Xeria's P.O.V

"You look as handsome as always, Potato," I compliment him, dressing him up in his tux.

After getting discharged from the hospital, Khaos reluctantly let me come here without him, but what's next has to be done. And finally, today is the day of the ceremony.

Quentin's family is already here with us, and Bertil's family is staying somewhere else but is here in the city. I'm really looking forward, but I'm also not looking forward. I'm excited for Willie and also for Quentin, but quite on the edge for Khaos.

"Woof!"

Potato jumps excitedly. Well, surprisingly, he and Aunt Nora are friends now; something worked out between them.

"Young madam, go and get ready," Aunt Nora orders me, and I take Potato out of my room with her.

I look at my dress. It's a simple lavender satin gown with spaghetti straps, straight out of my mom's recommendation. Dressing up quickly, I go downstairs to check on the preparations.

"All ready?" Quentin asks me as I step downstairs. He's wearing a mint suit; he looks good in anything he wears, and I think that today he's dressed up for someone as well.

"Ok then, let's wait for the others; they will be here shortly. I will go and check on Willie," he says, walking away.

Well, I got ready quickly so that I could be here for Khaos when he comes. After waiting for ten minutes, I see Potato jumping around happily as he is accompanying Khaos inside.

Khaos looks at me, and a smile spreads on his face. It's the same smile he gave when I walked towards him for our photoshoot-the same smile when I walked towards him down the aisle. It hasn't changed.

Well, guess what?

It was genuine all this time. And he's also dressed in his usual comfort color, like the gray suit he's wearing.

"Beautiful," he compliments me as he stands in front of me.

"Handsome, and let's go; mom and dad are waiting." I smile, and he extends his hand out for me. Taking his hand, we go to meet mom and dad.

"Lea, are you going to wear a wig?" Dad holds up two wigs and shows them to Mom.

"If only you wear one," Mom counters, and dad smiles.

"You two are still not ready?" I ask them, and they both shrug their shoulders in unison.

"Ok then, let's change today; I will wear a blonde wig, and Lea can wear a black one," Dad says with a proud smile.

"Oh right, I will look exactly like Xeria; it will be fun," she says, taking the black hair wig.

Well, mom and dad have been trying on different wigs and outfits, claiming that this is the best opportunity to try new looks. They are trying to create a light and happy environment, and I'm also happy for them.

"Ok, all done," Dad announces, checking himself in the mirror.

"Ok, gather around children," Mom instructs us, and me, Khaos, and Potato join the two of them.

Dad goes and sets up the camera; I stand by dad's side, and Khaos stands by mom's side with Potato at the center.

"Smile!" mom and dad say in unison as we click our family pictures.

"Oh, they turned out great," Dad says, checking the camera.

"The guests are here," Aunt Nora announces, and we all move out of the room.

The greetings start as soon as Bertil's family arrives inside. Bertil looks good in his sage tux.

My eyes wander to Ms. Alice, who looks like a mirror image of Bertil. Well, there's no escape; everyone is greeting, and so should me and Khaos.

Willie joins Bertil, and they both engage the other siblings, leaving the elders, Khaos, and me alone with them.

"Let's go, Beryl," Khaos says, with his same plain expression. Well, considering that he only smiles around me, it's not bad.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Sebastian." I greet him, and he gives me a charming smile. He looks so young for his age.

"You have grown up, Xeria," he replies, extending his hand out for me, which I accept respectfully.

"You're doing well too, Khaos," he adds, giving him a firm handshake. We both move towards Ms. Alice, who's talking with Aunt Tatiana.

"The beautiful couple is here, Alice." Aunt Tatiana smiles as she introduces us to her.

Ms. Alice clearly hesitates but smiles before anyone can pick on her hesitation.

"Congratulations; they are indeed a beautiful couple," she smiles, and Khaos nods before he walks away.

Aunt Tatiana follows after him after hinting for me to stay here with Ms. Alice.

"Bertil looks a lot like you," I comment, and she gestures for me to take a seat with her on the small round table.

"Yes, he does; he's very dear to me; that's why I'm here," she says, picking up a wine glass from the table.

"I owe you an apology," she says, taking a sip from her glass.

"Me?" I ask her, and she nods.

"Because of my decision, the proposal of you marrying Khaos came in your way, and somewhere I did the same to you as my parents did to me," she answers, elegantly putting her glass on the table.

"Please don't be so presumptuous; there's nothing similar in this, no matter how you try to put it," tilting my head, I answer her; she's annoying.

"The situations were similar, but this time the person is different," she chuckles.

"You are different. Khaos is different. Khaos is nothing like Aiden; though he looks so much like him, he respects and loves you, and the same goes for you. We were both miserable together, and having a child under those circumstances wasn't a good decision either," she adds, as her gaze fixes on Khaos, who is standing at a distance listening to my dad.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I ask her, frowning.

"Because I'm scared to talk to him because I'm a coward and because I'm a selfish person," she replies, her eyes glistening and turning red.

"At least you're self-aware," I mutter, and Khoas begins to walk towards us.

"Mother," Khaos says, taking a seat beside me, and I look at him. I'm in between, and with both of them by my side, only one seat remains, and just in time, I see the shocked expression on Ms. Alice's face.

"I didn't expect you to use this word," she says, in complete shock.

"Yes, because my grandfather raised me better than this, he always taught me to respect you, and so I'm, with my words," Khaos answers, intertwining his fingers with mine under the table.

"I'm glad that you didn't turn like me," she says, as a tear drops from her eye.

I keep my other hand on hers, trying to console her because she can't cry and grab everyone else's attention.

"Where's he?" Khaos asks out of the blue.

"He lives on a secluded island he owns," she replies.

Okay, where is this conversation heading?

"I didn't expect you to take an interest in our lives," she says, exhaling.

"There's a difference between a three-year-old boy and a twenty-seven-year-old man, and I'm not interested; I should at least know about your whereabouts. I see that your kids love you, so I don't want them to know about your glorious past, and I'm happy with where I'm now, and the only reason I'm being nice here is that because of you, I'm here with the woman I love, so thank you for that," Khaos finishes his part of the conversation as he stands up, and so do I.

"Your, welcome, son," Ms. Alice replies with a smile, and we both leave her alone, walking away from her.

We walk out in the garden, and Khaos halts in his tracks, letting go of my hand.

"Good job," I say, hugging him and patting his back.

"Hmm," Khaos nods, breaking the hug and kissing me.