by Briner, Rose
“I now pronounce you man and wife, you may now kiss the bride.”
My eyes widen as I stare at the priest with a blank expression. I have to kiss him? I wasn’t expecting this, I thought all of this was fake. Who knew my first actual kiss would be to my new fake husband?
Yes, I know how pathetic, this is going to be my first kiss. The one before this doesn’t count, that man tried to stick his entire tongue down my throat and swallow me whole.
I turn towards Jayden and he has the same expression on his face until he focuses on me. He shrugs as if to say, sure, why not? I shrug back at him because if we’re going to do this, we might as well make it official right?
Time seems to stand still as he takes my hands in his and tugs me closer so he can reach me. I expect him to kiss me on the cheek when he leans forward or just simply hug me, I wasn’t expecting him to actually kiss me.
He leans his head in and tilts his head to the side as he comes in closer to me, so I close my eyes and allow my lips to meet his for the first time. I just try to do what I think I should do. I’ve read plenty of books and watched movies where couples kiss, so I just copy what I remember.
At first our lips are just touching, but soon his tongue comes out slowly, as if he’s scared I’m going to reject him and licks the seam of my lips. I gasp when his warm tongue makes contact with my lips and he takes the chance to pull me in close and wrap his arms around my waist. I reach my arms up and wrap them around his neck as I tilt my head up to give him better access, I am after all, much shorter than he is. The moment his tongue meets mine for the first time, I feel an explosion of sensation behind my eyelids. Warmth floods through me in the strangest way and has me wanting to deepen the kiss. I forget myself for several seconds as I allow him to kiss me. Then my brain kicks back into gear and I remember where we are and what we’re doing.
I pull back slowly and turn my head away from him, while keeping my eyes closed. I don’t know what just happened, but whatever that was, cannot happen again. This is fake, one hundred percent fake, and I feel like I’ve cheated somehow and am going to be punished for taking something that was not mine to take.
Jayden doesn’t push the subject as we walk out of the church as man and wife. There’s no dinner celebration or party waiting for us. It’s just me and him walking along the beach with his lawyer following close behind. When we get far enough away from his lawyer, I tug on his arm to get him to stop and turn to face me.
“Is he going to be following us everywhere for the rest of our marriage?” I ask, pointing in the direction of his lawyer. He seems to have quickened his pace when he sees we’ve stopped. I bet he thinks we’re over here ready to kill one another.
“He’s just here for my protection, that’s all. When we get home, you won’t see him again until the time comes for the divorce,” he says casually, sticking his hands in his pockets.
He’s always so calm and collected about everything, I wonder why he never married prior to this moment. Maybe he was waiting for the same thing I was? To marry for love. That thought has me laughing out loud to myself, because neither one of us married for love.
“What are you laughing about?”
“Nothing,” I reply, as I resume walking along the beach. The sooner we get back to the hotel, the sooner I can go to sleep and not think about what happened today. “Just making sure you didn’t hire your lawyer as my bodyguard.”
“Why? Do you need one?” he asks, sounding genuinely alarmed.
I give him a look before I turn away from him and stomp faster across the beach and towards the hotel. Does this guy think I’m some sort of monster or something? He must think that the second we get back to the hotel, I’m going to tell the first person I see that I just married a billionaire because he needed a legit wife. I mean come on, why would I do something like that? I’m sure there are plenty of money hungry bitches who would sell their soul to the devil if it meant they could profit off of what happened today, but I’m just a girl from a town who lost her life and moved to New York and lost everything else she had left. I’m not an attention whore or looking to hurt Jayden. That’s not the way that I am, and I guess I’ll have to somehow prove that to him, but my patience is going to quickly run thin if he keeps thinking I’m going to run to the nearest tabloid the first chance I get.
“Wait, Mireya, please come back,” Jayden begs me when we reach the hotel.
I don’t stop when I get there, instead I go up to the floor where my room is and look for my key. Of course I don’t have it, my dress doesn’t have any pockets. Looking down at my dress I feel silly now for wearing it. It’s not expensive or fancy, the dress is white and has pink flowers on it, it was the nicest thing I owned. I thought it would prove to Jayden that even though we’re not really married, I want to make an effort and make this thing appear legit. I guess I was wrong, wasn’t I? He still doubts me.
Now here I am, forced to stand outside of my room, which just so happens to be next door to Jayden’s, and wait for him to decide to come upstairs so he can let me in.
“Are you sure this was the wisest decision, Jayden? We could’ve continued to look for ways to fight the board’s decision. There was no need to actually go out and get a wife just so you could keep majority shares of the company. There’s always other ways. Plus, I don’t think that girl is capable of pulling this off.”
That damn lawyer of his. We haven’t even been married an hour and already he’s trying to talk Jayden out of the decision he’s just made. No way am I going to allow that to happen. Not only did I sign the prenup and that contract, but I need that money. I’ll just have to prove to Jayden he made the right decision.
I think about storming over there and giving them both a piece of my mind, but I decide instead to wait and see what Jayden says to his lawyer.
“God Rich, no wonder she wants to know when you’re going to go away. I know you are against this decision, but I think I made the best one. I’m running out of time and I couldn’t leave this up to chance that you would find a way around this decision. I like Mireya, she’s a really nice girl and she’s pretty. I’ve made my decision and make no mistake, this may be a business arrangement she and I have, but I will not tolerate you speaking of my wife in that manner. If you so much as talk out of turn in front of her or say something to make her cry, I’ll fire you.” He sounds really upset right now.
“But Jayden you can’t do that,” replies the lawyer. Their voices are getting closer now and I have nowhere to hide as I lower myself down so I am sitting on the floor. I might as well take a seat, this might take a while.
“I can do that and I will Rich. You know that I hate it when women are disrespected and worse than this just being a woman, she’s not just any woman, according to the law, she’s my woman.”
I hear a door slamming and Jayden’s sigh as his footsteps approach. I take it the door slamming was the lawyer’s door and not his.
I sit there and play with my fingernails as I wait for him to notice me sitting out here all alone. A strange feeling of pride fills me when I look up and see him standing before me. He defended me and more than that, he said I’m his woman. Okay, okay, I know, this is a business deal, but I think I’ve read one too many romance novels because that right there, was the most romantic thing I’ve ever had a man say about me. Sad existence I know, but I might as well take advantage of the fact that I just married a rich and handsome man.
“You okay?” he asks when I finally smile up at him softly.
“I guess,” I shrug. “I take it the lawyer doesn’t like me very much?”
“He’s just worried, that’s all. Why are you sitting out here on the ground?” he asks, offering me his hand to help me stand.
“I don’t have my key, remember?”
He reaches into the front pocket of his slacks and then it dawns on him that he has two room keys.
“I completely forgot about that,” he says, handing me the key so I can go inside.
; “Thank you for defending me,” I tell him as I finger the key.
Spontaneously, I walk up to him and kiss him on the cheek before I turn and open the door to go inside of my room. I don’t want to see the reaction on his face, so I quickly close the door behind me, leaving him standing out there.
I know he stands over there for a few seconds before heading over to his room and going inside. Why? Because the walls are so thin in this hotel that I could hear his footsteps and when he walked over to his door and closed it behind him.
This isn’t the way I dreamed of spending my wedding night. But I could be in a worse situation right now, I guess. I could be hiding from my landlord in that crummy old apartment instead of here, sleeping in a bed with expensive sheets that smell like wild flowers. Who knows, things might just end up being okay after all.
Chapter Nine
This is the part where we start living as man and wife right? Sleeping in the same room, eating together, spending time together, isn’t that what normal couples do? I guess Jayden’s idea of normal, is not what everyone else views as normal.
We’ve been here for a week. One. Entire. Week. And how many times have I seen my new husband? One. This is the part where we’re supposed to get to know one another better because at some point we’re going to end up being out together in society as man and wife or even with members of his family. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the both of us if we’re on the same page? Discussing things like what we want to tell them about how we met and how long we’ve been dating in secret before we decided to get married. I know it won’t be long before the tabloids discover that the most eligible bachelor is no longer a bachelor and when that moment arrives, it would look bad if we’re blindsided and they write anything less than favorable. I seem to be the only one of the two of us that sees the bigger picture here, he has to prove to the board that we’re actually legitimately married. It would help if I knew something beyond my husband’s name and the city he lives in.
The issue is, he came to drop off an envelope at my door before he was forced to run away without a word. Why? That damn phone started ringing. My hopes were kind of dashed after that moment. I was hoping we could explore the area before we’re forced to return to New York. Not everyone can say they get an all expenses paid trip to Mexico and can buy whatever they want.
Inside the envelope, I find a stack of cash and a set of instructions to head downstairs to the waiting town car that will take me where I need to go to buy the things I need for when we get back to New York. He also said that if I run out of money, the stores can charge it to his account. Normally girls would be all over this and want to spend all the money they can on things that they’ll never actually wear, but the thing is, I’m not like most other girls.
I pull on some comfortable clothes, my sneakers, and throw my hair up into a messy ponytail before I step out of the room and head downstairs. When I get there, there’s only one car at the curb and with the way the man is standing there smiling at me, I would assume that’s the car that is going to take me where I’m supposed to go.
“Right this way, Mrs. Leopold,” greets the driver as he holds the door open to the backseat of the car. I look around me trying to figure out if he’s talking to someone else, but want to hit myself on the forehead when I realize that I’m Mrs. Jayden Leopold. That’s going to take some getting used to.
“Thank you,” I smile up at the driver when he clears his throat.
I settle into the backseat and try not to fidget as the car pulls away from the curb. I’m nervous, I’m not sure what he’s told people about me or how I am supposed to behave. I’m out of my element, and I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control of the situation.
Pulling up to an expensive looking store, I suddenly don’t want to get out of the car. This isn’t a place where I would normally shop and I look like I just fell out of bed and forgot to put on the expensive clothing I should own. But the longer I sit there and stare up at the store from the inside of the car, the more I realize that this is the life I signed up for and I must play the part. Just because my husband isn’t around to make sure things run smoothly, that doesn’t mean I can’t at least look the part, right?
“Might as well buy some new clothes, right?” I say to myself as I push the car door open and step out onto the sidewalk. No one seems to notice me as I stand there and stare up at the expensive looking store before me.
“Mrs. Leopold, is everything all right?” the driver is now standing next to me. See what I mean? I look like a fish out of water, I’m just standing here looking at the damn store like I’ve never seen one before. This has got to stop, I’m going to have to pull out all the stops to make it appear that I know what I’m doing.
“Yes, everything is fine,” I reply as I square my shoulders and approach the store.
I pull the door open and step inside and have a look around. Everything smells new and expensive in this place. This is my first time in a place like this, so I struggle to not allow my mouth to hang open in shock. I feel completely out of place when I catch the two girls behind the counter glaring at me and whispering. I know what they are thinking right now, that I can’t afford to be in a place like this.
One of the girls, I would say she’s the braver one, comes out from behind the counter and approaches me. She’s wearing a really nice jacket, matching shirt, and pants; she has a nice style so I’m kind of hoping this will be the girl who helps me to select some clothing today.
“Can we help you, miss? Are you lost?” she asks, eyeing me over once before plastering a fake smile on her face.
The girl behind the counter turns to the side to try and hide her laughter, but it’s too late, I’ve already seen it.
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her, “Does it look like I’m lost? The car dropped me off here, so believe me, I’m not lost. Are we going to get this over with, or are you going to just stand here and play twenty questions for the rest of the day?”
I almost snort out loud when I see her mouth drop open. Yeah lady, I’m not your typical rich snob, I have one hell of a mouth on me.
“We only take appointments,” says the girl behind the counter. She looks more out of place here than the girl who asked me if I’m lost. “So, when would you like to make an appointment for? We’re closed for the rest of the day, we’re expecting a very important client.”
I almost laugh at her, clearly they are in for the shock of their lives.
“I am your appointment,” I deadpan.
“Clearly you don’t see how things work here and we are going to have to ask you to leave,” says the one who asked me if I was lost. Clearly she’s enjoying this based off of the smile and triumphant look on her face.
“Like I said, I’m your appointment. Would you like me to call my husband so you can tell him that I’m lost?”
She doesn’t seem to realize that I am absolutely one hundred percent serious, so I pull out my phone and dial Jayden’s number. I just pray he answers the phone because if I tell them Jayden is my husband, they’ll never believe me and I’ll have to suffer the embarrassment of them kicking me out of here.
“I’m really busy right now, Mireya, can you make it quick?” He sounds so thrilled to hear from me right now.
“Yes you can, the ladies here in the store don’t believe I’m your wife and want to kick me out of here,” I tell him while glaring at the two women standing before me.
“Put one of them on the phone,” he growls in annoyance. I’d hate to be her right about now, he does not sound happy.
“He wants to talk to you,” I tell her smugly, passing her my phone.
“Hello?” the girls asks slowly into the phone. I can hear Jayden yelling on the other end. The girl’s eyes widen as she looks up at me. See, I wasn’t lying to you was I? “Yes, I understand, Sir,” replies the girl looking at the other one with wide eyes.
She pulls the phone away from her ear and hands it back to me. I look down at it, hoping
by chance he might still be on the line, but he’s not. He’s left me to fend for myself on this one.
“If you will follow me this way, Mrs. Leopold,” she says, gesturing for me to follow her. Now all of a sudden she doesn’t have an attitude. The other girl runs to the front door and locks it just as another patron is about to come inside.
“That isn’t necessary, you don’t have to close the place down just because I’m here.”
The girl gives me a funny look, “Didn’t Mr. Leopold tell you? He paid for the place to be closed today. We are to only service you today and make sure you receive an entire wardrobe.”
Well, I guess I can’t argue with that, it would look bad.
“Okay,” I say with a shrug. “Lead the way then.” The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can leave this place.
I don’t end up leaving for another four hours. In that time, I am measured, poked, and prodded at, all the while being told whether or not what I have on looks right for me. I feel like a Barbie Doll getting all dressed up and then having to change twenty five times when that outfit doesn’t look right. I think if I were a Barbie Doll, I would’ve gone through her entire wardrobe at least five times now.
I can only imagine how much money was spent in this place today. When we were done selecting all the outfits for me to have shipped home and ones for me to wear for the rest of the week, they asked me how much money I had on me. When I told them how much money I have, they kindly held their hand out for the money and told me they would charge the rest of the bill to Jayden’s credit card. I didn’t dare ask how much the bill was. I had five thousand in the envelope, so imagine how much more went on his card.
I almost end up telling the girl to return some of the items she’s selected, but I decide that probably wouldn’t be the wisest decision right now. I don’t know this girl and for all I know if she suspects something is not right with my new marriage, she might call the local paper and sell her story to the highest bidder. No thank you, I need this marriage to work. So I just smile at her as I take the bag of clothes for me to wear until I get back to New York and walk out of the store.