The Gondola the Don Made for Me Chapter 08

The Gondola the Don Made for Me Chapter 08

Sophia chattered on beside him. “What a lovely wedding. I’m so jealous…”

Before she could finish, the band on the river struck up the wedding march. The priest’s booming voice cut through the crowd.

“Bring the bride and groom aboard!”

The bride stepped onto the groom’s gondola.

“Lift the veil. The ceremony is complete!”

Cheers and applause erupted from both riverbanks. White flower petals swirled through the air on the breeze.

The wind lifted the bride’s veil once more. Then Liam reached up and slowly, gently pulled it fully away.

A face bright, beautiful and painfully familiar came into Julian’s sight.

It was Vera.

It was really her.

Everything went blank in Julian’s mind. All the noise, cheers and commotion around him vanished. The world fell utterly silent. His eyes fixed solely on the woman in the white wedding gown.

Sophia gasped in shock. “Julian—that’s Vera! Why is she marrying someone else?”

Julian stared rigidly at the newlyweds. This couldn’t be happening. He lurched forward, desperate to rush toward the boat, only to be stopped by guards from the Blackwood family.

“Sir, please remain on the shore and watch the ceremony.”

Julian’s eyes blazed red. He shouted toward the center of the canal.

“That’s my girlfriend! Liam, how dare you? Vera, have you lost your mind? How could you marry another man?”

Sophia grabbed hold of him from behind. “Julian, calm down!”

He roughly shrugged her off and prepared to shout again, until a sharp voice halted him. “Julian.”

He turned to face Vera’s mother.

“Are you here to cause trouble?”

Julian clung to this last thread of hope and hurried over. “Mrs. Blackwood, what is going on? Why is Vera here as a bride? We were supposed to get our marriage documents tomorrow!”

Mrs. Blackwood let out a mocking laugh and glanced pointedly at Sophia. “Mr. Romano, are you joking? Isn’t this young lady your girlfriend? What marriage license could you possibly be getting with my daughter?”

Julian’s face drained of color. His voice softened, laced with unspoken guilt. “That’s not it, Mrs. Blackwood. I only ever saw Sophia like a younger sister. Vera and I have seven years together. We agreed we’d get married tomorrow.”

Mrs. Blackwood laughed outright. “You finally realize you’ve wasted seven years of my daughter’s life? Let me ask you this—if you planned to marry her, where is your wedding gondola? From what I hear, you already gave your first boat to this so-called sister of yours.”

A thin layer of sweat broke out across Julian’s forehead. He tried to explain. “It was just a birthday favor for her. I was already building a new boat for Vera. I truly intended to marry her.”

The smile faded from Mrs. Blackwood’s face, her tone turning cold with anger. “Enough, Julian. In Water City, no respectable man builds a second wedding gondola. How many times has Vera hinted to you about this over seven years? And what has she gotten in return?”

Julian stumbled back a step, speechless.

“I… I…”