Page 2 of Tales of Obsession Epilogue
Levi scoffed. “Haven’t you heard the rumors about Piya? A widow of only five months holding such a grand wedding is considered obnoxious and tacky.”
I wound my fist again. Levi was really asking for it today. “What will be tacky is the bloody nose you’ll have to explain for the rest of the night.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t kill the messenger. Those weren’t my words. These are things people in our circle are saying, your guests included.”
I let my hand drop to my side. Again, too many witnesses. “Fuck the guests.”
“Yes, exactly. Fuck the guests. That’s the attitude Piya has adopted over the last few weeks. She doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion other than yours and Poppy’s. She is having an over-the-top wedding because you insisted on it, with six hundred guests she doesn’t care about, wearing a ridiculously overpriced dress you chose. She agreed to all of it despite the ridicule she faced for it. Does that seem like a woman who’ll run away from you?”
Well, damn. The spiel shut me up and put a stop to my impatience. I didn’t spare any expenses on this lavish wedding because we had waited fifteen years for this moment. What were a few more minutes?
My new positive attitude lasted about five minutes. The remaining guests filed in, the event planners finally doing their jobs. I was at the altar with Levi by my side. The pretentious music had started, but there was no wedding party in sight.
“Where the fuck is Poppy?” I hissed at Levi. We couldn’t start the ceremony until Poppy walked down the aisle, followed by Jordan, and finally, Piya.
“Relax. Your daughter will turn up.” Under his breath, he added, “I’m almost positive.”
“Don’t call her that out loud,” I warned in a low voice, giving a cursory glance to our audience. The walls had ears. Poppy’s life would crumble if anyone found out she was biologically my daughter. Jay Ambani raised her, and I had left the matter at that. I didn’t know how to be a good father, but despite what she thought of me, I wouldn’t ruin her chances of following in Ambani’s footsteps. It was her dream.
Levi slipped his phone in his pocket. “Poppy was spotted on the premises. Don’t worry, she’ll be your bride’s perfect little maid of honor tonight. You explained to her what was at stake, right?”
I pressed my palm against my sternum, trying to ease the constriction there. “Yes.”
I probably shouldn’t have blackmailed Poppy into being Piya’s maid of honor; it was hardly the way to start a healthy father-daughter relationship. However, she was vehemently against this union, and I had to do something to tip the scales in my favor. Poppy was my only child, and we had already missed all the important days in each other’s lives. Sue me for wanting our daughter to stand at the altar with us and watch us get married.
It was a calculated risk. Poppy would eventually realize that I was a better match for her mother than Jay Ambani, and then she would regret not being a part of today’s ceremony.
Clearly, that realization hadn’t struck yet. Poppy walked down the aisle, looking like she was sucking on a lemon. The black dress she wore only played up her disappointment in having to attend our wedding.
My eyes darted from face to face as I waited for her to reach the altar. From this vantage point, I saw a silhouette somewhat lost in the sea of perfumed bodies and designer suits.
“What’shedoing here?” I nodded at Damon Maxwell seated at the back.
“Jordan brought him along as her plus-one,” Levi replied.
Interesting.
Jordan, my public relations representative and Piya’s best friend, was also a part of the wedding party. Her fiancé was a Maxwell, too, and flat-out refused to set foot in an event associated with the Ambanis, although Piya was no longer one. The Maxwells hated the Ambanis. It seemed Jordan had chosen a different Maxwell for her plus-one. Damon was known to be even-tempered, so I understood her decision to bring him instead. What I didn’t understand was his reasons for wanting to be here. As far as I knew, he had no vested interest in anyone at this wedding. My eyes followed his to find him watching my daughter. Before I could march to his seat and punch him in the face, I was presented with the same problem as before.
Witnesses.
Just as I considered keeping an eagle eye on the boy from now on, his gaze flicked to mine. He looked between Poppy and me, as if trying to figure something out. Did he see the resemblance? Fuck.
Perhaps I was making too much out of innocent glances. Poppy was walking down the aisle, and I was the groom. Who else was he supposed to look at? Everyone else was also looking at us.
Levi was right. I needed to relax instead of imagining things.
My fingers drummed anxiously against my thigh as Jordan walked down the aisle and exchanged a polite nod with me. The music changed, the guests rose to their feet, and the makeshift entrance opened wide. Still, no Piya.
Just as I was about to march out there, the most beautiful fucking thing I had ever seen walked through the tent entrance. Piya seemed almost shy as she took her first step, her head bowed. Meanwhile, I fought the urge to rush to her just to confirm this miracle was happening in real time.
The white gown clung to her figure, the train of the dress dragging behind her like she was royalty. Her chocolate-brown hair was in loose waves, reaching down to her back. Her lace veil was bejeweled, making her hair glisten under the light. I knew she would wear at least one item that sparkled, but when I saw her glittery shoes, I couldn’t help my sly smile.
She was a real-life princess, and I would spend the rest of our lives treating her like one.
When her eyes landed on mine, our disapproving guests and disgruntled daughter faded into the background. Time suspended itself like the first time those brown eyes had found mine at a different wedding. She had belonged to me since that moment, though our reunion had taken many years.
That was all I could think about as she walked down the aisle, blinking back tears. As the ceremony unfolded and we exchanged vows, both of us remembered a very different ceremony we shared at a nearby beach. She felt my erection against her when I kissed her to ‘seal the deal.’ My libido wasn’t tampered down by six hundred guests or the cold weather.
