Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 172: Do You Take This Man

"I love you."

Those were magic words. All I needed to do was utter them one last time to find my center.

In less time than it took to walk from the car to the chapel, Alec and I signed the contract that would bind us together for a lifetime, hopefully. In a world where divorce was as common as, well, the common cold, we’d signed up to become a statistic. It was up to us whether we ended up victims of divorce or survivors of a complicated marriage. On the other hand, look at everything we would miss out on if we didn’t give us as a couple a chance.

Looking at Alec and the love he carried for me in his eyes, I knew, without a doubt, he was worth it.

The scary part was over. The rest was for show. I couldn’t believe how much of a relief it was to have a resolution to this one aspect of my life. I was a married woman.

Again.

But this time was different. Alec was different. The ending would be different.

Lizzie handed me a bouquet of roses. The roses were a pale pink that faded to white variety. The scent was intoxicating. It was stronger than most roses. The smell wasn’t overwhelming, but it was a major component of the overall ambiance.

A traditional wedding march played. Alec and I walked down the aisle together. Father DiMarco awaited us like a proud papa.

When we approached, he kissed my cheek. "I’m so proud of you, Teela," Father DiMarco said. "You’ve come a long way from that scared girl sleeping on my doorstep. It takes of a brave soul with an open heart to marry again. And I’m so honored to be a part of your new beginning."

The ceremony was short and heartfelt. The kiss was sweet, soft, and only for me. Alec was only for me from now on.

Alec’s lips had barely left mine when he asked, "Ready for tacos now?"

"No, but I’d love milk tea."

Another quick peck on the lips, and we were saying goodbye to Father DiMarco when Stiff burst into the room.

"You got married without me!" Stiff breathlessly said.

"We didn’t invite anyone," Alec said. "It’s a private ceremony. We’ll hold a formal ceremony soon. You’ll receive the first invitation."

"Second," Father DiMarco pointed out. "You already invited me."

"You aren’t helping," I said to Father DiMarco.

Stiff pointed at Father DiMarco. "You invited him to this wedding."

"That’s different," I said. "He officiated."

"It’s not different. I’m sure a place like this has a clergy to perform ceremonies. I’m hurt."

"Stiff, don’t be this way. It’s Teela’s wedding day," Alec said.

I could tell by Alec’s even, clipped tone that he was working at keeping his cool. I stepped between him and Stiff.

"I’m sorry, Stiff. I didn’t mean to hurt you. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Divorce him."

"It won’t happen," Alec said.

I compromised. "How about you and Father DiMarco join us for dinner?"

"Not good enough," Stiff said.

"Um, you can be my best man at the formal wedding," I said.

Stiff signaled for me to bump up the stakes.

"I’ll trade offices with you. Mine has more light, and it’s bigger."

"No, no. I want you to set me up with Wyla. She’s a knockout."

"You want to date my assistant? Stiff, I’m not a madame. Ask her yourself."

"Do you want forgiveness or not? Work with me here."

I rolled my eyes. Men and their precious pride.

"Fine. I don’t promise anything, but I’ll covertly play matchmaker unless Wyla makes it clear she isn’t interested. Then it’s all on you."

Lizzie stepped forward. "Excuse me, but we have another event scheduled. Might I suggest you resolve this at your dinner?"

"Of course," Alec said.

Stiff said, "I’m not going."

Father DiMarco waved off as well. "You two lovebirds go without us. Stiff and I are in a bowling league. We have a tournament tonight. If we hurry, we can make it to the next round."

"You’re in a bowling league?" I asked Stiff as we walked to the car. I knew Stiff could bowl but never imagined him doing it on a regular basis. He was more the men’s club kind of guy than the beer and pretzel at the bowling alley kind of guy.

"Yeah, well, everyone deserted us, so when the Senior Citizens League needed two more bowlers, I couldn’t say no. Those gray-haired biddies sent this sweet little old lady the size of a Tweety bird, with muffins no less, to ask for our help. By the time she was done with me, I’d agreed to participate and set up a second team for her filled with Crazy Code employees.

"If she’d stayed another fifteen minutes, I would have bought her a bowling alley of her own."

"I would have loved to see that."

"Hey, I’m sorry if my outburst ruined your wedding. I guess I panicked. It felt like I was losing my best friend."

I hugged Stiff’s arm. "You are not losing me. I love you just as much as ever."

Alec put an arm around my waist. "Hey, this is our wedding day. The only person you should be confessing to is me. Stiff, get your own woman."

"I’m working on it," Stiff said as he pulled away and headed toward his car. He waved. "Enjoy your wedding night. Happy marriage. Don’t break my girl’s heart. Blah, blah, blah. Later people."

We saw Father DiMarco off, and then we were alone.

All of a sudden, I felt shy, and the bouquet I still carried was awfully interesting. The roses really were lovely, nestled in baby’s breath. The entire bouquet was bundled in a starched lace doily.

Alec urged me to tip my chin up. "Hey, look at me, baby. Why so quiet?"

I smiled. "No reason. I’m hungry. Let’s eat." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"You sure? You can always talk to me."

I kissed him. "I’m sure."

I drove while Alec lined up dinner. The restaurant was lovely. Totally worthy of the occasion. The food was a significant upgrade from street tacos. The flavors were layered, and each course complemented the next, but the crowning glory was the six-layer petite wedding cake.

The cake was a traditional white cake with floral icing and a bride and groom topper. It was the perfect size for a little girl’s tea party.

"When did you arrange this?"

Alec said, "For you, nothing is impossible."

The staff boxed up the cake topper and top cake layer for us to take home with instructions on how to freeze it until our anniversary. Um, yeah, I wasn’t looking forward to celebrating my anniversary with a year-old cake, no matter the sentiment behind it.

Maybe we could compromise on changing it to a dessert for a one-month anniversary celebration.

"Alec stopped on the way home to purchase the promised bribe for more vigorous sex—milk tea.

"Aw, you remembered."

"I remember vigorous sex is on the table."

I took a sip of the tea and smiled. The tea was good, but the smile was all for Alec and the evening ahead of us.

"I’d offer to take you on a honeymoon," Alec said, "but I suspect you would turn me down until things are settled with King."

"As far as turning down a honeymoon right now, you are right. I can’t go right now, but afterward, I’d love to. Where would you like to go? My treat."

"Dad has a bungalow on a tropical island near Costa Rica. We could relax there for a while."

"Or we could go camping in the mountains. You like the mountains."

Alec scrunched up his nose. "With your fear of snakes? No, not this trip. I want you totally relaxed and focused on me."

"I see how you are—greedy."

Alec nodded. "On my honeymoon, absolutely. You do what you need to do between now and then, but Teela, I won’t tolerate any interruptions—not even an email about work or hacking. In fact, if it won’t send you into withdrawals, I prefer it if we both leave our electronics at home."

"It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought."

"While you were gone, I had a lot of time to think. Much of it was spent reflecting on my behavior, but I still found time to dream about our future."

"How detailed are these plans?"

Alec smiled. "For our honeymoon? Very detailed and thorough. You may need a safe word before we’re done."

"Oh my."

I resented King just a little bit right now for delaying my honeymoon.

"Alec, change of subject here, but I promised King that I’ll need to keep."

"What’s that?"

"Until I get King back on his feet and the criminal behind this fiasco jailed, I’ve promised to have dinner with him every night. It is kind of my punishment for taking too long."

"That is why you had to go to the hospital last night?"

"Only partly, but I wanted to be totally up front with you."

Alec sighed, "Can I come with you?"

"There was no stipulation requiring me to go alone."