Among the wedding guests were Ivan's family members and the couple's friends, including Xavier, Yates, Hayden and his wife.
After Curtis and the others were finally seated, the ceremony began. The small church was packed full of people.
Ivan stood next to the priest, waiting for his bride.
Standing at the far end of the red carpet, Debbie held onto Carlos' arm. She was clad in a beautiful white wedding gown, with lace at the top, highlighted with pearls studding the upper part. Her waist was belted by a fine silk sash, on which were sewn fine flowers of satin and silk. She was truly stunning.
Pausing there at the entrance of the church, Carlos and Debbie looked like a match made in heaven, almost as if it were those two who were to be married today.
Ivan watched as Debbie approached him on Carlos' arm.
When she finally stood in front of Ivan, Carlos held her soft hand and was about to hand it to Ivan.
Suddenly, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks under the white veil. His heart skipped a beat and he held her hand even tighter.
He couldn't bear to give this woman to another man.
When the priest repeated his request, it brought him back to reality. Carlos took a deep breath and gently guided her hand to Ivan's. "Be nice to her," he said.
He put his right hand in his pocket then, so no one could see it ball into a fist.
Ivan gave Carlos a gentle smile and answered, "I will."
People watched as Carlos turned around.
"Carlos!" Debbie called out his name, choking back tears, her voice hoarse from a broken heart.
He wanted to turn around, to run to her, hold her tight and never let her go, but decided against it. After all, it was her wedding. Without stopping, he walked off the stage.
Debbie felt her eyes tingling and could hardly help shedding tears. They flowed freely down her face now, staining her veil and her lovely dress. How she wished he would turn around and take her away!
But he didn't.
He didn't even slow his pace, much less take her away.
The priest began, "Ivan Wen, do you take Debbie Nian to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?"
Ivan answered without hesitation, "I do!"
The priest turned to Debbie. "Debbie Nian, do you take Ivan Wen for your lawfully wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"
Unlike Ivan, Debbie hesitated.
She turned her head to look at the man sitting close to the stage. The man who had given her hand to Ivan's.
Her big eyes were filled with expectation, yet he gave no response. He sat there, stony faced, watching the ceremony. She despaired and stammered, "I—"
Before she could finish, there was some kind of commotion outside the church.
Several policemen threw open the church doors and rushed in. "Excuse me. Which one of you is Miss Debbie Nian?" one of them asked.
People started gossiping among themselves, and the tiny church was filled with the voices of the wedding guests. Carlos frowned and wondered what was going on.
Debbie soon stopped crying, staring at the policemen. She had a bad feeling about this.
She threw back her veil, wiped her tears, and answered, "That's me."
The policeman showed her his badge and stated, "I'm from the Y City Municipal Public Security Bureau. We have some evidence connecting you with a homicide. Please come with us."
The church was in an uproar, now, thanks to his outrageous statement.
Ivan stood before Debbie and retorted, "How? Who was murdered?"
"We found Miss Megan Lan's body in the suburbs four days ago. Witnesses said that Miss Debbie Nian had gotten into a fight with her. I'm sorry, but Miss Debbie Nian has to come with us."
The color drained from Debbie's face when she heard the policeman describing everything. He wasn't wrong, and circumstantial evidence might doom her before this ever went to trial. 'Megan is dead?' She couldn't believe her ears.
Carlos' face darkened. He called Megan, but it went straight to voicemail. Her phone was off.
He then called Wesley, but his assistant answered it. "Colonel Li is conducting infantry drills. He'll be back tonight."
Carlos called Frankie and asked, "Is Megan dead?"
Frankie was shocked as well. "I hadn't heard. I'll look into it now."
The policemen led Debbie away. Since she went peacefully, they forewent the handcuffs.
A bride was taken away by police at her wedding—that usually happened in TV shows, bad ones. In real life, it was unthinkable.
Before she was led away, Ivan coaxed her, "Don't worry. I'll try to bail you out as soon as possible."
Debbie nodded. When she walked past Carlos, he was on the phone. They stared at each other, but neither of them spoke.
Outside the church, she looked down at her wedding dress and smiled bitterly. 'I might be the first woman taken to the station in this sort of attire, ' she thought.
The policemen intended to ferry Debbie back to Y City. If it weren't for Ivan pulling strings and demanding a change of clothes, she would have to wear the wedding dress all the way back.
Ivan had planned to ask Xavier to bail Debbie out first. But by the time he and the others arrived at the police station, Debbie was already on a red-eye flight, bound for Y City.
As a result, Carlos, Curtis and the others did the same, intending to get her out of whatever she'd gotten tangled up in.
Carlos was the invisible ruler of his home city, and he could have his men look into this.
At Wen family's residence
After making sure Piggy was asleep, Elsie left the bedroom and closed the door quietly.
Then she called Ivan and confronted him angrily. "Ivan, tell me the truth. Do you really love Debbie?"
Ivan had just disembarked. Stretching his sore muscles and rubbing his aching temples, he answered, "Mom, what are you talking about? Of course I love her. Why would I marry her if I didn't?"
"Then why does she still talk to her ex?" When she saw Debbie's ex-husband giving her away, Elsie was both dumbfounded and angry. She grew suspicious of their relationship.
"Come on, Mom. You know Debbie's family. Her dad's dead and her mom's missing. So I asked Mr. Huo to give her away. It's no big deal." Ivan made sure he sounded as calm as possible.
Elsie frowned and said, "I love Piggy a lot. But I don't like Debbie staying in touch with Mr. Huo. Tell her to stop talking to him."
"Got it, Mom. I promise. We're headed to the police station. I have to go. Bye."
Elsie had to hang up.
She sighed helplessly. Logan, Elsie's husband, patted her shoulder and coaxed her, "We know Debbie. She might be divorced, but she's no cheater. She's no murderer, either. Ivan will fix this. He's good at that."
Elsie didn't respond.
She was too busy regretting how hard she pushed Ivan into getting married. Now he was forced into a marriage he might not have wanted, because of her prodding.
In Y City
The police had brought Debbie to an interrogation room. Several detectives observed the scene behind a two-way mirror.
"Where were you at approximately 8 p.m. four days ago? And who can prove it?"
"Four days ago... I was at home. My daughter can prove it. I was with her the whole time."
"Your daughter is only two years old. She can't act as a witness on your behalf.
Anyone else?"