Sometime After Wedding

He didn't meet my gaze immediately just like the last time we encountered each other alone, instead he stepped up to a mirror and began fixing his hair as best as he could. I could tell that it had been perfectly styled before the Donna shuffled it. His eyes met mine in the mirror and we both scanned each other from head to toe.When our eyes met again, he grinned a Cheshire cat grin. A sneaky, cheeky, mischievous grin. That had alarms blaring in my head."Glad you didn't run away?" he said.I froze yet again, out of all the times he could've mentioned it, it had to be now. When no one was around and when there was no chance of Julian calming me down. But before I could go into full panic mode, he continued."Lets get this straight, You hate me, I hate you. End of story, everyone's happy."I frowned as his words register."I don't exactly hate you... I just don't like you."He paused and frowned at the mirror."Hard work gone down the drain then, I suppose."He mumbled to himself in an exasperated manner."What hard work?"He snorted at my question and settled for glaring at himself again."What hard work?"I repeated and he shrugged in response before sighing and glancing at the clock. I watched his shoulders stiffen as he noted the time."Shit, let's go."With that he grabbed my hand, but I yanked it out of his grasp."What?"He questioned with furrowed eyebrows when I gave him my most confused expression."Have you never seen or done this before?"His reply was instant."If you're asking whether my brother has ever married before, then the answer's no and if you're asking whether I have another brother, the answer is also no... at least I think I don't have another brother."My jaw nearly dropped, I had never seen anyone misinterpret a simple sentence that badly."I'm asking if you've ever led a girl, anywhere?"His response was almost immediate as he glared heatedly at me, almost as if I had embarrassed him."My love life is none of your concern!"Once again, my jaw fell, this time nearly to the ground."...You aren't supposed to hold my hand while leading me down the aisle."He blinked silently before rubbing the back of his neck and giving me an awkward chuckle."Oh...How am I supposed to do it then?"He questioned in a low voice, as if he was afraid that someone could hear us."We need to link arms." I said."Oh great, increase body contact and piss off your possessive hubby." he said.I looked at him unsure because I didn't quite catch what he had said, instead for answering me, he just grumbled some more.We arrived in front of a door shortly, and right before it opened, Edward gave me quite the pep talk."Don't think it's going to be easier from now on. If anything, it will be worse and even more dangerous, but don't even try to run away, not until Julian has full control at least, otherwise what could've happened before can happen now."The door opened and the soft sound of whispering from inside stopped completely as a tense silence settled among the parties present.Several armed men stood around the carpet, protecting me from sight of the other guests. I noticed that Edward had stepped away from me when I tried to hold onto his arm.

"I was your escort, you're on your own now."With that, he walked away. I gulped as my eyes met that of everyone in the rooms, all of them prompting me to go on. Clutching the bouquet to my chest, I met the familiar pair of silver eyes. Call it instinct but at that moment I began moving, because I knew that I would be the safest once I was beside him.His face was blank as his eyes followed me, I knew from that fact that this was a dangerous event. We were nearly to the end of the territory and even when heavily guarded, there were chances of us being attacked.There wasn't even a priest that stood beside Julian, instead it was his own father. As soon as I had reached Julian, the man decided to speak up."Welcome your new Boss and Donna!"Several shouts echoed around the room along with loud chants of 'long live the boss and Donna'.Julian raised his hand and the people silenced themselves immediately. I felt his arm coil around my waist and pull me closer."Those who have already pledged, are the only ones permitted to enter the estate. Any objection to this new rule will be dealt with harshly."Whispers started passing between the guests once again as the new announcement passed between them. I felt Julian's hold tighten around my waist and glanced up at him instinctively.We made eye contact for no longer than a minute before he nodded to someone and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.The crowd became silent as Julian's father stepped closer to us."We might have to discuss that rule, son." He spoke through gritted teeth, tempting Julian to pull me a little behind himself."There's nothing to be discussed father as the new boss, that is the first change I have introduced." he answered.The men surrounding the carpet stepped forward as I was led down the carpet by my new husband. The tense atmosphere following us all the way back to the estate...My new residence.

It had been a month since the wedding and Julian had been busy. Since he was the new boss, he had to go meet several of their allies and renew their treaties so now they would serve under his name and be ready at his beck and call. Not on his fathers.This was very dangerous though and from the bits of conversation that I would occasionally catch onto, there were a few cases where guns had been involved. In each of them Julian and his band of selected members had come out victorious.That didn't change the fact, that my new husband was walking into danger freely. While fully aware that things could take the worst turn at any moment.He was kept away most of the time because of this and rarely managed to sleep properly. Edward had dropped by soon after the wedding, when Julian was away and had enlightened me with the information that no one else had the guts to relay.Ranging from traitors, moles and enemies, Julian had also been buried under heaps of paperwork and Edward had told me the whereabouts of his office in case I wanted to meet him. That was a week ago, now I barely had anyone to talk to. Dramas and books were my only amusement.Thankfully, I wasn't restricted or timed with the television as it was the only electronic I was personally permitted to posses.Other than that, I was safe to wear whatever I liked in the presence of my husband. But wasn't allowed to wear anything revealing in the presence of any other man.That wasn't as bad as it sounded actually. Since I was almost always stuck in this massive room that Julian called his own. Now ours.Donna had been moved to a safe house since I had 'taken over' her position, and Sally was to remain with her. Never in my life would I have imagined actually missing Sally, but in times where I was this alone, my thinking was valid.

Edward was also busy, according to him, there was a lot more burden on his shoulders now than before. Since the second in command was new, the boss was new and a few important members of the gang had been replaced by their successors. Edward was left to analyze and check up on the new replacements. The job was given to him by none other than Julian himself.

I sighed and settled my head on my knees, I couldn't even focus on the story playing on the LED. All I could do was think about Julian and how he had been, I hadn't seen him for a while now and was just itching to hit him with something the moment he got back.Who leaves their new wife on the first night? Granted that I had fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, but that didn't mean that he had to disappear on me.I only caught glimpses of him every now and then.The worst part was that the man- my now father-in-law -also frequented the base and I could only hope that he didn't find me alone. I had barely been stepping out of my room lately and had little to no motivation to move from the comfortable position on the couch.The corset under my dress was still suffocating me but I had grown used to it over the years. Donna did say something about it being mandatory and the only case it could be removed in was if I was to get pregnant.I sighed and stood up before dragging myself to the shower, I could at least look around right? I won't run away and I would be supervised by the men Julian had left outside my room.

After taking what had to be the most relaxing shower I had ever had, I dried my hair and put on my dress. Soon after that, I was out of my room and on my way to explore the lair. They made it sound very dramatic.It was a huge mansion in the middle of trees, the property was owned by the gang and it stretched for acres of land. I knew for sure that some of the important members were also accommodated somewhere on this large land.The guards followed after me, they were two bulky men dressed in black with visible guns strapped to their belts, a dagger hanging from one of the hoops on their jeans. I could bet that they had more guns hidden somewhere under their clothes.Both of them were silent and refrained from talking to me, their answers to any of my questions were either nods or mono syllables. Another reason why I wanted to find someone to talk to, but strangely enough their weren't any females present. Even the person who came to check on me every hour and brought along food or new dresses or replaced and checked the essentials in the washroom, was a male and even he didn't say a word to me, I could almost bet that it was another rule and Julian had gladly followed it.A throat cleared behind me and I turned to one of the guards in silence."Where are we headed, Donna?"He asked politely, eyes not lowered but not meeting mine either."I want to go see Julian." I replied.Both the guards shared looks before replying."The boss will be back in a while Donna, would you like to return and wait inside your room?"I shook my head, it was obvious that I could only visit a few spots that were specified by Julian, others would probably scar me for life."We can look around for a bit I'm sure, I haven't left my room up till now and I really want to see everything up close."The other guard replied instantly, his voice sounding a bit guarded than the other one."You can look around in the presence of the boss, Donna, I'm sure he would be more than delighted to be present."I waved my hand in the air as if I was dismissing the idea and waving it away."If he wanted to be present then he would've given me a tour on his own and since he barely has enough time for me, I'd rather do this on my own than not at all."The guards went to interject but I frowned at both of them in suspicion, they were clearly trying to hold me back.Silently, they followed after me, opening the doors or Nodding to other guards and helping me through from one room to another. That was when a certain someone made their presence known.

"Edward?" I exclaimed."Princess?" he said."You're free?" I asked."What're you doing out here?" He said at the same time.We asked together, barely managing to catch what the other was saying over our own voices."I'm looking around." I answered.He nodded to me before turning to the guards."Leave." he ordered to the guards.They both stiffened at his command and his glare sharpened when they didn't follow immediately."But the bos~" one of the guard was saying.Edward interjected with a voice as hard as steel and the most commanding one I had ever heard, coming from him especially."Told you not to leave her alone and she won't be alone, so neither of you are needed here. Leave. Now" Edward replied.Both of them bowed their heads and left without another word. Edward stayed rooted on spot and waited till they were completely out of sight and after I had heard a door slam somewhere, he finally began talking."You could've waited for Julian to return."I shrugged in response and gave him the side eye. He sighed and nodded silently, both of us knew that Julian didn't have any time now a days and he was more than just busy with everything. He was drowning in it.

"Will you show me around?" I asked.He nodded silently and led me to a hall. There were numerous pictures that decorated it, people standing with all their glory, guns and daggers on display. It was almost like walking into a museum, except I knew that these guns were in perfect and loaded condition to be used if needed.

I followed him quietly as he didn't speak a word nor turn around to see if I was right behind him. But somehow, whenever I stopped to examine something, he would stop in his steps as well. There were numerous questions clouding my mind but I knew they were not going to be answered anytime soon, especially not by my brother-in-law.

"What's in there?"I questioned and he finally turned his head to look where I was pointing. I frowned as he grimaced and stiffened, before relaxing as a lazy smirk took over his features."You sure you're strong enough to handle what's in there, princess?" he asked.I nodded eagerly, of course I was strong enough, or at least I hoped I was. But no amount of hoping or praying could have readied me for what I saw.Blood drained from my face as I stared at the massive room in front of me, my mouth agape as I swallowed back the scream threatening to come through.Young girls... They all looked so young, not even in their teens. All of them were buried in the walls.