"You may now kiss the bride!"
Those words brought another round of applause from the congregation yet the protagonists of the day stood frozen in place.
Neither Tobias nor Seraphina had any intention of moving forward after the priest had spoken as they were too stunned to even blink.
'How could I forget!?' The bride's eyes widened in shock since she had forgotten about this crucial part of the ceremony.
It wasn't necessary that the bride and groom kiss at the end of the wedding ceremony and they could have opted out of this step if they had informed the priest ahead of time.
After all, not all couples choose to have the kissing step in their ceremony due to various reasons, which the priest would be more than happy to accomodate for them.
However, the wedding ceremony had begun in such a haste that neither of them had the time to think about this part of the ceremony.
Therefore, right now, both the bride and the groom stood frozen, unsure of what to do next.
When the bride raised her head to look at the groom, just as she had expected, she found him staring back at her with a complicated look in his blue eyes.
She looked like a deer in headlights, whereas he looked like he had swallowed a fly.
"Don't be shy, Darlings!" The voice of an older lady, the groom's grandmother, snapped them out of their troubled reverie.
Tobias and Seraphina turned in the direction of the voice and found an older woman with a pale face looking in their direction.
Her face might have been pale but the warmth in her eyes as she shot them the widest smile she could until her eyes crinkled, made the two youngsters unable to take their eyes off of her.
Watching her smile at him, a wave of guilt washed over Tobias but he forced himself to smile and wave at the old woman who was seated on the first bench next to his mother.
It wasn't just his grandmother but a few other relatives sitting in the audience who shouted out words of encouragement when they thought that he was being shy at the altar, unable to kiss his bride because of their presence.
However, only he knew that what he felt right now wasn't what they were assuming in the least.
It wasn't that he was shy, instead, the delay was solely because he was unwilling to kiss his bride and seal the vows since that act would prove that he had married this woman in the sight of God and this entire congregation.
Doing so would imply that his vows were final and he could no longer change his mind in the future.
What he did not realize was that Tobias had just called Seraphina 'his bride' despite the obvious unwillingness in his heart.
Sensing his discomfort and reluctance, Seraphina clenched her fists and took a deep breath in as she resolved what she had to do.
Before Tobias could come up with a plan to skip this part of the ceremony, he felt a soft yet clammy palm rest on his cheek.
His eyes shifted to the woman before him and he froze when he saw her step on her toes just as she pulled his face closer to reach her level.
There was a seven-inch height difference between the two of them but thanks to her heels, this difference was reduced, though not substantially.
Therefore, she had to pull him down towards her as she could not reach him despite standing on her toes.
Being pulled so close to her face, Tobias knew what was about to happen yet hoped to somehow avoid this act.
Just as her face drew closer to the point where there was no distance between them, he saw her lips finally part.
'Leave it to me...' She mouthed those words as she cupped his cheeks with both hands to steady his head in place.
He wanted to lean away but her strength made it impossible to move even an inch away from her.
'When did she become this strong!' He panicked and shut his eyes when he realized that there was nothing he could do to avoid this kiss.
However, just as he was lamenting his fate, he felt a feather-light touch exactly at the corner of his lips.
He felt soft lips land right next to his but they made no contact with each other.
Before he could understand what had just happened, those lips moved away from him and he slowly reopened his eyes.
His fists unclenched when he realized what had just taken place and stared at his new bride with surprise evident in his eyes.
'She kissed... my cheek? He was perplexed as he recalled that she had kissed the spot right next to his lips, on his cheek.
The proud look on her face as she now shot him a wide smile caused him to burst into a chuckle.
This time, it was Seraphina's turn to be surprised as this was his first genuine smile since she had seen him today.
Before she got the chance to react, the crowd broke into loud applause as they cheered for the new bride and groom.
The groom's mother and grandmother rushed towards them and gave the two a tight hug.
Being squeezed by the ladies, Tobias realized that they had not noticed that he and Seraphina had not truly kissed.
As he shot a curious glance at his bride, the priest invited the newly wedded couple along with their witnesses to sign the marriage registration certificate to make their union official.
Tobias followed the priest in a daze with his new bride by his side.
His family also appeared at the table where the legal documentation was kept ready for them.
After the wedding ceremony in the chapel, the next part was to sign these legal documents which would make their marriage a complete union both in the sights of God and the country.
Tobias had been most excited for this part as once the documents were signed, they could register their marriage in the court which would legitimize their marriage in all of its senses.
However, now looking down at the beautiful document, the groom held the pen handed to him but made no movement to sign it.
After all, next to his name on this official document was the name of the woman whom he had planned to marry today in the presence of God and these witnesses.
***{This is to Certify that TOBIAS HENRY RION and SELENE COSTA were lawfully MARRIED***}
This statement, printed on the document in a beautiful font, forced him to come back to his senses as he stared at the name of the woman who was supposed to be his bride.
If everything had gone according to his plans then the woman standing next to him on this altar today would have been his girlfriend of more than five years, Selene Costa.
Instead, he was standing with Seraphina Melody, his childhood best friend, whom he had not seen for a few years now.
Noticing his attention on the paper but not making any movement to sign it, the priest stepped forward and only then realized the mismatch in names.
The changes in the wedding ceremony had happened last minute and he had not been given enough time to have the bride's name changed on the document.
Therefore, the priest held a guilty conscience as he shot a concerned glance at the bride who was also staring at the marriage certificate she was supposed to sign.
"I'll have it changed right away!" He announced and hurriedly signalled his assistant to replace the document.
However, before the assistant could step forward, the bride waved him off.
"There isn't a need for that." Seraphina smiled at the priest, reassuring him that she was fine before signing her name in the space provided for the bride's signature.
The name and signature did not match but she did not think anything was wrong with what she had done as she stepped aside to let the groom sign next.
Seeing Seraphina's stylish signature under Selene's name, Tobias felt his conscience prick but pushed his thoughts aside when he noticed his grandmother waiting for them at a short distance away.
This time, without hesitation, he signed his name right next to hers and stepped aside for their witnesses to do the same.