Mina is no longer a Campbell.

Eric doesn't flinch. He stands there, his eyes never leaving Mina's surprised ones. "Ethan isn't the man for her." He says firmly. "I am."

The sharp, concise words echo in the silence that follows. Mina can feel the shock in the room, the confusion, the disbelief. Her adoptive family stares at Eric, their eyes wide with questions they can't seem to ask. Susan looks agitatedly from Eric to Larry and then back to Eric, unsure of how to react. Greta, standing beside Larry, looks almost as stunned as she feels.

The wedding guests murmur, and the tension in the room grows thicker.

"The invitation clearly stated Ethan and Mina. Why is Eric here?"

"What did she do to earn the Eric Walters?"

"Eric is so handsome in his suit."

"I just knew the handsome figure was not Ethan, it had been Eric standing there all along?"

These are just a few of the words that Mina catches amongst the audience at the wedding, sitting on both sides of the walkway. Mina's hands shake, but she takes a deep breath. Eric is standing there, looking at her as if this is all happening according to plan. His calmness sends a ripple of uncertainty through her. She has had no say in the life her supposed family tried to force on her, but she could say something now. 

This isn't just about Ethan anymore. This is about her.

Larry opens his mouth to argue again, but Susan cuts him off with a raised hand. "Dad, it looks like there has been a mistake here. I am the one getting married to Eric so he probably thought it was me that is to walk down the aisle."

Mina's heart pounds as she looks at Eric.

Maybe it's true?

Eric steps closer to her, his gaze unwavering. "I'm here because I want to marry you. Not Ethan. Not anyone else. Just you."

Susan gasps with shock and falls about three steps behind before Greta catches and steadies her.

The words hang in the air, heavy with meaning. Mina's head spins. Her adoptive parents are still speechless, unsure of what to do next. The room is filled with whispers, but it feels like time is standing still.

Mina opens her mouth, but no words come out. She's never been the one in control. She's always followed the path laid out for her, never questioning it. But now, Eric is giving her an option she never had before, she can choose for herself.

The weight of the decision hits her all at once. She looks at Eric, seeing the firmness in his eyes. There's no mockery, no manipulation. Just a man who wants to take her hand and lead her into a future she has never imagined.

Slowly, she steps forward, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yes. I'll marry you."

Eric's lips curl into a small, knowing smile. It's the smile of a man who's won.

The room falls silent again, except for the occasional gasps and exclamations. Larry and Greta exchange a look, but they don't know what to say. This is so not the life her adoptive family wanted for her, but it's the life she's choosing for herself.

She won't let them ruin it this time.

Eric holds out his hand, and this time, Mina holds out her hand to take it.

Susan crashes unceremoniously into the middle of the duo. "No." She slaps Mina's hand back down. "Eric, Mr. Walters, I am Susan Walters. We are supposed to be the ones getting married but I guess there has been a misunderstanding here. I am Susan, your own bride."

"Who are you to decide who my bride will be?"

Susan reels for a moment but she catches on again, fast. "Your mother decided that Ethan should marry her, not you."

"And who are you to decide who which of my sons get married to?"

A new voice sounds and everyone turns to the end of the hall where Queen Walters saunters in a flourishing golden colored dress with a train of people behind her. "Why can't this family just avoid some confrontation or the other?" She mutters to herself as she comes to stand in front of Susan.

Queen briefly takes a clean sweep of Mina and Eric and, within seconds, understands what is going on. "I asked you young lady, whoever you are, who are you to decide who my sons get married to?"

"Nice to meet you. I am Susan Campbell. I think there has been a mistake here."

"What mistake is that? There is a beautiful bride waiting to marry her groom, her to be husband, what could the problem possibly be?"

Greta pushes forward. "We should talk woman to woman here. We'll soon be in laws, we should not start our relationship on rocky grounds."

"Who and who will be in laws?" Queen asks, squaring her shoulders.

Greta looks momentarily confused. "This is my daughter, Mina Campbell, whether she is getting married to Ethan or Eric, both of them are your sons, isn't it?"

"If a Campbell is getting married to the Walters, we would be in laws." Queen extends her hand to the back and the butler behind her, hands a shuffle of pictures which she flings into Greta's face. "Would you really treat your daughter like this? Or like this?" She flings another set of pictures, this time into Larry's face.

Both of them bend down and pick up the pictures.

Greta panics.

Susan snatches one of the pictures from her and peruses it, stifling a gasp herself. Shamelessly, she holds it up into Queen's face. "What can my parents do if she chooses to do drugs?"

Mina snatches the picture from her and looks at it. It's a picture of herself, body sagging as someone drags her inside the house. It had been taken the same night that she had been drugged. She had been hanging limply off the arms of Malik as he carried her to the door.

"She had been drunk and high on drugs that night that Mum had to send a caring driver to pick her up from the side of the road."

"I was not high. I was not drunk. Greta drugged me!" Mina yells, finding the voice to defend herself.

Queen chuckles. "No one knows that better than all of us here."

"Queen, she is lying. Don't listen to this lying nasty…" Susan starts.

Deftly, Queen gives her a hard slap across the face. "When adults are talking, a filthy child should shut up."