Web Of Secrets

Chapter 2: The Chairman of the Wedding: A Hidden Truth

Vincent still remembered the first time Maria mentioned her wedding to him. They had been sitting across from each other in his office, the faint hum of the city buzzing through the open window. Her casual announcement, "I'm getting married," had landed like a bombshell.

For a moment, he thought she was joking, her tone too light, her expression too playful. But the spark of determination in her eyes told him otherwise. Maria, ever the master of surprises, was serious.

He had laughed, a sound laced with disbelief and tension. "And what, Maria, do you expect me to say to that?"

She shrugged, leaning back in her chair with the ease of someone in complete control of the conversation. "I don’t expect anything from you, Vincent. I’m just telling you."

"Who's the lucky man?" he asked, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Daniel," she said simply. "You’d like him. He’s... steady."

"Steady," Vincent repeated, the word tasting bitter on his tongue. "Sounds thrilling."

Maria’s gaze sharpened, her playful demeanor giving way to something colder. "Not everything has to be thrilling. Sometimes steady is what people need."

There it was—the underlying message she didn’t need to say aloud. Vincent, for all his passion and intensity, had never been steady. He had been a storm in her life, and she had decided it was time to seek calmer waters.

When Maria asked him to be the chairman of her wedding, Vincent had almost refused outright. The audacity of it—the sheer gall of asking the man you’d been secretly involved with for years to play such a public role in your wedding—was mind-boggling.

But Maria, as always, had a way of bending him to her will. "It’s symbolic," she had said, her tone laced with challenge. "A sign that we’ve moved on, that we’re mature enough to leave the past behind."

He had agreed, though not out of maturity or closure. A part of him had wanted to see her one last time in her radiant, unspoken defiance, to confirm whether she truly meant to shut the door on what they had shared.

The wedding day was surreal. As chairman, Vincent was tasked with overseeing everything—the seating arrangements, the speeches, the flow of the evening. It was a position of honor, one typically reserved for a close family member or a cherished mentor.

He wore his role like armor, a polished smile masking the storm raging inside him. He greeted guests, shook hands with Daniel’s parents, and gave a speech that drew polite applause.

All the while, his eyes kept drifting back to Maria.

She was breathtaking, her wedding dress hugging her figure perfectly, her veil trailing behind her like a cloud. But it wasn’t her beauty that held Vincent captive; it was the way she carried herself, the subtle tension in her posture, the flicker of something unreadable in her eyes.

As she walked down the aisle, her arm linked with her father’s, Vincent felt a pang of something he couldn’t quite name. Regret? Longing? Resentment?

Maria didn’t look at him during the ceremony; her gaze fixed firmly on Daniel. But Vincent couldn’t stop looking at her, memorizing every detail of the moment he would replay in his mind for years to come.

The reception was a blur of laughter and music, champagne glasses clinking as guests toasted to love and happiness. Vincent moved through the crowd, his smile fixed, his role as chairman requiring him to mingle and charm.

He spoke with Daniel, who was as affable as ever, his enthusiasm for his new wife evident in every word.

"Maria’s an incredible woman," Daniel said, his tone warm. "I’m lucky to have her."

Vincent nodded, swallowing the words he wanted to say. You don’t even know half of it.

Later, during the toast, Vincent found himself at the microphone, the room quiet as everyone turned their attention to him.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing on Maria. She sat beside Daniel, her smile radiant but distant.

"Marriage," Vincent began, his voice steady despite the knot in his chest, "is a partnership built on trust, respect, and love. It’s about finding someone who sees you for who you are—your strengths, your flaws—and chooses to stand by your side anyway."

His words hung in the air, heavier than he had intended. For a moment, Maria’s smile faltered, her eyes meeting his in a fleeting moment of understanding.

"To Maria and Daniel," Vincent continued, raising his glass. "May your life together be filled with joy, adventure, and the kind of love that grows stronger with each passing day."

The room erupted into applause, the sound drowning out the pounding of his heart.