Secretly Mine

I leaned back in my seat, taking a moment to catch my breath. The teasing nearly sent me into an uncontrollable state. But it was Christian's smirk that had really sent me over the edge.

By the time I came back from the clouds, Morgan was already walking down the aisle, led by my father. Both of them had a look of pure excitement instead of anything remotely emotional, like you'd typically find at a wedding.

They were both smiling brightly as if they were about to win a huge prize.

The money kind of prize.

Everyone watched as the two of them walked over to the altar, where Christian was already standing. Except he wasn't looking at Morgan. His eyes were still locked on me.

I felt my heart flutter. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I were the one walking down the aisle right now.

Soon.

Christian had already asked me to be his wife. It was only a matter of time before it would be me walking down the aisle in the white dress. Except I would be there to marry the love of my life, not a giant paycheck in the form of a man.

Morgan finally made it up to the altar just as the music ended. Once she was in place, the priest began officiating the wedding.

He turned to Morgan, smiling softly.

"Do you, Morgan Moresi, take Christian Vittoria to be your lawfully wedded husband—to have and to hold,for better or for worse,for richer or for poorer,in sickness and in health—to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"

There was a slight pause as everyone in the crowd watched her with excitement.

"Yes! I do!" she said loudly, announcing it so loudly that the microphone in the priest's hand peaked slightly.

The priest nodded, then turned to Christian.

"Do you, Christian Vittoria, take Morgan Moresi to be your lawfully wedded wife—to have and to hold,for better or for worse,for richer or for poorer,in sickness and in health—to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"

This time, the entire hall went quiet. Everyone held their breath as they waited for Christian to seal the deal. The atmosphere was so tense that I felt my own heartbeat quicken.

"I do.. NOT!"

Suddenly, gasps filled the hall, and the crowd began to murmur.

"I knew he wouldn't go through with it!" an older woman near me told her husband.

Similar scenes were scattered throughout the wedding hall. Morgan stood at the altar with a dumbfounded expression. She was staring at Christian with a complicated expression.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" my father roared.

He walked up to Christian angrily, grabbing him by the collar. Christian simply flashes him a small smile.

"Sure, I'll explain it to you right now," he said calmly, before turning over to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to come to today's event. If I could have you turn your attention to the screen, there's something I would like to show all of you."

The crowd buzzed with excitement. Everyone was trying to guess what it was that Christian wanted to show that would cause him to pause the wedding ceremony.

My father let go of Christian and took a few steps back, looking up at the large projector screen in front of him. My lips curved into a small smile as I watched the scene unfold.

So it begins.

Christian snapped his fingers, and the slideshow of pictures was quickly replaced with haunting footage. I recognized it immediately as the inside of the Moresi auction house, except it was decorated in a strange way, and there were fewer people than normal.

Most, if not all, of the guests present have attended an event at the auction house at least once in their lives, and immediately recognized it.

"What's this? A special auction event? This is interesting." A guest with a loud voice voiced his opinion in the crowd.

"Maybe another Sophia event?" another person chimed in.

Soon, the entire hall was filled with different theories of what this 'surprise' was all about.

"Please! Quiet down. This is a very important discovery. I don't want any of you to miss what this is all about."

Christian's authoritative voice caused the hall to fall back into silence.

"Now that I have your attention. I wish to show you all what really goes on behind the scenes at the Moresi auction house. See for yourselves where most of their wealth has come from."

"NOOO! TURN IT OFF!" my father screamed as he flailed his arms like a madman. He ran up to the nearest hotel staff member and shook them. "YOU NEED TO TURN THAT OFF THIS INSTANT"

But it was too late.

The footage had already started playing. In the video, the MC announced the second auction. And when a real human was dragged on stage, everyone in the wedding hall gasped in horror.

"HUMANS? They're a human trafficking front?!" the same man with the loud voice cried out.

The next instant, the entire hall erupted into an uproar.

"You're disgusting and deserve to be stoned to death!" an elderly woman pointed her finger at my father. "You Moresis have always flaunted your 'better than everyone' reputation! What do you have to say for yourself now?!"

"Yeah! You're worse than the rest of us! You deserve to rot in prison!" another woman added.

A group of men even got out of their seats and surrounded my father, preventing him from running away.

"No! No! This is all a misunderstanding. None of this has anything to do with me! It must have been set up by my subordinate Karl!" my father shouted, desperately trying to weasel himself out of the situation.

Morgan suddenly snapped out of her trance. She stood frozen at the altar, but at the mention of Karl, she immediately turned her head and looked at me.

"Her! It must have been my sister, Leslie! She's engaged to Karl! They were in on this together!" she shouted, pointing her finger directly at me.