He was relieved to hear the doctor's words. He went downstairs along with the doctor, as he needed to be present in his own reception. After a while, his wife came down dressed in a pure white gown. Although she looked stunning, she could not surpass Sophie's beauty, when she wore the green gown. Why was he thinking of her again! He mentally scolded himself.
"Ready, my lady?", he asked. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. He took her left hand in his right, and went together to the center of the hall. The spotlight fell on them, leaving everyone dazzled. He took the microphone from the emcee, cleared his throat and smilingly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you all had a wonderful night. Thank you all for coming here to attend my wedding celebration. This is my wife Lila Atkins." The people in the hall broke into fervent discussion. His grandfather stared straight at him without blinking even once. He looked at the old man and blinked his eyes to assure him that everything was under control.
'Have you heard him say Lila, not Lily?', one spoke to another.
'But shouldn't Lily be the bride today? How did it change to Lila?', the person whispered back.
'How will I know? Let's see. There will be lots of gossip.' The lady was clearly thrilled to know more gossip.
Robert's father and his father-in-law glared at him.
"Is this a nasty joke? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to ruin my reputation?", his father asked through gritted teeth.
"How can you say that she is not Lily? What is the meaning of calling my daughter Lila? Who is this Lila? You are married to my daughter Lily. What nonsense are you spouting?", his father-in-law fired numerous questions at him.
Robert was unfazed.
"As I was saying earlier, Lila is now my wife, and I have decided to leave the Atkins family with her."
Robert's father Mr. Atkins was furious. 'How can he decide to leave the family just like that!' His mother was no better. She got up the stage and tried to persuade Robert. Lila was calmly standing beside him unconcerned about anything. She was only thinking of the young man upstairs. 'Did he wake up?' As if sensing her concern, Robert tightened his hand around her waist, to show that he was with her. Even he did not know why he would trust this lady so much, but couldn't bring himself to trust Lily at all.
Speaking of Lily, he hoped that they have already "taken care" of her well. It won't be too late for him to take care of her tomorrow.
He faced the crowd again and spoke, "Additionally, I wish to bring my grandfather Old Man Atkins and my grandma together with me."
One of the journalists present there questioned, "Mr. Atkins, could you kindly answer some of our questions?"
"Sure, but make it fast. I need to make other preparations."
The journalists asked questions one after the other, but they were very well behaved.
"What were those photos about? Did you arrange for them to be shown on your wedding? If so, why?"
"Gentleman, those are more than one question. But, I shall answer."
"Firstly, those were the pictures of my childhood love and our forceful separation. To answer your second question, I would say, No, I didn't. I didn't arrange for those pictures to be shown. She came here today, and tried to show everyone that she is back."
"Can you tell us who that lady is?"