Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Since Twain told many people about his marriage to Shania, he certainly did not think about hiding it from the news media. He did not specifically inform the press about it because he knew that the reporters had their own means and channels to learn about it.
As expected, the next day, the news of Twain sending invitation cards everywhere appeared in a number of British newspapers and media.
The press was somewhat caught off guard by the sudden announcement of their marriage, just as Shania had hoped.
The media knew that Twain and Shania were in love, but they did not expect the two people to make known their relationship at the beginning of the year, and announced their marriage in the middle of the year…
“It looks like Tony Twain plans to walk hand in hand with Shania into the church. It is said that they have invited a lot of famous people to the wedding. For a manager’s wedding to be set like a star player’s wedding, I guess Tony Twain is probably the only one, right?” The BBC television said in the news.
“… I was surprised at the news. I can’t believe it….” An actress, who was eager to have a one-night stand with Twain, covered her mouth and said on the show.
The gay magazines announced that even Tony Twain’s marriage would not hinder his status in the eyes of the homosexuals.
Shania’s official website was deliberately attacked by unidentified hackers after the news broke. The home page of the website was modified with the color changed to black, and a line of words ran repeatedly across: “You have become the bride, but the groom is not me.”
After the site was restored, heartbroken and inconsolable fans around the world confessed their love for Shania and their own grief on the message board. Some fans even lambasted Tony Twain, the old bastard, for snatching their sweetheart. Among them, there was no shortage of malicious speculation and slander. There were also people who indulged in histrionics and lamented that for them to still be able to become a pair of husband and wife despite the twenty-two years of age difference, public morals were degenerating with each passing day and people’s hearts were not what is used to be…
The fashion magazines also expressed concern about Shania’s wedding. Most people were puzzled by Shania’s decision—for models, eighteen years old was the rising period and maturity of the career. Choosing to get married at this time would affect her work. These magazine editors could not understand why Shania would rather lose her career to care about love.
Only her friend, Mr. Armani, came forward to support Shania’s move. He said, “She’s not like the average model, so she considers things differently. Perhaps in Shania’s view, the glamor of being model is far less important than enjoying her time with Tony…”
…
In short, no matter what the outside world thought of these two people’s May-December love and marriage, Twain and Shania were simply immersed in their sweet twosome world.
They openly walked down the street hand in hand, kissing in the streets, and acted as if they were alone. They did not pay any mind to the reporters who followed them around. As Nottingham was a small city, people were extremely tolerant of Tony Twain who brought numerous honors to the city and wished him well. So, Twain and Shania did not have to worry about being harassed on the streets by anyone but the reporters.
When they were back at their villa in Mapperley Park with the curtains pulled, no one would know what they did inside.
What was even more heartbreaking and sad for Shania’s fans was the thought of their idol and sweetheart being crushed under an old man’s body, gasping and moaning?
Therefore, there was a new rumor—Although Tony Twain was already forty years old and had a heart attack, he was still a man with a strong libido. They would make love many times a day and never use protection. Some media began to speculate about when Shania would become pregnant. Once she became pregnant, no matter how thriving her career was, she would be set aside for the time being. Some of the press even thought the reason Shania and Twain were getting married so soon was because Shania was already pregnant…
“For a forty-year-old man to still have such a vigor, the nuclear-powered pacemaker is really brilliant. With a healthy sex life, the beautiful young girl, Shania will have no other desires, even at the expense of her own modeling career. It really makes one think of what is love and how it grips one in the throes of passion … … Of course, disregard Shania’s cool expressions on the runways. In fact, deep down, she’s a young lady with a longing for a man’s caresses and emerging stirrings of love… It can even be said: a forty-year-old man is like a tiger, and a young girl who yearns for love, seduces; spring in its full bloom cannot be inhibited, with a spray of blossom bursting forth….”
A certain unknown gossip editor wrote in the sports section of a well-known web portal in China.
※※※
After a day’s rest in Nottingham, Twain flew with Shania to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Shania’s parents had prepared everything to do with the wedding. Their big day was set for May 31st. The league tournament only ended on May 24th, so time was a bit tight, but there was no other way. According to Brazilian tradition, May was the season for marriages and to hold weddings. It was known as “Bride’s Month.” Hence, the wedding was set on the last day of the month, which meant they could catch the tail end of the “Bride’s Month.”
After meeting Shania’s parents again in Brazil, Twain had lost the discomfiture and restraint of their last meeting. This time he was here to openly and honorably marry Shania and did not have to be self-conscious.
The wedding had not yet begun, and Twain’s invited guests and friends had arrived in succession. The crowd from Nottingham Forest naturally needed no introduction. Giorgio Armani came personally and attracted a lot of media attention. In addition, there were Tom Cruise and some of the celebrity friends Shania met during her time in Hollywood. The couple, Beckham and Victoria, also came. The other people who did not come also sent their gifts. For example, Ferguson, Wenger, Keane and Twain’s other friends in the coaching world, as well as John Motson, Martin Tayler, Gary Lineker… and other famous people of the television world.
The eyes of the reporters who gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were momentarily dazzled.
Just as Twain hoped, his wedding to Shania caught the world’s attention. Before the wedding, everyone knew that Twain was going to marry Shania. The age difference of twenty-two years was no longer an issue. There were many cases of older husbands with much younger wives in the modeling world, not to mention the love story of Shania and Twain had already been exposed by the media to the point of being a household story. Everyone knew that when Shania was not yet a model, when Tony Twain was still just an unknown small-time manager, the two people already knew each other. It was gratifying to people that they were able to get to this stage.
※※※
George Wood came to Brazil with his mother. He said that they were here to attend Twain’s wedding but in fact, there was another reason. He wanted to take his mother on trips everywhere in the world and have a good time while her health was still well enough to do so. Brazil was a good place.
Despite Twain’s promise to cover for the return air tickets and arrange accommodations for the players who came to Brazil, the players had money and did not want to trouble Twain. They wanted the excuse to travel to Brazil, so they all came one by one.
Wood was the same too.
When Twain saw Sophia again, the frail and sickly woman looked worse than she had been. He could even see through the body and the faint fire of life teetering in the wind. A thought suddenly came to his mind—this admirable mother was running out of time…
Was George mentally prepared? Twain glanced at Wood, who was holding his mother.
“Mr. Twain, you’re so busy. You don’t really have to come pick us up.” Sophia smiled and whispered, “It’s fine with George around.”
Twain shook his head and said as he opened the door for her, “That won’t do. You are the guests I invited; I can’t leave you at the airport.” He motioned to Wood to let go of his hand, and he came up to help Sophia get into the car.
The two people’s skin touched, and their movements were natural, as if they had a kind of tacit understanding with each other’s heart.
Twain always knew Sophia was interested in him, but he could not accept her affection. It was not due to George Wood. He might be confused about the feelings between him and Shania. But he was clear on his feelings between him and Sophia—he did not love this woman.
He did not love her, not because Sophia was once a prostitute, and thus it gave rise to disdain or even contempt. On the contrary, the result was he developed a kind of respect from the heart, an indelible admiration and tenderness. Twain was certain he also had a deep affection for Sophia. If time were to be turned back and the circumstances were right, he would be even delighted to have a physical relationship with Sophia.
But that would not be love.
Although he knew that the woman was pitiful, sympathy could not make up for love.
While he held Sophia, Twain could touch the woman’s petite and thin body through the thin clothing. Her condition had never really improved…Had this poor woman ever gotten a love of her own during her lifetime?
George got into the car from the other side, and Sophia reached out to sweep his hair out of his forehead, revealing his bright eyes. When Twain saw this scene from the rearview mirror, he thought that this mother might have already poured all her love into her child.
Suddenly he felt that the atmosphere inside the car was a little depressed, so Twain decided to find some topics to chat about to distract everyone. He said, “George, you’d better find a girlfriend… Look, I’m getting married.”
“I’m not interested.” Wood made a face.
“Don’t be so headstrong. Your mother must also want to see you have your own love. Don’t you think so, ma’am?”
Sophia smiled and looked at her son, “I’ve urged him many times, he just won’t agree…”
Wood did not speak. He just looked out the window at the Brazilian street view.
The atmosphere became cold again. Twain felt that with George next to him, there would be no need for air conditioning even in the hot summer. This kid… I don’t know what’s on his mind!
Sophia also seemed to find the atmosphere a little depressing, so she took the initiative to ask, “Mr. Twain. Where’s Miss Shania?”
“Ah, she’s staying at her parents’ house. She said that she will only see me at the wedding.”
“So, during this period, you…”
“I have been staying in a hotel, ha!”
Sophia lightly chuckled, “You poor groom…”
※※※
After sending Wood and Sophia to the hotel they booked, Twain received a call from Dunn. He was delighted to hear the message that his parents had also arrived.
When he rushed over to Dunn’s hotel, he found his parents in the lobby at a glance.
He strode over and held the two elders’ hands. He called out to them intimately with the hometown accent, “Papa, Mama, you’re here!” Although a foreigner calling the old Chinese people “Papa and Mama” would make people feel preposterous, it was a lot more natural than making him called Shania’s parents “mom and dad” in Twain’s mind.
Because the two old people in front of him were his authentic birth parents.
“I was still worried that you wouldn’t come.” He smiled till his eyes became narrow slits because he was really happy. The wish he did not complete in his previous life was completed in this life.
“He he, my own child is getting married, of course we must come.” His father said in Sichuanese as he held and patted Twain’s hand. Twain and Dunn had always been together and had a good relationship like they were brothers all these years. His parents also naturally regarded Twain as their own child.
Dunn stood at the side and said to Twain, “I did say. When their own child gets married, they will come no matter how far it is.”
Twain looked around and did not find any luggage. He asked, “Did you just arrive? Was the journey tiring? Are you finding everything okay here?”
“Ah, he’s never seen so many foreigners… So delighted and excited, how can he be tired?” His mother rebuked her husband beside her. “You ain’t seen the world before?”
It seemed like they had adjusted pretty well. With a digital camera in hand and dressed trendily, they even specially dyed their original white hair to black for this time abroad. Overall, they looked much younger than their actual ages. In the recent years, his parents had also changed and were no longer “old-fashioned” as what he remembered. This was very good. His parents had worked hard for decades. Now that their son had grown up and could earn money to support his family, they should also put their minds at ease, travel around, and enjoy life in comfort. There should be nothing in the world that required them to worry about…
Well, maybe there was one more matter. Twain glanced at Dunn.
That would Dunn’s marriage. He did not know how he was going along in his relationship with Tang Jing, the beautiful reporter. Had their relationship improve during these five months?
He must grill him well when he had the chance to grab hold of him.
After he enquired solicitously about his parents’ well-being, Twain brought the two elders and Dunn for a Brazilian dinner. He had wanted to accompany the elders on a sightseeing tour, but the old people’s energy was not up to it. On top of the tiring journey, the day had just turned to dusk, so they were exhausted. He could only send them back to the hotel to rest. Twain and Dunn chatted for a while in Dunn’s room before he left for day and went back.
In the days that followed, Twain’s time was spent in hosting various guests who came to attend the wedding and sightseeing with his parents, as well as taking time out to have long chats with Shania on the phone.
Until the wedding day.
※※※
Although a lot of people were invited, the wedding process was very simple and did not cost much. It was also impossible for the expenses to look as scary as the list of guests invited for the wedding. After all, Shania was just a model, not considered the world’s most popular model. And not to mention, Tony Twain had little status in the upper society. The people who could come to the wedding were really good friends. Nor were they owners with huge amount of assets to splurge. Every pound was earned by their own hard work. Twain was the first to refuse wasting money on a large scale. In today’s depressed global economic environment, they had no right to be extravagant and ostentatious to put up a front. Although according to traditional Brazilian customs, all the expenses and preparations of the wedding were taken care of by the bride’s family. The groom’s side was the most relaxed and only needed to bring the wedding rings and attend the wedding. Wealthy bride’s families would often give new houses as gifts. But for Twain, Shania’s family was his own. He would still feel the pinch for the money spent.
The wedding ceremony was held in a one-hundred-year-old church near Shania’s home.
A hundred guests gathered to celebrate and were tightly packed in the small church. Many media waited outside could only capture the arrival of the guests in the limousines. But they could not shoot inside. The right to shoot report inside had been given Lisa Aria.
When Miss Aria pushed her way through with her BBC television crew carrying the film equipment, she was enormously proud of her success as she feasted her eyes on the scene. Incidentally, she took the opportunity given by Twain as “proof of allegiance” and officially joined BBC.
As the groom, Twain had to receive the guests. The hardest for Twain was his cheeks and lips—the Brazilians were used to greeting each other close on the cheeks, with one kiss each the left and right cheeks. After he greeted all the bride’s relatives and friends, he felt his cheeks were swollen …
After the guests were seated, the main event began.
Twain wore a dark blue suit designed by Mr. Giorgio Armani himself, a snow-white shirt and a dark red tie as he stood erect in front of the priest. Behind him seated the many guests who came. It was quiet in the cavernous church. Even the live band, which had been playing music before, had stopped.
He suddenly felt a little nervous.
Dunn, who stood next to him, smiled and observed with interest the change in Twain’s expression.
Twain looked back sideways at the church door as he anxiously anticipated the familiar figure to appear at the door, come in from the light, and gradually enter his field of vision.
When Shania finally appeared at the door wearing her white wedding gown, accompanied by her bridesmaid Clarice Gloria and holding onto her father, there was the sound of a small commotion from that starting point. Thereupon, the live band also played <The Wedding March>. Everyone gasped in admiration at the bride’s youth and beauty. The wedding dress, also from Armani, was worn by Shania, who had a model figure, and was the object of envy and admiration in the eyes of the female guests present.
Shania held a bouquet of flowers. Against the light, Twain was finally able to see her face clearly. The little fairy gazed at her husband with a smile on her face as she slowly made her way over.
This is my wife… Twain sighed in his heart. But he did not think he was dreaming anymore.
He stepped forward and held out his hand. Shania also reached her hand out and tightly intertwined with Twain.
Mr. Bruce Tenório looked at the happy couple and said to Twain with a smile, “Tony. I’m giving your daughter to you. Please make her happy.”
Twain gazed fondly at the bashful Shania and softly said, “I’ll make her happy for the rest of my life.”
Hearing the answer, Tenório felt reassured enough to let go of his daughter’s hand and retreat.
After they vowed and promised to love each other for the rest of their lives in front of the priest, it was time to exchange the rings.
Dunn handed over the ring box, and Twain took the wedding ring out of it to carefully put it on for Shania. Holding Shania’s soft little hand for her to wear the ring, he only felt full of joy: from this moment on, the little fairy belongs to me! No one can take her away!
Although there might be things to spoil the joy ahead, he really thought so at this moment…
After exchanging the rings, it was time for the bride and groom to exchange a deep kiss.
They were both accustomed to kissing. But kissing at a wedding held another layer of meaning.
Shania slightly looked up and gazed at the face that she was infatuated and in love with for six years. Her cheeks flushed and her lips slight parted as she breathed, “Tony…”
Twain lowered his head and said, “Call me Uncle!”
Shania rolled her eyes, but she still listened and called out in a low voice, “Uncle Tony…”
Tony Twain looked at the dainty and still young face. When he heard her called out in a low moan, he suddenly felt aroused … … Eh, no, he felt an enormous swelling of love. Reaching over Shania’s slender waist, he held her to his front, closely snuggled up, leaned down, and kissed down hard.
They kissed as if no one else was around and only the two of them were left in the world, ignoring the applause and cheers of the guests, and ignoring the band’s performance. They continued to kiss. For how long? Who knew? Nobody cared! They only felt that they were the happiest people in the world.
It was a kiss, full of deep love.
