"Do you, Tobias Henry Rion, take Seraphina Melody to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
This question loomed in the silent chapel, with eager eyes and hopeful smiles being focused on the man standing at the altar.
As the groom, Tobias had everyone's attention on him, as they awaited his response.
However, the man himself was lost in thought, with a melancholic glint in his deep blue eyes.
'Why did it turn out like this....?' He could not help the sigh that escaped his lips as the entire congregation waited for him to speak up.
His eyes glanced at the first bench where his mother sat next to his grandmother, holding hands as they gazed at him with love evident in their eyes.
The man standing behind him, his best man, had a taut expression, unsure of how he should react.
After all, his best man wasn't the only one feeling this way, he too held similar opinions about what was happening right at this moment.
The day that he had been dreaming about for weeks was finally here but the joy and excitement from the past were no longer found within him.
Today, he should have been happy that he was marrying the love of his life, which under normal circumstances should have been a joyful occasion.
However, fate had other plans for him today as instead of joy, dread filled his heart along with a hint of annoyance at what he was about to do.
"Ahem..." The priest officiating the wedding ceremony cleared his throat when he noticed that the groom seemed distracted.
Rather than responding to his question, the young man appeared to be lost in his thoughts as his eyes scanned the chapel.
Never in his thirty years of experience as a priest had he witnessed such an event while officiating a wedding.
At the same time, however, when he thought of the unconventional circumstances of this particular wedding, he could only push down his thoughts and be patient with this groom.
Noticing the priest's eyes on him, Tobias came back to his senses and finally turned his attention to the woman standing on the altar with him.
Dressed in an ill-fitted pearly white gown that was barely hanging on her body, the woman with minimal makeup and soft pink lips had a troubled expression on her face, which displayed her anxiety and nervousness.
Her gaze flitted towards his mother's seat, who in turn gave her a reassuring nod with a warm smile.
For some reason, this silent exchange between the two women pricked his eyes, especially when he thought of how he had ended up on this altar with this woman.
Feeling his stern eyes, the woman, his best friend for many years, turned to look up at him and pressed her lips together, something she often did whenever she was in a tough situation but could not speak up.
If it had been in the past, he would have asked what was bothering her, but right now, he knew exactly what was wrong.
After all, he too felt the same way as he stood before her at this altar, before a priest who was officiating their wedding with the whole congregation waiting for his response.
He clenched his fists and forced himself to calm his tensed nerves before finally parting his lips.
"I do..." He struggled to get those two little words out of his mouth and heard collective sighs of relief coming from numerous members of the audience who had held their breaths until now.
The priest was the first to snap out of his thoughts and hurriedly turned towards the bride with an animated smile on his face as the ceremony could now move forward after the groom had finished his vows.
"Do you, Seraphina Melody, take Tobias Henry Rion to be your lawfully wedded husband?" He posed a similar question to the young woman next, awaiting her response.
The woman named Seraphina once again glanced at the mother of the groom from the corner of her eye and pressed her lips together with great force.
The flower bouquet in her hands was gripped with such strength that the stems had been bent out of shape by now.
However, unlike the groom, the bride was quick to look away from the older woman and face the man standing before her on this altar.
"I do..." She replied, matching the hesitant tone of her groom as she finally peered into his blue eyes.
Worried that something would make this reluctant pair change their minds at this point in the ceremony, the priest rushed to the next part of the wedding.
His old heart could no longer take the unwilling expressions on both of their faces so he chose to focus his attention on the crowd watching them from their seats.
"What God has joined, let no one separate." He continued his preaching, not knowing that the bride and the groom both had stiffened their backs the moment these words were uttered.
Unaware, he turned to them and instructed the two to hold hands as he began preaching the next part of the ceremony.
By now, the groom, Tobias, had resigned himself to his fate and decided to loosen up the tensed muscles in his body as he slowly stretched out his hand towards his best friend of many years.
Surprised at his sudden willingness to participate, the Priest was overjoyed whereas Seraphina hesitated for just a second before she placed her hand in his.
Holding that cold and sweaty palm, Tobias felt no disgust but somehow had a look of helplessness and understanding as he observed her nervous appearance.
While the two were lost in their thoughts, the ring bearer brought the rings forward which the priest blessed before signaling to the bride and groom.
Tobias picked up the beautiful platinum love band which he had personally selected in the past and found his frown returning to his face.
Ignorant of the thoughts running through his head, the bride picked up a similar-looking platinum ring.
Following the priest's instructions, the groom first placed the ring on her finger which was too big for her liking before she slid the other ring around his finger, which fit him perfectly.
As she gazed at the big ring that looked like it could slide off of her finger at the slightest movement she made, Seraphina felt her throat tighten.
'Just like the rings, we are not a good fit for each other...' This thought popped into her mind the moment they had exchanged the rings.
"In the sight of God and these witness, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest's loud and exuberant voice brought her back to the present.
Jubilant applause resounded in the chapel as everyone began clapping for the newly married couple.
Before she could process the overwhelming emotions filling her mind, she heard the old man speaking up once again.
"You may now kiss the bride!" The old priest announced as he shot the groom a cheeky smile.