Chapter 5 - “My impossible fiancé, future husband, and everything.”
The following 3 months passed through wedding preparations and the most intense happiness Ayla had known.
Matteo insisted that every detail reflect what he believed she deserved. He hired the best planners, reserved a beautiful Italian church in New York, and personally reviewed arrangements until nothing remained incomplete.
On the wedding day, Ayla stood at the church entrance wearing a custom Louis Vuitton gown that seemed drawn from a fairy tale.
Kitty stood beside her as maid of honor, adjusting the veil for the 3rd time while fighting tears.
“You are breathtaking. Matteo may die when he sees you.”
The doors opened.
Music filled the church.
At the altar, Matteo waited in an immaculate Armani suit. The moment his eyes found Ayla, he looked at her as though every other person and object had ceased to exist.
Any remaining doubt disappeared.
The Cipriani family occupied half of the church. Kitty sat in the front row as Ayla’s chosen family and cried openly throughout the ceremony.
When the vows began, Matteo held Ayla’s hands with steady firmness.
“Ayla Morris, before God and everyone who loves us, I promise to protect you, love you completely, and value you every day for the remainder of my life.”
His voice carried unguarded emotion.
“You rescued me from an existence built only upon power and loneliness. You gave me purpose beyond business and taught me what real love means.”
His eyes remained on hers.
“I belong to you forever.”
Tears moved down Ayla’s face as she answered.
“Matteo Cipriani, I promise to challenge you when necessary, love you without condition, and remain beside you.”
Her voice trembled but did not fail.
“You saved me when I most needed to be seen. You made me feel valuable after years of believing I was inadequate.”
She held his hands more tightly.
“You gave me the courage to become myself. I belong to you completely.”
The priest smiled.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Matteo kissed her with possessive certainty while the church erupted in applause.
At the reception, he led her away from the crowd for a private moment and held her face.
“Do you remember the gala when I called you my wife even though it was untrue?”
“How could I forget?”
She laughed through tears.
“Now it is legally and absolutely true.”
He kissed her forehead.
“You are my wife.”
Then his smile changed.
“As for the people who humiliated you that night, the consequences are complete.”
Ayla regarded him cautiously.
“What did you do?”
“Mabel was dismissed from Laurent Inc. 2 weeks ago. Jean blamed her for losing access to the Cipriani connection and could not withstand the pressure I applied discreetly.”
His expression remained calm.
“Jean was also dismissed after I purchased the company through a subsidiary.”
Ayla stared at him.
“You bought Laurent Inc.”
“Yes. The company now belongs to you.”
He spoke as though discussing an ordinary gift.
“You may manage it, sell it, restructure it, or close it. The decision is entirely yours.”
“You bought my employer for revenge.”
“I purchased it because I promised that nobody would humiliate you without consequence.”
He drew her closer.
“Mabel and Jean will never possess power over you or anyone else inside that company again.”
Ayla kissed him with gratitude, love, and disbelief.
“You are impossible.”
“And perfect?”
She smiled.
“Occasionally.”
“I love you more than language permits.”
He touched his forehead to hers.
“My queen, salvation, and entire life.”
During their 1st dance as husband and wife, Matteo held her close while they moved beneath the attention of the room.
“Do you understand what is different tonight?” he asked near her ear.
“Everyone is staring again, exactly as they did during the gala.”
His arm tightened.
“This time, there is no lie or performance. You are officially and permanently my wife.”
“And you are finally my husband.”
Ayla rested her head against his chest.
“Humiliation led to something neither of us expected.”
Across the floor, Kyle stood beside Kitty, who had become visibly emotional.
Without warning, he knelt in the center of the reception.
Several guests turned.
“Kitty, marry me.”
Her eyes widened.
“Kyle, we have been dating for 3 months.”
“The boss married within weeks. We are made from similar material.”
He held her hand.
“Will you?”
Kitty laughed and shook her head, although affection filled her expression.
“Ask again in 6 months. If you still want it, we will discuss the matter seriously.”
“I will want it forever.”
Kyle stood and kissed her while nearby guests applauded.
Matteo and Ayla watched, laughing.
“Our best friends are as mad as we are,” Matteo said.
“Completely.”
He turned Ayla once more across the floor.
One year later, Ayla lay on the immense sofa inside the penthouse with a hand resting on her rounded, 5-month-pregnant stomach.
Matteo returned from work and immediately knelt beside her.
He placed his hand over hers and kissed her belly with tenderness that remained difficult to reconcile with the dangerous man the outside world knew.
“How are my loves?”
“Good. The baby kicked 3 times today.”
Ayla ran her fingers through his hair.
“What do you expect—a stubborn son like his father or a strong daughter like her mother?”
“Either.”
He rose enough to kiss her mouth softly.
“Thank you for choosing me, loving me, remaining, and giving me this family.”
“Thank you for seeing and protecting me.”
Her voice became emotional.
“Thank you for entering that gala, calling me your wife, and changing everything.”
“The best improvisation of my life.”
He smiled.
“Do you know what happened to Mabel or Jean?”
Ayla shook her head.
“I do not know, and I do not care.”
She touched his face.
“They belong to the past. You are the present and future.”
Elsewhere in the city, inside a small and poorly illuminated apartment that contrasted sharply with the Cipriani penthouse, Mabel Laurent lay on a narrow bed and scrolled through Ayla’s social-media photographs for the 5th time that evening.
The screen showed the wedding, the expensive gown, the penthouse overlooking New York, and Ayla smiling with Matteo’s protective hand resting over her pregnant stomach.
Mabel threw the telephone across the room.
It struck the opposite wall.
She had been unemployed for months. After the account of what she had done to Matteo Cipriani’s wife circulated through professional circles, no marketing company was prepared to hire her.
“I could have been a real friend.”
She spoke to the empty room.
“Now she has everything, and I have nothing except loneliness and consequences.”
The understanding had come too late.
The cruelty that began inside a ballroom had eventually collected its price.
The simple kindness Matteo witnessed inside a café had produced an entirely different return.
Ayla had once entered the Plaza believing she did not belong among people who measured worth through clothing, jewelry, influence, and money.
By the end of that evening, the most powerful man in the room had crossed the ballroom because he remembered her carrying bags for an elderly stranger without expecting anything in return.
He called her his wife before either of them knew what the word would become.
The statement began as protection.
It became a promise.
May you like
Then it became the truth.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.
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