Chapter 28
"Alegria's running a little bit late.." Phil said to Bruno.
"Yeah.." Bruno said. He was nervous too. He saw Janelle looking at him. He smiled.
"Don't be nervous." Janelle mouthed the words as she put her thumbs up.
Bruno nodded and looked at the church door. 'She still isn't here..'
"Bro, don't worry. I'm pretty sure she won't runaway." Phil said as he patted Bruno's shoulder.
"I know.. I'm just worried.." Bruno said as he wiped his sweat off with his handkerchief.
"No bro, you're nervous." Phil grinned at Bruno.
Bruno looked at Phil as he smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, the wedding participants swooned and looked at the church door.
"Bro.." Phil pointed to the church door.
It was Alegria, she was getting out of the car. Her grandmother handed her the bridal bouquet and kissed her grandmother. Then she went to sit with Calyx. Alegria's grandfather stood beside her and Alegria smiled. "This is it, grandpa. Let's do this." She said as she took his grandfather's arm and started to walk down the aisle.
As she slowly walked, she heard a guitar strum and she saw Uncle Johnny. He was the wedding singer. He smiled to Alegria and he started singing.
"Kung tayo’y matanda na, Sana’y di tayo magbago. At kailan ma’y, nasaan ma’y Ito ang pangarap ko.
Makuha mo pa kayang Ako’y hagkan at yakapin.. Oohh.. Hanggang pagtanda natin? Nagtatanong lang sa `yo, Ako pa kaya’y ibigin mo, Kung maputi na ang buhok ko?"
Alegria then smiled at Uncle Johnny. 'This song..Bruno remembered.' Her eyes started to turn red, but she tried to stop her tears. She doesn't wanna cry and mess her make-up. She sighed and smiled. Uncle Johnny continued to sing.
"Pagdating ng araw, Ang `yong buhok Ay puputi na rin. Sabay tayong mangangarap Ng nakaraan sa `tin.
Ang nakalipas ay ibabalik natin.. Oohh Ipapaalala ko sa `yo.. Ang aking pangako Na ang pag-ibig ko’y laging sa ‘yo, Kahit maputi na ang buhok ko.."
Alegria started to look around. She saw Gabby, and she smiled at him. He grinned and winked. Then she noticed she was the only one who's wearing white. She got curious. "Oji-chan, why is everyone wearing black?" She spoke in nihongo.
"Bruno requested this. He wanted you to be the only one wearing white so you would stand out." Alegria's grandfather smiled.
"Really?" Alegria said. She was touched. She never knew Bruno could be this sweet. 'So this is why Daniella and Rose didn't wanna show me their dresses..' She said to herself. She looked at Bruno and smiled.
Bruno just stared at her blankly. He was mesmerized by Alegria.
"Man.. She's beautiful!" Phil said.
Bruno didn't reply. He just kept on staring at Alegria as they walked nearer. They stopped and Alegria's grandfather looked at Bruno and patted his shoulder.
"You make my grand daughter cry even just a single tear, and I'll go throw a grenade at you." Alegria's grandfather said.
"Don't worry grandpa, I'll catch a grenade for your precious grand daughter." Bruno grinned.
Alegria chuckled and Alegria's grandfather shook Bruno's hand and hugged him. Alegria's grandfather then stood beside Alegria as Bruno took Alegria's hand and they stood infront of the priest. The priest then started the wedding with an opening prayer. He continued with the First Reading, and some Gospel Readings and more.
Then Bruno and Alegria started to exchange their vows.
Bruno faced Alegria, took her right hand and smiled. "I, Bruno--" Bruno and Alegria looked at each other. Alegria then tried to stop her laugh. They heard the wedding participants laugh, and Bruno grinned at Alegria and continued. "I, Peter Gene Hernandez, take you Alegria Marie Erickson to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live." Bruno took the ring from the priest and put it in Alegria's ring finger. "This ring, as a symbol of our love and marriage, will serve as our chain that will bind us together. I will be your sun, and you will be my moon, together, we will help to give light and guidance to the stars as they go on to their journey in the skies." Bruno grinned at Alegria.
Alegria looked into Bruno's eyes and smiled. "I, Alegria Marie Erickson, take you, Peter Gene Hernandez, to be my husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live." Alegria took the other ring from the priest and put it in Bruno's ring finger. "This ring, as a symbol of our marriage, will not only bind us forever, but will serve as the fortitude of our marriage. I, as your moon, will help the stars, our children, on their journey. I will give them light, as you have given me yours." Alegria smiled at Bruno.
Then they started to light the Unity Candles and they started the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Communion Rite, and lastly, to the Concluding Rite. The priest stated a solemn blessing. "You may now kiss the bride." The priest smiled.
Bruno and Alegria smiled at each other and put the foreheads against each other and looked into each other's eyes. "I love you, forever. I would try my best not to make you cry and to make you happy, always. I love you, my beautiful moon." Bruno said.
"I love you too.. I will extend my patience and understanding. I want you to know that you can trust me, and I have given my whole trust to you. I won't ever leave you again, I promise." Alegria smiled at Bruno.
Bruno then grabbed Alegria's waist kissed Alegria passionately. Alegria wrapped her arms around Bruno's neck and kissed Bruno back.
The crowd applauded, and they both pulled away. The priest then dismissed the assembly and Bruno and Alegria walked down the aisle.
Alegria stood infront of the car and looked at the sky. "It's now sunset. We kissed each other on sunset and we were pronounced husband and wife at sunset." Alegria smiled at Bruno.
"Everything went according to plan." Bruno said as she opened the car door for Alegria. Erveryone applauded as they went inside their wedding car and then everyone proceeded to the reception.
The reception's theme was black and gold. The place was dark, but it was romantically lit by gold lights. The tables had white flowers in the middle, and they were emphasized with gold lights. The black ceiling had gold lights all over, which looked like stars. The place was beautiful.
"Wow..." Alegria said as she looked around.
"I chose this place." Bruno grinned at Alegria.
"What? Hey, that's not fair! You get to decide about things, while I was at home, sitting idly, feeling like a complete idiot because I don't know about anything in this wedding." Alegria said. She looked upset.
"But I wanted to surprise you. We all wanted to surprise you. I'm sorry.." Bruno said. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Alegria.
Alegria couldn't resist those beautiful brown puppy-like eyes. She sighed and smiled. "Oh well. I liked everything that you guys planned, so I guess I'll just have to forgive you."
"You can't resist my cuteness, eh?" Bruno said as he smiled.
The wedding participants started to arrive, Bruno then grabbed Alegria's waist as he led her to their table. Alegria looked at the ceiling as she sat down. "Wow.. The gold lights look like stars!"
Bruno grinned and sat beside her. He pointed a light to Alegria. "See that one? That's gonna be Arthur, out first son. And that one over there, that one's gonna be Caryl."
Alegria laughed. "I like that." Alegria said, smiling at Bruno.
"What?" Bruno grinned.
"Caryl. I like it." Alegria said.
"Well then.. We'd name our first daughter Caryl. But our first child would be a boy, so Caryl has to wait." Bruno said.
"Hmm.. Caleb. I like Caleb. Caleb, if it's a boy. And Caryl if it's a girl. How about that?" Alegria looked at Bruno.
"Caleb and Caryl sounds nice. Hmm.. I'm your king and you're my queen, so our children will be prince and princesses. Prince Caleb and Princess Caryl. How about that?" Bruno grinned at Alegria.
"That's great! I like that!" Alegria's eyes sparkled. "We're gonna kick the Royal Family out of the palace." Alegria said, smiling at Bruno.
Bruno grinned and rubbed his nose against Alegria's. "I love you, Queen Alegria Marie Hernandez." Bruno said as he looked into Alegria's eyes.
"And I love you too, Peter Gene Hernandez, King of Bokingham Palace." Alegria said in a British accent as she grinned at Bruno.
Bruno laughed. "I was being serious just now, but you cracked me up." Bruno said as he stroked Alegria's hair. "So, you think we should be the King and Queen for a day and speak in British accents?" Bruno said, he was already speaking in British accent.
Alegria laughed. "Your British accent sounds funny." Alegria said as she pinched Bruno's cheeks.
"And I sound sexy, right?" Bruno said as he gave Alegria a seductive look.
Alegria just chuckled as he looked at Bruno. She sighed. This is going to be one of the happiest days in her entire life.
"What? What's wrong?" Bruno asked, curious.
"No, nothing.. I'm just.. Happy." Alegria said, smiling at Bruno.
Bruno smiled and kissed Alegria's lips.
Phil suddenly grabbed the mic and talked. "Okay, mic test, 1, 2, 3.. Alright. We'd like to cut the newly wed's sweetness right there for a bit, cause we're gonna show you a short film about the couple's love story. And we are also going to show you some rare baby pics, high school pics, name it. It's all in this film." Phil grinned.
"What the.. Oh no.." Alegria shook her head. "Oh my God.." Alegria said. She doesn't want everyone to see what she looked like in high school.
Bruno chuckled. "It's okay. You're still cute even with braces." Bruno pinched Alegria's nose.
But that didn't make Alegria feel better. Her high school pictures were totally embarrassing. The film started and Alegria closed her eyes. "I can't watch this, it's too embarrassing."
Bruno smiled as he was watching the film. Everyone swooned when they saw Alegria's picture walking hand in hand with Gabby.
"Wait, wait, let's pause the film!" Phil yelled.
Bruno raised his eyebrow. 'Why the heck did they include that pic?!' Bruno said to himself. He tried to hide his jealousy, but it was too obvious.
"Why, I'm guessing Mr. Bruno Mars is getting jealous right now.." Phil said, teasing Bruno. "Now, let's ask Mrs. Hernandez about the boy on the pic." Phil walked towards Alegria's grandparents. "Alex, do you know who that boy is?" Phil pointed the boy on the picture.
"It's Gabriel Antonio Montemayor, Gabby for short. He's my childhood friend. And he's right over there!" Alegria pointed Gabby. The spotlight was turned on to Gabby and Phil walked towards him.
"Oh no.. No, no, no.." Gabby said as he signalled Phil not to come.
"You're a shy boy, huh? Now, lemme ask you about something, what funny things did you do with Alegria when you were still kids?" Phil asked.
"Well.. Back in the Philippines when we were like, six or seven years old, we were watching TV at her house and she suddenly said "Hey, I wonder if there's small people inside that TV.. Let's take it from the TV rack and see what's inside." And I was like, "Yeah, let's do it." Since we were small children, we had to get chairs to take the TV from the high TV rack and we tried to lift the TV with our small hands. But the TV was too heavy and so we dropped the TV to the floor and broke it. We got worried, so we lifted the TV back to the TV rack and turned it on to see if it's still working, and luckily, it worked and we told no one about it." Gabby grinned at Alegria. Everyone chuckled at what Gabby said.
Bruno looked at Alegria, laughing. "You did that?"
"What? I was still young at that time. I didn't know that there weren't small people inside the TV." Alegria grinned.
Then the film played again and the high school pics came. BOOM. Alegria's pictures were revealed. Everyone went "Whoooaaa.." When they say Alegria's photo.
Alegria sighed. "Oh well.. I can't rip the one out from the film anyway.." Alegria said.
"Wow, Alegria's the most gorgeous woman with braces that I've ever seen!" Phil said.
"Oh Phil, stop it." Alegria smiled at Phil.
"Why do I feel like this film is just all about me, being embarrassed?" Alegria chuckled as she looked at Bruno.
Phil laughed and the film continued. The college pictures of Alegria were shown and everyone were shocked. Alegria transformed from the 'braces teen girl' to a gorgeous beautiful woman.
"I told you, this film really is all about me." Alegria grinned at Bruno.
"You look beautiful on your graduation pic." Bruno said as she caressed Alegria's cheek. "And you're still beautiful up until now."
"You really flatter me too much, Bruno. But thank you for the compliment." Alegria smiled.
Then the film was finished, and it was time to give some messages to the newly weds. First were Alegria's grandparents, then Bruno's parents, and their relatives and close friends.
Bruno stood up when Phil finished talking and Bruno took the mic. "I also wanna say something to my beautiful wife." Bruno said as she walked towards Alegria and dragged her to the stage.
"I just wanna say... I love you. That's all. Now, let's go back to the table." Bruno jokingly said. Everyone swooned and chuckled. "No, really. I wanna say that I wanna love you for the rest of our lives, I wanna love you until the end of time.. Wait, that was corny." Bruno chuckled. Alegria just grinned at Bruno. "But Alegria.. Just.. Don't leave me. I won't have the strength to live everyday and move on if you did.. I love you.. Very much.." Bruno said as he looked at Alegria's eyes.
Everyone swooned and Jamareo yelled. "Kiss! Kiss her now!"
Bruno chuckled. Alegria smiled as she wrapped her arms around Bruno's nack and kissed Bruno's lips passionately. Bruno was surprised, but he kissed Alegria back.
Alegria pulled away. "I love you too, and I won't leave you, silly." Alegria hugged Bruno tight and everyone applauded.
"The wedding cake's here!" Mommy Bernie shouted as she saw the cake being brought in by some waiters.
The cake was white, and it had an effect of chocolate dripping on every layer of the cake. There were also red roses and white flowers on it, crawling their way up to the top. At the topmost layer were little figures that looked like Alegria and Bruno. The 'little Bruno' was kneeling down and he was holding a guitar, as if serenading Alegria. the 'little Alegria' was turning her back on Bruno, with her arms crossed. It was as if she was playing hard to get.
"Wow.. Cool.." Bruno said.
"That is just sooo cute!" Alegria said as she looked at the cake.
"The little figures on top of the cake was Kenji's idea." Eric said.
"We saw the design in the internet, and just added up the little figures on the top." Phredley said.
"We told Eric if he could suggest this cake to Alegria's grandparents and Bruno's parents, and he did. They agreed, so yeah. This is it." Kenji said.
"Nice! I love the cake! Thanks guys!" Alegria said as she hugged Kenji and the boys.
"Now it's time to slice the cake!" Mommy Bernie said with enthusiasm.
"Do we really have to slice the cake? I mean, it's too cool.." Bruno said as he took the knife.
"Of course you have to, child. Here, take this saucer and these forks." Alegria's grandmother said as she handed the forks and saucer to Alegria.
Bruno sliced the cake and put a piece to the saucer. Bruno and Alegria took their forks and fed each other. Everyone applauded and Alegria's grandfather walked towards Alegria and handed the wine to Bruno and cork screw. Daddy Pete gave the wine glasses to Alegria.
"But Oji-chan, I don't drink wine.. Even sake.. I don't drink acoholic drinks.." Alegria spoke in nihongo.
"It's okay, it's a dessert wine, so it's sweet. You don't have to worry about the taste." Alegria's grandfather replied in nihongo as she smiled at Alegria.
"But grandpa--"
"Drink." Alegria's grandfather ordered.
"Yes, Oji-chan.."
"Uhm.. Grandpa, I might have to drink this alone." Bruno said as he opened the wine bottle. Bruno didn't understand what Grandpa and Alegria talked about, but he was pretty sure that her garndfather forced her to drink the wine.
"No, It's okay. I'll drink. Grandpa said it's sweet, so it's our wedding, so I should at least drink one glass." Alegria smiled at Bruno as she took the bottle from Bruno and poured the wine to the glass.
Bruno sighed. Alegria's grandfather is really bossy.
Alegria poured wine to the other wine glass and handed it to Bruno. "Cheers!" Alegria and Bruno crossed their arms as they drank their wine.
Everyone applauded and swooned.
"Now, everyone, enjoy the food and let's partaaayyyy!!" Bruno shouted as he smiled. Everyone then started to eat and dance. The remix of Just The Way You Are was played and they all danced.
Alegria just talked with Danielle for a moment and when she looked around, Bruno was gone.
"Did you see Bruno?" Alegria asked Danielle, almost shouting. The music was too loud.
"I saw him went out earlier.. Oh, there he is!" Danielle said, pointing Bruno. Bruno ran towards Alegria.
"Where were you?" Alegria asked.
"Miss me already?" Bruno asked, smiling.
Can't Help Falling In Love was suddenly played, and Bruno dragged Alegria to the dance middle of the room, and they danced.
Bruno held Alegria's waist and Alegria wrapped her arms around Bruno's neck.
"I'm very, very, very happy today." Bruno grinned at Alegria.
"So am I.." Alegria looked into Bruno's beaufitul brown eyes as she stroked his curls.
Mommy Bernie then walked towards them, and they stopped dancing. Mommy Bernie whispered something. Bruno smiled and hugged his mom and he dragged Alegria outside and went to the wedding car.
"Where are we going?" Alegria asked, confused.
"To Millennium Biltmore Hotel. To our honeymoon." Bruno smiled as he opened the car door for Alegria.
"But I thought we're not going to have a honeymoon?" Alegria said, but she still went inside the car.
Bruno followed and sat beside her. The car started and the driver drove it. there was also a car full of bodyguards behind, following them.
"Bruno.." Alegria said, disappointed and happy at the same time. Disappointed, because everyone agreed not to have a honeymoon but now, they were on the way to their honeymoon. Happy, because at least they had a honeymoon.
"Our clothes are packed in a luggage at the back. And mom and dad already paid the hotel room for us and the bodyguards' room. All we have to worry about is the food. But we'll just order something in the hotel, so it won't be too much of a hassle." Bruno grinned as he caressed Alegria's cheeks.
"This wedding is more like a surprise party to me." Alegria smiled at Bruno.
"What we'll do later in the hotel won't be a surprise anymore.." Bruno said in a seductive voice.
Alegria just smiled and kissed Bruno's lips.
----------------------------------
"Wow.." Alegria said as she looked around the room. The hotel room was beautiful. It was more like a house than a room." Alegria looked outside the window, and the poolside can be seen from there. "Wow.." Alegria looked at the bathroom. "Wow.." She took her high heels and gown off and her accessories except for her ring and necklace and took the bathrobe and put all the gowns and stuff on top of the table. She was really excited.
"You taking a shower?" Bruno asked as he sat down on the bed.
"Yeah." Alegria said and grinned. She was excited to take a bath at this beautiful bathroom.
"I'll go too." Bruno smiled as he walked towards Alegria.
"No, no, I'll go take a shower first. Then you go after me." Alegria said as she closed the door and locked it so Bruno couldn't get it.
"Aww, come on.. Just let me in." Bruno whined as he knocked on the door.
"No, you'll take your turn shower so just wait." Alegria smiled as she dipped in the bathtub. "Ah.. This feels good.."
Bruno sighed. "Alright. Tell me when you're finished." Bruno said.
Alegria heard the hotel door slam. She got worried. "Did he just get angry?" Alegria said to herself. "Oh well.." She continued dipping on the tub. She took a shower after a while and brushed her teeth and took the bathrobe on and went outside the bathroom. She looked around. Bruno wasn't there. "Bruno?" She called, she thought Bruno was just hiding. No one answered. "He really went out.." Alegria said as she opened the luggage. She saw a red lingerie. "Hey.. This isn't.." She said as she looked at the lingerie. 'I'm pretty sure Mommy Bernie bought this.' She said to herself as she smiled. She wore it and waited for Bruno. After a few minutes, she got bored. Then she saw Bruno's cellphone on top of the table. "Oh, he brought his cellphone." She knew what Bruno's lock code was, so she took it and opened it. She read his messages. She was surprised to see Chanel's name on his inbox.
She opened the message. "I'm at the poolside. Meet me." Her eyes widened. 'He's still texting her?' Alegria then ran towards the window and looked outside. She saw Bruno and Chanel talking on the dark side of the pool. Bruno was looking around, hoping no one could spot them. Chanel suddenly hugged Bruno, Bruno was surprised. Then Chanel looked at Bruno and kissed him. Bruno grabbed Chanel's waist and pulled her closer. They kissed each other aggressively.
Alegria couldn't take it. She couldn't look at them anymore. She felt nauseous, she went to the bathroom and vomited. Her head hurts, but her heart hurt even more. She cried while she vomited. 'How could he do this? And at our wedding day?' She said to herself. She stopped vomiting, and washed her mouth. She looked at herself at the mirror. She was a total mess. "Who are you kidding, Alegria? You're only a teacher, You're nothing special. He's Bruno fucking Mars. He's famous. You? You're nothing." Her head then hurt so bad, that the pain was like running around her body, making her feet weak. She fell to the bathroom floor, and everything went black.