For the Last Time

Chapter 3

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Perth's POV

I was too shocked to react. I felt like I was outside of my body watching someone else's drama unfold. I felt like I was watching someone else's bride running away from the altar.

Suddenly I felt my father tugging at my arm.

"Son, what are you doing? Why are you just standing there? Do something!"

I was brought back to my senses and was galvanized into action.

I sped down the aisle but by the time I got to the door Amanda's father and uncles were already coming back inside the church shaking their heads angrily.

"We have to contact the police immediately," said one of the uncles.

"No, we cannot waste their time. They will not go after Amanda because she's a willing accomplice and she is an adult and free to make her own choices," said Amanda's father, "we have to track her down ourselves."

Suddenly one of the uncles turned to me, "Did you put her up to this?"

"What???" I could not believe what I was hearing, "why would I do something like that?"

"Well my family side could tell that you are not exactly looking like an excited groom eagerly waiting to get married to Amanda. In fact you just stood there watching her get away."

"That was because I was too shocked at what she did!" I protested.

To be honest I was relieved to see Amanda go but I was not going to admit it to my family, much less to Amanda's family.

It was not my fault that she had opted out of the wedding. Our union was purely for business purposes. Our families had wanted to strengthen their individual businesses by forming a merger after Amanda and I got married.

Unfortunately Amanda already had a boyfriend with whom she had a relationship for the past three years and both she and her boyfriend were madly in love with each other. She had just been coerced by her parents to agree to the wedding.

On my part, I wasn't in any committed relationship like Amanda was but I was in love with someone whom I knew my parents would never approve of because they were strict traditionalists. They were of the idea that a marriage or a union should only be between a man and a woman and not between persons of the same sex.

So Saint (the man whom I love) and I had to be content with seeing each other in secret. We had been seeing each other for close to two years now but it had gotten to a point where I just lost hope and gave up on our secret relationship. I then decided to give in to the pressures of my parents to get married to Amanda.

It had actually entered my mind that Amanda would pull a stunt like this on our wedding day but when it actually happened I was too paralyzed with shock to run after her. I guess my subconscious was actually happy to see her go.

Suddenly the priest started tapping on his microphone.

"Dearly beloved brothers and sisters," he started to say on his microphone,  "I am very sorry about the unfortunate incident that we all witnessed just a few moments ago. Since there is no more reason to continue with the wedding ceremony, I will now take my leave. God bless you all."

With those words the priest clasped his hands together and bowed to the congregation and then walked away from the altar.

Everyone else had no choice but to start filing out of the church one by one.

Amanda's father approached my father.

"Mr. Tanapon," he said in a regretful tone, "I am very sorry about what my daughter did to your son. Rest assured that I will do all I can to trace her and bring her back and then we can all gather to talk again, alright?"

"It's not your fault, Mr. Nawarit," said my father graciously, "but I hope you will be able to find your daughter quickly and then we can all meet up again."

The two men shook hands with each other and parted ways.

I walked with my parents out of the church.

We were still in the parking lot when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I had muted it and set it to vibrate before the start of the wedding ceremony.

I walked a little farther away from my parents to take the call because I saw on my screen that it was Saint's mother calling me.

Saint's mother was a more understanding parent than my own parents were and she did not disapprove of me and Saint seeing each other.

"Perth?" she said as soon as I accepted her call.

"Yes, mom," I called her mom because that was how she wanted me to call her.

"You think you could come over to the Bangkok General Hospital right now? Saint had been sideswiped by a car earlier this morning and was rushed over here. He was doing okay just a while ago but now he is in a delirium and has been calling out your name.

I felt my legs giving way and fell to the ground on my knees.