Chapter 720 - Wedding II

The wedding was small, and they invited only a few people. Some pioneer employees from the Z Image Group attended with the help of Vivian's influence. Meanwhile, only Vivian and Butler Yi came from his side.

Hence, it was safe to say it was truly a small, private wedding, with only the people who held importance to the bride and the groom. 

Zoey gazed down at the bouquet of flowers in her hand. There was a silk curtain before her that would be opened as soon as the wedding march would begin.

Since the guests were just them, they all made their entourage before the bride. From the groom's side and then to Zoey. 

"Nervous?" Zoey snapped back when she heard Zion's voice from her side.

Zoey sported a smile that Zion could see clearly, despite her veil. "Maybe."

"Sis, why? You've technically been married for a year now." From her other side, Ivan questioned.

"Get married, so you'd understand." Zion shrugged as he uttered his opinion.

"Yes! I will definitely!" 

"Don't raise your voice at your big brother." Zion raised a brow. "Your big brother has been very kind enough to let you walk with us."

"Tch! What's this tyranny I'm starting to feel? Big Brother, who? It's just a big bully." Ivan clicked his tongue in annoyance, as Zion had been using that to counter him.

Hearing them bicker made Zoey chuckle. Her nervousness gradually subsided and was replaced with relief.

"Thank you." Amidst their bickering, Zoey expressed as she smiled at Zion and then to Ivan.

The two instantly stopped and stared at her in surprise.

"I never imagined myself walking down the aisle. And if I ever thought about it at one point, I would've thought I'd be walking down the aisle alone. But in reality, I have two brothers wanting to walk me down eagerly." Zoey uttered as she stared ahead with a smile.

"So, I'm glad and thankful that I have such wonderful brothers."

"Gosh… that's not a big deal." Moved and feeling a bit shy, Ivan joked and massaged his nape.

Meanwhile, Zion just smiled and offered his arms. "I'll deal with him later."

Zoey chuckled as she held her bouquet of flowers with one hand and hooked her arms around Zion. After doing so, the two of them turned their heads to Ivan.

"I'll deal with this bully big brother later." Ivan stated, offering his arm as well. Zoey chuckled as she did what she did, passing the bouquet of flowers to her other hand, hooking her other arm around Ivan.

With Ivan and Zion on either of her side, Zoey held the bouquet of flowers with both her hands. Soon, the silk curtain slowly opened as she heard the host announcing the bride's entrance.

As soon as the silk curtain before them slowly slid to the side, a piano and cello played the popular song: a thousand years. The waves sang along to the music in the air as the wind whistled.

Zoey smiled seeing her man standing not so far away.  With each step closer to him, Zoey bit her inner lip as she glanced around.

She just began walking, but Cora, and everyone else started tearing up. Even Vivian had a handkerchief in her hand, elegantly wiping the corner of her eyes.

When she looked ahead, Matthew's usual eyes were teary. He was smiling and crying at the same time. It was contagious.

'Why is everyone crying?' Zoey wondered as she pursed her lips as her eyes also stung with unshed tears. 'It's not a funeral.'

She added just so she wouldn't cry. Zoey felt weirded out by everything, but not in a bad way. It just… felt new.

Zoey believed that weddings weren't necessary. She still believed it until now. However, it was only now she realized why people held such ceremonies.

Walking down the aisle towards the man of her love, surrounded with people she cared about... it felt nice. Zoey felt loved, not just by Matthew, but she felt everyone's love for her.

All her life, Zoey had felt she was alone. But today, it reminded her that there were people out there who loved and wished for her happiness. 

She's never alone. Especially now, she'd never be alone. 

When Zoey reached the stairs towards the small altar, she faced Zion. Her brother also couldn't stop tearing up as he pressed his lips tightly and patted her head. 

After nodding at Zion, Zoey turned and faced Ivan. Unlike Zion who held back from sobbing, Ivan's face was all distorted as he cried.

"All the best." was what Ivan said in between his sniffs. Zoey could not help but let out a short chuckle as she nodded.

The two of them then shifted their attention to the groom as Matthew approached. Matthew offered them a smile, and Zion offered his hand for a handshake.

When Matthew accepted, Zion pulled him as he patted Matthew's back. 

"Please never hurt her." Zion whispered.

"Kill me if I did." Matthew whispered back as they created distance between them. Pleased, Zion squeezed Matthew's hand lightly before letting him go.

After that, Matthew faced Ivan and shook his hand. "I won't just kill you. I'll chop you up limb by limb, gouge your eyes out, and dip you in acid if you take her smile away."

Matthew could not help but chuckle at Ivan's methods. But he smiled and nodded.

"Please do that." Matthew humbled as he nodded reassuringly. Satisfied with Matthew's response, Ivan let the groom's hand go and turned to Zoey.

"Don't ever cook for him, Sis." Ivan muttered as his message to Zoey.

Zoey and Matthew chuckled upon Ivan's message to Zoey. Zion didn't have anything to say anymore as he knew Zoey already knew them. 

Since they walked Zoey together, Ivan and Zion held Zoey's hands along with the bouquet of flowers and handed it to Matthew. The latter darted his eyes from Zion to Ivan and said,

"Thank you."

When Matthew held Zoey's hand and the two walked to their seats, Matthew and Zoey stared at each other. They couldn't hide their smiles and emotions in their eyes as if the world only had the two of them.

"You're such a beautiful purple dinosaur." Matthew humored, making Zoey laugh.

"And you're as dazzling as ever, Browny." Zoey grinned as Matthew guided her hand around his arm and they headed to the altar.

****

EXTRA:

Meanwhile, in a military hospital…

"It's their wedding today." Katherine uttered as she glanced at Kenneth who was sitting on the bed. His back against the headboard.

Kenneth was reading a book and replied without looking away from it. "I sent them my gifts."

"Why didn't you attend?" Katherine asked, aware that Kenneth received an invitation from Matthew as the latter visited Kenneth weeks ago.

Slowly, Kenneth raised his head and set his eyes on Katherine.

"I can't walk yet. Should I travel in a wheelchair?" His voice was laced with sarcasm as Kenneth had been rehabilitating so he could walk again.

Still, even after two years, he couldn't walk just like before. He still had a long way to go for him to recover and he had already told Matthew about it.

However, Katherine's expression didn't seem to buy his reasons. Kenneth could immediately tell her thoughts just by her expression.

"You should go. Why are you even bothering coming here everyday?" Kenneth shifted his attention back on the book Matthew bought for him to read.

"Why are you suddenly being a jerk?" Katherine rolled her eyes as she took out a lollipop from her bag. She then shoved it inside her mouth after unwrapping it.

"Because you're wasting your time here." Kenneth answered in a matter-of-fact tone as he flipped the page of the book.

Not pleased with what she heard, Katherine furrowed her brows. She had been visiting him daily ever since Kenneth's accident two years ago.

Without fail, she visited him because they were good friends. Kenneth was in a coma for about three months before he woke up. But even before he woke up, they already knew that there were little chances that Kenneth could walk again because of the accident.

Now, two years have passed. Kenneth had improved and could walk with support. However, he still needed to rehabilitate. His stay in the hospital until now was his own choice because he just wanted to recover so badly.

"Why do you think it's a waste of time?" Katherine asked in a low tone.

"If it's not, then was it because of pity?" Still not looking at her, Kenneth answered bluntly. "I don't need your sympathy. Your problems in your family might've been resolved, but I don't need to owe you. So, go."

Katherine remained silent but didn't move from her seat. Taking notice of her stubbornness, Kenneth let out a frustrated sigh and he raised his head and cast her a look.

"Don't waste your time --" Before Kenneth could repeat what had already been said, Katherine suddenly shoved the lollipop from her mouth to his.

His eyes instantly went wide, surprised as he didn't expect that. Kenneth blinked his eyes as he watched Katherine lean on the edge of the bed, cupping her jaw as she studied his front.

"Do you remember our first encounter at that party?" Katherine inquired. Kenneth remained silent.

"We immediately clicked and became friends. But did you know  What was my first impression of you?"

Kenneth furrowed his brows, puzzled at what she was suddenly pointing out. Of course he remembered that. Katherine might be crazy sometimes, but she's beautiful and they actually had many things in common. 

It was because they started out as friends. Hence, Kenneth didn't want to see her as a woman because their friendship was just as strong as his friendship with Matthew.

"Back then, I actually thought you're hot and just my type. But you didn't seem interested and Ivan came. When I think about it, maybe I liked Ivan because he reminds me of you at that time. And I fell in love with him because of his character. Sadly, he didn't like me."

Katherine added as she smiled subtly, rendering him speechless.

"Say, since I don't have any official reason for coming here, why don't you give me a reason?" She suggested, raising her brows.

"Ah?"

"Let's do it the Crazy K way. Make me your girlfriend so it only feels natural that your girlfriend comes and visits you. In that case, it's not a waste of time, is it?" 

Katherine added nonchalantly. When Kenneth scrunched his nose up, Katherine frowned and sprung up. Without a second hesitation, she clipped her fingers on the end of the lollipop, pulled it out, bent down with her palm on his side.

"What are you doing?" He asked in bewilderment.

"Let's try if it will feel good." She muttered inched closer, crashing her lips against his.

Katherine closed her eyes upon feeling the softness of his thin lips. Meanwhile, Kenneth's eyes went wide as his entire body froze.

However, not long after, he slowly closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her down to him, as he fought for dominance over her.

They both felt that the kiss was good.