Everyone started gossiping among themselves.
The priest had never handled such a situation but cleared his throat and said, "Love may be late, but it's worth the wait. Let's welcome the bride once more!"
Once again, the music echoed through the halls, but when that ended, Cecilia was still nowhere to be found.
Both parents of the families were panicking at this point, ordering their employees to investigate this matter. All of the guests were making their own assumptions as well, and the entire event fell into a state of chaos.
Joanna couldn't help her urge to nudge Ace with her elbow, whispering." Hey, is this your doing? Did you hide her somewhere?"
Ace's expression darkened, his voice frosty. "Mind your tongue if you'd like it to stay intact."
Joanna gulped and instantly shut up. 'Well, was I wrong? Why did he have to be so mad?! Petty b*stard!'
Ethan was panicking the most out of everyone, rushing up the stage and calming the guests down as much as he could.
No need to panic, everyone! Our Chris and Cecy are no doubt each other's true love, so this is definitely some kind of surprise to their wedding!
"Please just wait a little longer!" He said.
Ethan had been crushing on Cecilia for years, and he was the standard simp for her at this point. He worked hard throughout the entire day, just so the wedding could go smoothly.
He just hoped that his muse could marry a good man, and enjoy a happy marriage for the rest of her life.
This sudden situation caught him rather off guard and left him feeling quite uneasy.
Compared to Ethan, Christopher, who was expected to panic most, looked rather calm as the groom. He stood there emotionless as if this incident had nothing to do with him.
"This is bad! Miss Cecelia is gone! We could only find her wedding gown in the waiting room!" Someone came delivering the news after a short while.
"Gone?" Ethan grabbed the person by the collar, angrily shouting. "Don't spread lies! Cecy is the bride here! How could she have gone missing? And she would never take her wedding dress off for no reason!"
"It's true! If you don't believe me, just go to the waiting room and see for yourself!"
Ethan then turned to look at Christopher, visibly anxious. "Chris, what are you doing just standing there? This must be a test from Cecy. Let's go look for her together!"
However, the groom seemed uninterested. "These tests have gone on for an entire day. I'm sure she's chosen her answer, and I won't force her to do anything she doesn't like."
"Oh man, what are you even saying? She chose you! You've been together for so long! You've been through so much already, so don't just give up at the very last second!"
Christopher still didn't intend to get a move on. Instead, he seemed rather optimistic as he consoled Ethan. "Calm down. She's an adult. She knows how to take care of herself."
Hearing this, Ethan found himself speechless.
Christopher then turned to the guests, who were still gossiping amongst each other. "As you can see, it seems that the bride changed her mind about the wedding and chose to leave. I deeply apologize for having wasted your time, so let's treat this as a simple gathering hosted by my family! Please do enjoy yourselves!"
"These youngsters are still too immature. We are truly sorry, everyone." Christopher's parents maintained a humble demeanor as they bowed toward the guests, despite feeling absolutely ridiculed in this situation.
With this, the chaotic mess soon subsided.
Suddenly, someone stood up from the crowd, announcing. "The bride didn't leave on her own! Someone else is behind this!"
The guests gasped in shock as they looked toward the person who was speaking. It was Ruby, the woman who had managed to win the best actress award last year.
At the time, Ruby was sitting right next to Lucy, which meant that she was sitting in the same row as Ace and Joanna.
She kept a low profile the whole time, silently sitting next to them without causing a ruckus. Hence, she was able to watch as the two interacted with each other.
From an outsider's perspective, Ace and Joanna acted as if they were sworn enemies. However, Ruby's sharp observation skills allowed to notice the special relationship between them, which made their banter seem rather flirtatious.
She was consumed by jealousy, which strengthened her determination to take Joanna down.
Ethan quickly dashed towards Ruby, asking hurriedly, "What the hell are you saying? Do you know where the bride is?"
"I don't exactly, but I can make a wild guess as to who is responsible for her disappearance…."
She then used her best acting skills, glancing at Joanna nervously, pretending as if she had something she couldn't say out loud.
Despite this, it was clear that she was trying to accuse Joanna, which made everyone turn to look at the woman.
Joanna was initially part of the crowd, so she was confused when the spotlight was turned upon her instead, "What? Why are you all looking at me? I don't know anything about this!"
Ruby replied, "Stop acting, Miss Pierce. I've already taken a few photos of your conflict with Miss Cecelia earlier…"
Upon receiving this new information, the entire hall broke out in a heated discussion.
Ethan, visibly agitated, further questioned Ruby. "Show us the proof, then! We can afford to waste time! If something were to happen to our bride, we might still have time to save her!"
He also thought to himself, 'I knew that my gut was right! Cecy only disappeared because she was in trouble all along…'
Joanna was furious, especially after she was accused of such a heavy crime out of nowhere.
However, she remained calm and said, "That's right, show us the proof. But I'm warning you, if your so- called proof isn't enough to show that I am responsible for this, or if your words have the intent to defame me, I will take legal action against you, and make sure you pay for what you said."
Ruby's eyes were now wavering with slight fear. She hadn't expected a divorcee to behave in such an aggressive manner.
'Looks like Lucy was right… she is a tough one.'
'But I've been in the industry for as long as I can remember! I didn't receive the title of best actress for nothing!'
Ruby then showed her phone, revealing the photos to everyone in the hall." When I was passing by the waiting room, I noticed Miss Pierce in an argument with Miss Cecelia."
' Miss Pierce was trying to snatch a necklace from Miss Cecelia, to which she refused to hand over! So the two ended up fighting."
"Miss Pierce even went as far as to push Miss Cecelia to the ground, swearing that she wouldn't allow her to go through with the wedding…"
In an instant, everyone cussed profanities at Joanna, pointing at the image in Ruby's phone.
"This b*tch! How cruel must she be to have to fight a bride on her wedding day?!"
"Is it because she got f*cking ditched? Is that why she can't bear seeing others happy? She must be evil!"
Even Ethan started angrily questioning her. "Did you say something to Cecy to have made her so angry that she ran off?!"
Facing the endless amounts of insults, Joanna calmly explained herself. "I did meet with Miss Cecelia just now, but we weren't arguing. She was the one who forced me to take the necklace. She wouldn't let me refuse, and that's how the photo came to be."
"Besides, I have absolutely no clue as to where she is now."
The guests seemed doubtful about her explanation. Sensing opportunity, Lucy decided to fuel the fire. "Stop pretending like you're an innocent bystander, Pierce. Everyone knows just how heartless you can be."
"You didn't even let go of Alice, who was pregnant! How could you possibly resist letting go of my cousin's first love?"
"You definitely knew how my cousin couldn't move on from Cecy. That's why you took this chance to take revenge on her!" Lucy smiled.
"Cecy and Ace really did love each other then. It's a commonly known fact! So why would she ever give you such an important necklace?
Besides, how are we supposed to just brush off the fact that there's a photo of you pushing her to the ground?"