Stella slowly shifted her gaze toward Weston‘s wedding ring in the box and reached out to take it.
She lowered her head and looked at his hand as she slipped the ring onto his finger.
The next moment, Weston grabbed her hands.
The crowd roared in applause.
Weston lifted her chin and gave her a deep, lingering kiss.
Stella could only yield, with no way of opposing him.
Her hands were still bound by his tie so tightly that it left red marks on her wrists.
She lifted her chin and received his punishing kiss.
Her arms drooped helplessly before her torso , swaying gently between them.
Everyone could see that tie around her wrists clearly, but no one dared to whisper a word about it.
In full view of all the guests, their marriage was solemnized, with Stella as the captured and shackled
bride.
The news spread like wildfire online.
Very soon, their grand wedding had alternative headlines to it.
“Caged Wedding.” “The Shackled Bride.”
The image of Stella and Weston exchanging rings was as if Stella was trapped in a golden cage, locked
up with nowhere to run.
The image was beautiful yet cruel at the same time.
Depraved yet decadent, glorious yet darkly mesmerizing. The diamond –studded wedding gown seemed
entwined by piercing thorns embellished by the bride‘s fresh blood that the naked eye couldn‘t see.
Everything had been finalized and set in stone. They were now man and wife, never to be parted by
anyone else.
Weston released Stella‘s lips and leaned his forehead against hers as he declared hoarsely in her ear,
“This is me branding myself on you. You can only stay by my side your entire life, and I‘ll be your only
man.”
Stella‘s eyes trembled as she stood silent without any resistance.
The ceremony came to a close.
Guinevere was completely drained of all energy and lay slumped on the floor.
She covered her face and sobbed sorrowfully.
She initially tried to control her volume, but her sobs eventually descended into loud, racking wails. Old
Mr. Ford could no longer be bothered about her.
He wasn‘t in a good mood and decided to return to his hotel room, not wanting to see Weston and the
rest of the family for the time being.
The next program was toasting the newly wedded couple.
At the guest aisles, Chris was unable to take it any longer and he stood up. “I‘ll go out and take a look.”
“You‘re going to look for Guinevere, aren‘t you?” Wendy asked grimly. “You‘re giving the toasting
ceremony a miss?”
Chris‘ face was dark.
He had no idea why Wendy had been so volatile and unreasonable as of late.
“It‘s the same with you representing both of us. What‘s more, I‘m just taking a peek and will be back very
soon.”
Moreover, he wasn‘t keen on having Stella as his daughter –in–law.
He didn‘t want to see both of them together and have Stella call him Dad.
He didn‘t want to be Stella‘s dad.
The clueless Zack simply looked in the direction that
Chris left. He jumped in Wendy‘s lap and babbled.
He could walk and even run a little, albeit still shaky and unstable, though following him around simply
made things more challenging.
He was also stronger and more energetic than before, and his caretakers had to tire him out with much
time and effort.
Wendy looked at his face of innocence and reached out to pinch his cheeks with slight force. “You
chubby cheeks... ignorant and blissfully unaware.”
She looked at the scene before her as mixed feelings arose in her heart.
It was an intricate amalgamation of hatred and anger.
...
Fearing that Guinevere might cause further trouble, Ben stayed back to watch over her.
Chris walked over and asked, “What are all of you doing here?”
Ben was slightly taken aback to see Chris arrive. Wasn‘t he supposed to be at the toasting ceremony?
“Mr. Ford arranged for this so that we can keep an eye on Ms. Cohen.”
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