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Air e

I 've always dreamed about my wedding ever since I was a kid. The details were always the same. Big wedding. Plenty of guests. Everyone's invited. A forest wedding with an aisle of white rose petals. My husband-to-be waiting for me. Over the years, that face has changed, plenty of times, but the wedding has always remained the same. Beautiful. Ethereal. Timeless.

I got married in a courthouse. The groom was late, and I had to wait for him in my embroidered lace wedding dress, while all the other couples darted their gazes at me, probably wondering why I was alone. He held it on a Wednesday, very businesslike of him. And including our first meeting, today would be the third time I would see him in person.

"What is that?" I turned around, bouquet in hand, to see Nolan marching up to me. He had a blue suit, light blue shirt, and gray tie. If I had to guess, I would say he was coming from a meeting. And probably returning to it after this was done.

"What?" I blinked, feeling like I had a booger on my nose.

"You didn't have to dress up," he said as he came to stand beside me. A man and woman trailed behind him, also dressed in similar business attire. When he saw my gaze going to them, he clarified. "My assistants. They'll be acting as witnesses."

I looked down at my dress, blushing. It was not that grand. It was a mermaid style dress with a short train. Nothing insane but unmistakably a wedding dress. I stiffened my chin and stared right back at him. "It's my wedding day. I thought brides wore wedding dresses on their special occasion."

"Come on, Aelin. This is hardly a special occasion."

I jerked my head away from him as tears threatened to flood my eyes. He had no idea how much I wanted it to be one. What did he know about me except for the few lies I told him? I blinked my tears away. Aelin would never cry in front of a man. She talks back. Stands her ground and lets no one bully her. I straightened my back and put on my best 'don't give a fuck face.'

"I wanna look good for the paps." I plucked my bouquet nonchalantly. "You never know who might be watching."

Nolan's eyes narrowed. "Please don't tell me you called the paparazzi on yourself."

"Why are you asking me?" I jerked my head to his assistants. "I'm not the only one who knows we're getting married. I just like to be prepared at all times, that's all."

He scoffed.

Before I could formulate another retort, a black man with a head shaved clean and with papers in hand came over and told us the judge was ready.

"Thanks Kelly," Nolan said.

I picked up my skirts and followed Nolan, who was following Kelly while the two assistants trailed behind us. We marched past a column of waiting couples and wondered if Nolan made it so we could get a convenient appointment. If Nolan was anything like my grandfather, it honestly wouldn't surprise me.

"Are we getting married already?" I asked as I trotted, trying to keep up with his giant paces. We turned around a corner and entered a small room with a podium, plain wooden walls, and a small, smiling woman .

"That's why we are here." Nolan said, taking my hand and bringing me forward.

"Of course." I wasn't as confident as I sounded. My chest constricted. The air felt thin. This is wrong. I should say no. Ditch this stupid little plan and end this farce.Grandfather would have your head. He wouldn't, though. He would do much worse. I braced myself for the inevitable.

A few minutes later, we were married and leaving the courthouse. It was over. The thing I was dreading for weeks was over in a matter of minutes. We passed by a few happy couples taking photos on the courthouse steps. There were no paparazzi waiting for us outside, or any I could see, thank god. Or the person I was dreading the most, Aelin. I expected her to jump out of a corner so much so it made me nervous. Grandfather said not to worry about her, he knew where she was and was dealing with her. But his vague answers to my questions didn't help. I knew her better than he did, and Aelin loved playing with people.

My phone vibrated in my bejeweled white purse and I checked to see a text coming in.

Grandfather:

Is it done?

Me:

Yes .

"Where's your car?" Nolan thrust his hands inside his pockets as we stood below the steps.

"I used an Uber to get here."

He frowned as though I had given the wrong answer. I panicked. The words came out of my mouth without me thinking through them. Would Aelin useUber? Did she have a car? Probably? But would she even use it in New York?

"My car is at the shop. Bang it up a few days ago." I added a shrug for maximum effect.

Nolan frowned. "I hope no one was hurt."

"Oh, it wasn't my fault. The other person should have seen I was texting."

His look of disgust was enough for me to know I had pulled it off. "Come with me then," he said. I was already protesting, but he ignored me as he instructed his assistants and Kelly to get a ride sharing service. Then he ushered me into the back seat of a Jaguar XJ.

"To the townhouse Jones," Nolan said to the man in the driver's seat as I sank into the cream leather seat. The balding man glanced at me through the rearview mirror, and when Nolan caught him, he turned his eyes back to the road.

"Meet my new wife, Jones."

"Sorry sir, I mean congratulations."

"Thank you. Her name is Aelin. Aelin this is Bradley Jones. My driver."

"Hi Bradley." I turned to Nolan. "Townhouse? "

"My place. Your place now too, I guess." He was on his phone typing some never-ending message. His casual posture made me want to reach over the armrest between us and yank it out of his hands.

"You should have told me, dear husband, that I would be going to your place after this."

"I am telling you now," he said without looking up from his phone.

Dick. We rode in silence until we reached the 'townhouse'. I expected a sad, gray apartment typical of tasteless rich people, but the well-decorated, colorful townhouse pleasantly surprised me. It was nice and luxurious without being too ostentatious. The type of place I would see myself living in, in fact. It was a blend of mid-century and classic New York style that made it look timeless.

"Nice place," I said to him. "Are you going to tell me why I am here?"

Nolan ventured in, leaving me in the hall. He came back a few minutes later with a stack of papers and grabbed my hand. My heart thudded at his hands coming into contact with mine. A simple contact should not make me feel like this. Get it together, Aire.

He led me to the dining room and threw the papers on the table.

"What's the meaning of this? "

I stared at the papers. They were familiar. Fuck. I'm caught.

I picked up the papers off the glass table with nervous hands and read them. I've never experienced such relief. They were not what I thought they were at first. The contract I signed with my grandfather. No. This was something else. Something business related.

"Care to tell me what I am looking at, dear husband?"

Nolan was standing on the other side of the dinner table staring at me with fury lit eyes. "Why the fuck did you change the prenup?"

I flipped through the papers, wondering what could be amiss. He looked like he was about to wring my neck and I couldn't understand what I did wrong. I barely read the damn thing. Why would I when I knew this marriage was a farce? Hell, the man I was marrying clearly hated me. My lawyer wasn't even mine and he sure as hell wasn't looking after my best interests. So whatever is amiss in this thing isn't in my favor.

"What's wrong with it?"

He snatched the papers back and flipped to a page in the middle, and pointed at a single line. "In case of progeny resulting out of the marriage and both parents are to meet their demise, Kenneth Burgess has the right to claim guardianship of said progeny." He jabbed at the line again before throwing the document on the table.

I picked it up and read the line again. What the fuck was my grandfather playing at? He wanted custody of my child?

"How can he claim custody when the man's halfway on his way to the grave?" Nolan voices my thoughts.

"My grandfather has delusions of immortality," I muttered.

Nolan scoffed. "I don't care. That's getting out. There's no way that man—"

"Excuse me. Why are you so angry? You think there's going to be kids coming out of this marriage?"

He reddened. It was satisfying to see him so caught out. "No. But—"

"Then this shouldn't bother you as much as it does. I mean, who cares who gets custody of a child that's never getting born, anyway?"

"Why did he add it?"

"He's a family man. He likes kids. Fuck, I don't know. Instead of being angry at me, maybe you should have done better due diligence before dragging me to court. And maybe you should read a damn contract before signing it! I threw the papers back at him."

His expression changed from livid, to mad, to blank. " You're right."

He tore the contract. Tiny pieces of white paper flew to the table, chair, and the floor around him as he spoke. "My lawyers are drafting a new one. A postnup, if you will."

I crossed my arms. "Fine by me."

My eyes darted around the room. Fully taking in my surroundings. It's a beautiful room. The floor to ceiling windows that offer a view of the New York city skyline, the asymmetrical chandeliers hanging above the table, the red velvet chairs. I didn't notice any of it. This is supposed to be my wedding day and I've already had an argument with my husband in our supposed home.

"Are we done?" I said. Tears were prickling my eyes. I wanted to be anywhere else but here. I wanted to be on my own. I wanted to be in my tiny apartment and cry on myself to sleep.

"I thought things would be fine if we both stayed in separate houses, but who knows what shenanigans you and your grandfather are going to pull next?"

"You can't do that!"

"I can and I will,wife. You'll be staying under my roof where I can see you."

"And what if I say no?"

"Then you'll have to deal with your Christmas choir DUI story getting leaked to the press."

My stomach sank like a lead weight. Christmas choir DUI? What the hell did you do, Aelin? I tried to think what he could be referring to, but I came up empty. Whatever it is, it must be bad.

"Shocked that I am aware of the skeletons in your closet?" He clucked. "Now. You're going to act like a good girl, stay here and when Kelly calls you, he will take you to your apartment and get all your belongings. This is your new home for the foreseeable future, but don't get too comfortable, because once I am done with your family, I'm kicking you out on your ass."