Chapter 557 - The Match Made In Heaven

Alaric gently wiped his wife's eyes and whispered some words of love into her ears. He did this to ease the tension Aleksis was feeling. A few moments later, she finally nodded and voiced out, "I do..."

Caspar smiled and stroked his daughter's head. "Hereby, with the Heavens and Earth and every element in the universe as witnesses, I officially proclaim you two husband and wife. Let the love between you two, as the bride and groom, be everlasting in the neverending flow of time. May you live forever in endless happiness until death do you part. Now and forever."

"Now and forever!" chorused all the guests to give their blessings, all done to show that the husband and wife were now acknowledged by the whole clan.

Beautiful music rang as Caspar placed his staff on top of Alaric's head, then Aleksis'. Following that, he hugged the two.

"I leave my daughter to you," Caspar said firmly. Alaric nodded. The emotional clan leader continued, "If you make Aleksis cry ..."

"I know, Uncle, if I make Aleksis cry; you, my father, my brother and Aleksis' brothers will kill me," Alaric answered, almost laughingly.

"Don't forget about me," said Aldebar behind Caspar, "I will kill you slowly using my special torture device."

"Father and Uncle, can you stop threatening my husband?" retorted Aleksis, who started to get annoyed.

Her solemn feeling had changed into resentment as she witnessed how Alaric had been repeatedly threatened with death... She knew her family was very reluctant to let her go, but that didn't mean they should continue to threaten him, right? Ugh …

"All right, I was just joking," Aldebar said with a shrug.

"Not me. That wasn't a joke on my part," Caspar shook his head. "I have never joked when it comes to Aleksis' safety and happiness."

"Alright, Uncle, I understand," Alaric answered patiently.

He knew that there were so many men who loved her very much and were ready to defend her. Therefore, he must prove to all of them that he would be a good husband to her. He would prove to them that she wouldn't be treated any lesser than when she was still the only daughter of the Schneider family.

Alaric smiled at his furious wife and tightened his grip of her hand to calm her down, then he looked back to Caspar. "Now, can I kiss my bride?"

Caspar seemed unwilling but finally nodded. Alaric smiled broadly and immediately pulled Aleksis to his chest and hugged her. He lovingly landed a hot kiss on his wife's lips.

Both of them embraced each other and closed their eyes, enjoying the touch of their bodies and the wonderful feeling on their lips. Their synchronized heartbeats sounded like joyful music because finally their marriage was formalized before their families and also recognized by the whole Alchemist clan.

"I love you," Alaric whispered when the kiss ended. "I can't wait to go home with you."

Aleksis nodded softly. "I love you, too."

Alaric pulled her again to his chest and kissed the top of her head several times. Then when the orchestra played a very beautiful piece of music and Billie Yves performed her legendary song, "You Are Enough", he led her into a dance.

They danced together while the guests looked at them in awe. 

The groom and bride were both so beautiful even for the Alchemists' standards.

They looked like a match made in heaven, thought the people as they watched Aleksis and Alaric gazed at each other lovingly, whispering words of affection as if there was no one else around them.

After the bride and groom finished the first dance, the guests also stepped forward and joined in the dancing. Chairs were moved to the side so the space for dancing became more spacious. Caspar invited Finland to dance since he knew Billie Yves was her favorite singer.

Because Jean also really liked Billie's music, he pulled Marion by the hand to follow their steps. Billie was his girlfriend for many years but after they were married, his wife was no longer jealous of her and was able to enjoy her music with Jean.

"Wait a minute, I want to ask a favor first," Marion said to Jean. He approached Altair and whispered something to him. Altair nodded and then walked over to Jean-Marie who was wearing a frown on her face.

"Jean-Marie, do you want to dance with me?" He held out his hand to the girl. On that instant, Jean-Marie's face brightened and she nodded. Both of them followed Jean and Marion to the dance floor while laughing.

Seeing that people started to come down, Lauriel went to the newly wedded couple, asking Aleksis' hand from his son. Alaric was actually reluctant because he did not want to share his wife with anyone, but because Aleksis signaled him to obey his father's wish, he finally retreated and then sat down beside Vega who was watching his mother while holding her puppy.

"Uhm ... Vega, do you want to dance with father?" he asked his little girl. He was aware his children were used to calling Nic as Daddy so he did not want to force them to give him the same endearment.

Vega looked at Alaric for a while before shaking her head. Alaric nodded. He had expected it.

"It is okay." He took a deep breath, trying hard not to show his disappointment.

Alexandra, Shekina, and Lyana came toward the groomsmen and invited them to dance.

"Come on ... don't let these ladies be disappointed," Terry said happily. "Nicolae, you take Alexandra and London, you go with Lyana."

He elbowed Nicolae and London. Without waiting for their replies, he led Shekina to the dance floor.

To not appear impolite, Nicolae forced himself to bend slightly to Alexandra and extended his hand forward. Alexandra accepted it. Then the two of them followed Terry and Shekina on the dance floor.

London smiled at Lyana and extended his hand too. For a moment Lyana seemed mesmerized since the young man's smile made his dimples look very cute. His face also looked exactly like his father's.

"It's my first hearing that Lauriel has two sons," Shekina commented as she matched Terry's steps, who guided her in the dance. "There are so many surprises in the party this time."

Terry nodded, "We just found out yesterday. You won't be able to imagine how surprised we were..."

"Oh really? How come you only found out yesterday? Wasn't the invitation sent last month? About how Aleksis would be married to ..." Shekina suddenly stopped speaking. She looked stunned, turning to Nicolae who was dancing with Alexandra. She then pressed her lips together. "Gosh ..."

Terry frowned, "What's wrong with you?"

"If you just found out that Lauriel has a second child ... it means that ..." Shekina shook her head and looked at Nicolae one more time, "It means... that Aleksis was supposed to get married to Nicolae today ... but because Aleksis reunited with her husband ... who turned out to be Nicolae's brother ...their wedding was canceled…"

Terry was stunned, "Jeez ... why are you so smart? I'm just saying that we only found out yesterday that Lauriel has two children. How did you manage to jump to that conclusion right away?"

Shekina pursed her lips, "I know I am beautiful, but I'm not dumb, okay .."

Terry sighed, "That's true, but please don't gossip about this piece of information. Nicolae, the bride, and the groom have suffered enough already."

Shekina nodded. But she glanced at Nicolae once again, looking sorry for him. What a pity, the groom was left behind the day before the wedding and even had to be his brother's best man...