At the wedding venue, some distance away from the Renwick Manor, ripples of disbelief quickly spread through like wildfire.
Although the wedding was supposed to be private, word has a way of quickly traveling, especially when the impossible had just happened before the few selected audience present.
"So the Sebastien heir is not crippled?"
"Could this be a set up?"
"Are Renwick's aware?"
"Did they think they could deceive the Sebastiens?
Many more started to whisper, and suddenly, it doesn't matter that only a few people were originally invited to grace the wedding ceremony.
The weight of the revelation felt too great to be held in. Business associates, family allies, and even the high ranking guests who were in the hall of the event started exchanging funny looks, sending texts and making hushed calls.
Within some minutes, everyone in the Sebastien estate and beyond will come to know the truth.
Back at the Renwick's Manor, Derek Renwick stands frozen, with a poorly concealed panicked face. He had believed, no, he had assured himself that Ciel Sebastien was nothing more than a weak, powerless man.
An easy target for emotional manipulation since he was supposedly disabled. Now he watches as the man he had underestimated stands tall, a commanding force that makes him feel small in his presence.
This can't happen.
He can't allow this marriage to go through, not like this. If Ciel is truly powerful, then the Renwicks have placed their bet on the wrong daughter. If he lets Roxanne marry him now, it will be her in the position of power, and not Reina.
No, he will not allow it.
"Hold on!" Derek steps forward, trying to force a strained chuckle. "I see that there has been some…. misunderstanding. A mere miscommunication. I believe, Mr. Ciel, we can fix this. The arrangement was always meant for…"
"You seem to misunderstand something, Mr.Renwick." Ciel's voice is so smooth, but also as sharp as a blade.
He did not raise it, yet the whole room seems to still be at the weight it carries. His silver eyes looked at Derek, holding him down with a single gaze. "I do not fancy deception."
Derek stiffens. He tries again, bottling up his pride. "Of course, an annulment can be arranged. There is no need to bound yourself to the wrong woman when the intended bride ...."
Ciel's eyes darkened as he heard that. "Wrong woman?"
Derek could not speak any further.
"Do you mean to say my wife is unworthy of me?" He asked as his tone shifted to a dangerous one.
The entire room was still.
Roxanne is standing still behind him, still trying to process everything. The weight of the moment is choking.
She feels like she's been thrown into a battlefield without prior notice, yet here is Ciel, standing tall, protecting her, and claiming her.
Her whole life, she has been nothing but an inconvenience to the family. Always tossed aside, and ridiculed. Yet, here is a man, one of great power, refusing to let anyone cast her aside like filth.
Ciel's fingers touched hers. It was not forced, just there, a silent reminder.
"I will say this just once,' Ciel continues. "This wedding will continue as planned. Roxanne is my wife, and that will not change."
Derek's mouth was agape with surprise, but there is no form of protest he can bring on. Not when Ciel's presence makes the whole room heavy.
"Wait, this is absurd!"
All of them turn to Reina as she finally regains her voice. She had spent the last few minutes frozen in Shock, her mind trying so hard to process the revelation that the man standing in front of her is Ciel Sebastien, the same man she had laughed at, and dismissed.
This was not how she intended for it to go.
She was supposed to be the one standing next to him. She was supposed to be his wife, not Roxanne.
"You can't be serious right now," she said, her voice filled with forced unbelief. "This was a mistake. That…..she was never meant to be your bride! The arrangement was for me! I…."
Ciel barely even looks at her. He flickers his gaze on her for half a second, then walks away as if she is not even worth his time.
That single dismissive act burns worse than an outright rejection.
Reina's face turns red, as her first trembles.
Ciel turns back to Roxanne, extending his hand to her properly now. His expression was unreadable.
"Come with me."
Roxanne hesistes for a second, not out of fear, but out of disbelief. This man, her husband, was choosing to continue with this wedding despite the trouble that had just happened.
She looks at him, trying to see if she could get some answers.
Ciek didn't say anything else, but the look in his eyes seems clear.
"Trust me," he said.
So she places her hand in his.
The moment she does, Ciel leads her out of the room, towards the car that took them to the wedding venue.
The officiant, who had been waiting, quickly scrambles to continue the ceremony.
Just as the vows were about to be exchanged, someone shouted from the hall.
"This is a joke!"
It was Devian, he and the others had also followed to the venue as Ciel left with Roxanne. His humiliation and rage boiled over as he shouts, his voice resounding in the grand hall.
"Roxanne is not worthy of this marriage!" He looks at her with his face twisted in anger. "She is nothing! Just last night, she was sleeping with some random man at a bar!"
Gasps can be heard across the hall.
Roxanne stiffens as her face pales.
Sbe does not dare to look at Ciel.
Devian, sensing a chance, laughs in a mocking manner. "Yes, that's right. Your precious bride was tainted before you even married her. I bet she…"
The words got stuck in Devian's throat because Ciel smirks.
Not in anger, not in disgust, but in total amusement.
He leans a bit towards Roxanne, his voice so low so that only she can hear.
"Should I tell them it was me?"
Her breath catches as he says that.
But before she can react, Ciel turns his head and gives Devian a look. Not a furious one, not outraged. Just a boring one.
"Are you done embarrassing yourself?" He asked in a cool manner.
The hall remains silent.
Devian swallows, realizing the power imbalance between them is something he can not control.
The ceremony proceeded as usual.
With no further interruptions, the officiant moves forward and in a matter of time, the vows were said, the rings were exchanged, and Roxanne is officially bound to Ciel Sebastien as his wife.
From the sidelines, Evelyn's nails dig into her palm, and Reina's lips tremble with anger.
This was supposed to be their victory.
But it is not over yet.
Both of them will make sure Roxanne regrets this.