elle couldn’t help it. Her heart felt as though it could no longer stay contained in her chest as it began to throb violently. He was marrying her to save her from the ruins she had dug herself into by trusting the wrong person, despite her family’s warnings. He didn’t have to look so sincere, didn’t have to bind himself with such terrifying words, didn’t have to curse himself to damnation if he failed her.

She didn’t want to believe he meant every word he spoke, but her heart believed them anyway. Her eyes stung as she realized that he now held the power to hurt her far more deeply than Eryx ever had, if this turned out to be a lie.