Page 119 of Mermaid on Heels

Oh Ced…Liriya shook her head with a gentle laugh.Yes.

He grinned. “If Faelina has no trouble walking in her heels, she’ll be at the altar within approximately three minutes. Otherwise, it might take five; the room is drastically long. IfIever get wed and it happens in the same hall, I’d meet my bride halfway down the aisle and whisk her away to the altar.” He paused and added with a wink, “Mypointis, we’re only five minutes away from victory.”

Liriya patted his arm appreciatively with a beam and stepped back, drawing his attention to her parents and the others who stood in the background.

Aeira made the introductions.

Cedric already knew Bianca, Kitty, and Gezer, and Aeira had told him about Liriya’s parents too. However, learning that Luke’s maternal uncle and one of his sons were here shocked him.

“And here I was enjoying my title as Luke’s one andonlycousin,” he muttered under his breath amusedly, after composing himself from the shock.

But of course, mer-ears didn’t miss that.

“I am not here to steal your place Lord Cedric, I promise,” Crown Prince Mars, who was around Liriya’s age, answered with a laugh.

“Oh, I’m one-hundred percent confident about that.” Cedric smirked. He threw a wink at Liriya before checking the time on his pocket watch. “It’s time. Faelina is supposedly at the altar now.”

Liriya’s heart restarted its drumming.Let us go!

Chapter 26

Apiano melody filled the air, resounding through the closed double-doors of the ceremony hall guarded by two men either side.

Liriya fixed her gaze on the massive doors as she neared it, her strides purposeful. Her nervousness and hesitancy subsided, turning into an enormous fury of determination and valor. She had taken off her cloak, but she wore her mask—the element of surprise should be delivered at a precise time.

“Excuse me, my lady, you can’t be—”

“Yes shecanand shewill,” Cedric said firmly from behind, at the guards who blocked her at the door. “Now, move out of the way and let the princess pass if you want to be counted as saviors of the day.”

“B-but—”

“I hate it when I sound like this but—I saidmove!” Cedric commanded, glaring at the guards, his words sharper than a sword.

The guards recoiled at his unexpected command and moved out of the way.

“Are you ready?” Luke’s voice fell in Liriya’s strained ears. Though asked to her duplicate at the altar beyond the doors, it made her heart pick up its rate.

“As ready as I shall ever be,” her stolen voice answered.

Liriya stepped forward with her blood boiling and pushed the heavy doors open.

Her dramatic entrance was met with several gasps. Every guest that sat on the benches lining either side of the room turned in astonishment as she marched forward, and so did the groom and bride at the altar.

Liriya heard the guards hurrying towards her from all corners. She stopped in her tracks and tore the mask from her face, eyes fixed on the beloved face of her lover she had been longing to see for the long, past week.

Luke froze, and she heard his breath catch.

He was breathtaking, standing tall and very still, wearing a white wedding suit with blue embroidery that matched the embroidery of Liriya’s own gown. A gleaming golden crown sat on his head, and around his waist, he wore a sword.

In that split second, their last moment together came rushing back to Liriya’s mind. His last words replayed in her ears.

I love you more than anything that has ever existed in my life.

She wanted to return his words, now more than ever after that fateful night Faelina had appeared at her door as Aeira and crushed her plans.

Liriya’s emotions spiraled tenfold.

He was staring at her unblinkingly. She stared back, telling herself that she mustn’t cry.

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