"You son of a bitch. I promise you, Alexander Frane, I would make you regret the very first day you laid your eyes on me. I promise you, by the time I'm done with you, you'd spend every second you have alive preferring to actually die than to go another second living with me under the same roof."
Those weren't the typical wedding vows couples exchanged. But those were the exact words running through Lana's mind as she stared at the man standing next to her on the alter.
Her husband-to-be. Her husband.
~THREE WEEKS AGO~
To Lana Sanderson, love was something you fell into. Not because you couldn't help it. But because you wanted to.
To Lana, love was a conscious decision. One that happened simply because you wanted it to. Because it was sometimes needed, sometimes beneficial and sometimes, just because it was the right thing to do.
And she had made that decision the second she laid her eyes on Alexander Frane.
She could still clearly remember when it happened. She was eighteen and alongside her brand new phone for her birthday gift, her parents had another surprise for her- she was betrothed to a certain man named Alexander Frane.
The news came as a surprise to her but the feeling of surprise didn't last long. After all, betrothals weren't anything new to her. Her parents were betrothed to each other and though she never admitted it, she'd secretly had a feeling the tradition was going to end up getting passed on.
It was no big deal. And it was especially easier for her to deal with as she got to know who her future husband was. Twenty-eight years old and extremely successful for his age, Alexander was the dream man of dozens of women. He was rich, handsome and managed to get on her parent's good side. And for someone who didn't particularly have high hopes when it came to love and marriage, Lana easily resigned to her fate and began to anticipate her first year in college, twentieth birthday and unavoidably, marriage to Alexander Frane.
"So tell me, what do you want for your twentieth year birthday gift?"
Lana held back a chuckle and glanced at her friend, Andrew, the two of them immediately sharing a knowing glance. They were both seated on the couch at her place, working on a college project and on getting bored of it a while, that was Andrew's attempt at having them talk about something else.
Lana knew very well what that meant though and Andrew knew she understood what he was getting at. Being her second friend at college alongside Joan that had been her friend ever since high school, he already knew a great deal about her including the fact that she was to get married very soon.
"Honestly, Drew, I have no idea," she laughed. "My birthday's in a week and I can't even think of a single thing I want. All I can think about is the fact that I'm actually going to be getting married."
"It feels so surreal it's actually crazy," he gave her a look she had seen too well she now dreaded. "And where is Jane? She should also be here so we'd be spending your last moments as an unmarried woman together."
"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes then bit her lip, immediately realizing she indeed had no idea where her best friend was. "Now that you mention it, where is she?"
Jane was her best friend just like Andrew but compared to him, they had been best friends for a longer period of time. Meeting for the first time in high school and immediately clicking, their friendship blossomed very quickly, the two of them easily deciding to attend the same college to keep the spark of their friendship forever alive.
"Is it just me or has she seemed a bit distant these past couple days?"
"Maybe," Andrew's smile tried to be reassuring but Lana could sense a bit of undertone. "Maybe she's just dreading the actual day you get married and well get stolen away from her. Permanently. I mean everyone knows how you feel about getting married to Alexander Frane, the love of your life."
"Can you stop?" she tried to frown but only ended up laughing again. "Nothing's going to change after this wedding. My life is going to remain the same."
"And what makes you so certain?"
"I just know," she slammed her laptop shut then rose to her feet. "I can feel it my-"
"Lana!" she was abruptly interrupted by her mother walking into the living room, her phone in her hand. She looked startled, even more startled noticing Andrew's presence. "Oh, Andrew, I didn't know you were there."
"Hey mum," Lana's eyes were fixed on her mother, taking note of her unusual expression. "What's up?"
"I-" She seemed to hesitate but eventually spoke up. "I just spoke to the Franes."
Lana immediately felt her heart hammer in her chest. "And?"
"The wedding- your wedding. It's official. It's in a week. Exactly a week from now."
"Oh," Lana suddenly wasn't so sure about how she felt about the confirmation, her stomach churning first at the confirmation. "Oh, that's…um…great."
Andrew looked up at her, worry in his eyes. She ignored the look in his eyes then returned her gaze to her mother. "So was it Alexander you spoke to?"
"No, his father," she shook her head. "Alexander was-"
"Can I go see him then?"
"What?" the words slipped out of both her mum and Andrew's mouth simultaneously, the two of them immediately exchanging glances. They raised their brows and looked at Lana again, hoping she'd utter any word to have them believe they heard wrong.
But she didn't. Instead, she repeated the words.
"Can I go see him?"
"Today? Tonight? Why?"
"Cause I've wanted to see him for a while now," she pressed her lips together. "But I couldn't cause everything wasn't confirmed yet. But now that the wedding is confirmed now, it's not weird for me to want to see my husband- husband-to-be, is it?"
Her mother looked at her then sighed, nodding slowly as she did. It did make sense. After all, she was finally getting married to him in a week.
"I guess you could then. But this late?"
Lana nodded then spent the next couple of minutes convincing her mother it was only going to be a brief visit and not only was informing her father first unnecessary but also insisting Andrew tagged along. It took a while but they eventually succumbed, Lana bidding her mum a temporary goodbye as she escorted Andrew out and promised to call him the moment she got back.
Finally left alone, she sunk in a deep breath and turned in the direction leading to Alexander's house. Though she had only been there once, she still remembered the path leading to his house just like the palm of her hand. Probably because she had secretly been fantasizing finally living there with him as his wife or simply because she still remembered every single thing that happened that day.
It was her 18th birthday and the very first day they met. His family had decided to hold a dinner to officially introduce the children to each other and every second that passed till she laid her eyes on him passed very slowly, Lana burning with anticipation and curiosity.
They finally met and Lana could immediately say she was impressed. Not like she had a choice anyways- he was going to be her husband regardless so the only thing she could do was be impressed and make a mental note to fall in love with him at the same time.
For the next two years, they didn't meet again. Not even once. The wedding plans were still on but they remained barely in contact. But nevertheless, staying in contact was almost useless as Lara was able to know literally everything going on with him regardless.
His name frequented the news on an average of three times a week. 'Young Billionaire', 'CEO Frane', 'Rich and Handsome', 'Forbes list'- the list was almost impossible to compile. He was everywhere and with every new article, Lana felt her chest swell in pride- he was amazing. He was going to be her husband.
And now she was going to see him again physically for the first time in two years. Her very amazing husband-to-be.
Lana wasn't sure what to expect as she walked through the familiar gates of his mansion, his guards and staffs who already recognized her bowing curtly in respect. She allowed the smile tugging at the corner of her lips settle as she made her way in, pushing the front door to walk into the living room that always felt like triple the size of their own living room.
She wasn't sure what to expect as she called out his name and on getting no response, headed to his bedroom to walk in without bothering to knock.
She wasn't sure what to expect but she sure as hell knew it wasn't to meet her best friend in bed with her very amazing husband-to-be, both half naked, faces filled with shock.