Page 12 of Neptune

"Cassie," he warns.

"I can't walk down the aisle." I find it hard to breathe, my chest heaving up and down.

" Cassandra !" he snaps, making me halt in an instant.

Slowly, I turn toward him, only to find him boiling. I realize now that he tends to call me by my full first name every time he loses his temper—this is the second time that he’s done that .

He approaches me, his piercing hazel eyes boring into mine.

"Listen to me." His voice softens but is filled with implacable authority. "You will walk down the aisle and meet me at the altar. There's no other way. It's the only way out."

The truth behind his words hits me to the core. He's stating a fact, whether I like it or not.

My lips tremble. "But, I don't think that I can walk in this state," I stutter.

I've never been this nervous before, not even when I performed in one of the biggest concerts in history.

"What if people still think of me as the nation's whore?

Maybe—" I choke, thinking about all those VIP guests, celebrities, and most importantly, countless reporters waiting outside.

Admitting this to Luke makes me feel so fragile. "Maybe they came here to watch a joke."

Luke shoots me a deep and intense stare. He grits his teeth.

"You are going to be my wife, that makes you nowhere near a joke," he states.

Sometimes, I envy him for being so self-centered and confident, like he doesn't give a damn about what people think.

"Besides, the guests will be too busy watching how fucking gorgeous you are that they won't have a goddamn chance to whisper something bad about you." There's humor in his tone, but his expression stays hardened so I don't know whether he's joking or not.

I wipe the tears that almost escape from my eyes. Shit . Now that he said it, why do I suddenly worry about the probability of my watery eyes ruining the mascara?

"That fucking gorgeous?" I scoff.

"Enough to make me want to fuck you in the altar in front of every single soul there," he says. "Do you prefer that instead?"

My eyes widen in disbelief, while a playful smirk touches the corner of his lips. This man...

I almost growl in frustration. How can this man be so calm and indifferent on a day like this?

"And surely, you don't want your ex-boyfriend to watch our wedding crumble just like that," he suddenly states, making me frown.

"It might give him the impression that you're still not happy and probably haven't moved on, after all.

" Noticing the confused look on my face, he adds, "Oh yeah, he's here. "

My jaw drops. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't invite him."

"I did," he says nonchalantly.

And I don't know how to react anymore, because I feel like straddling him on the ground and choking him to death—I can't even count how many times I've wanted to do that since I met him.

"You did not ," I snap, pushing his chest, shaking my head in disbelief. "Why did you invite him?" I shout.

No way. Jude is the last person I want to see on my wedding day. Is Luke crazy? Oh yeah, he is . It's been crystal clear countless times.

"You'll see," he says, his eyes glinting with mischief.

I never thought that the damage on Luke's brain was that bad that he would dare to invite Jude to our wedding. What was he thinking?

How could he do such a thing without telling me first?

No, he did know that I wouldn't invite Jude, and that's why he didn't even tell me in the first place.

And did I just hear that Jude is here, at this wedding?

A knock on the door startles me.

"We're running out of time," Oscar says behind the door. "The guests are already waiting."

Luke's jaw tightens as he looks at the door. He then turns to me again. "As I said, I will wait for you at the altar." His voice is firm.

I scowl, trying to calm my heartbeat. Even though I despise this idea, Luke is right. It would be really bad if I fled now. It would look really sad, especially when my ex-boyfriend will be watching the whole drama.

I grit my teeth and shout to my team, "We're coming. "

I can hear loud sighs of relief from behind the door. It then opens, revealing my three minions.

Luke leans closer to me and whispers in my ear so only the two of us can hear, "You know, if you're that scared to turn that sacred vow into a joke, if you're that scared to lie to God, the priest and the whole world," he pauses, and his tone changes into a playful one, "you can vow with all your heart and mean every word. To love me and cherish me till death."

I look at him, only to find his annoying smirk again. This man is impossible.

"Sorry, but my heart is declining that," I hiss. "I don't even want to kiss you after that vow."

The thought of it makes me want to faint.

Luke scoffs, but then he shoots me one last warning look before walking out of the room. That's when Oscar, Paul and Peter rush to me, ready to give me moral support any time I need.

"I'm sorry for making you all worried," I say, my voice small and filled with sadness.

"Don't worry, Cassie," Oscar says. "You have the right to be nervous after all that happened."

He sighs, and a soft smile touches his lips. He gestures for me to link my arm with his, raising his brows. "Ready?" He's going to help me walk down the aisle.

I nod, and I hear Paul bursting into happy tears.