4. Signing Up For More

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The wedding was the next day. 

The wedding was the next day. 

He was done for. 

He would have to drag this marriage on for another year or so before they could part, and then it would be a public scandal. The only thing he could do was become unconquerable by that time. It was the only way. 

“Damn it!” He threw his whiskey glass to the wall, shattered shards littered the floor as the liquid ran down the premium matte paint. “Fuck!” 

“You know,” He jumped, turning around to look at the silhouette. He had not realised that she was home, or that she was here. “You don’t have to try so hard.” She stepped into the light. 

She was clad in a silk teal robe that barely reached her thigh, and her hair was down. She was the devil, she was a siren, and she was just so damn beautiful - looking as sweet as a forbidden fruit. 

He took in her appearance - her clean face, her exposed chest, her long, smooth legs, and the ebony hair that framed her heart-shaped face, curls no one could ever tame. 

She smirked. “You look like a starved man.” She walked sensuously, light treads, elegant - the woman could be in rags and would still smell of old money. She lowered herself to one of the armchairs by the fireplace, sinking into it. 

“Two years is a long time.” Alexander mentally slapped himself. He should never be around his goddess - arranged wife - when he was drunk. 

“And yet you signed up for more.” He took a step towards her, against his better judgment. And another. And another. 

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” He murmured. 

“Oh?” She asked mockingly, leaning forward. “How else do you want it to be?” 

Alexander bent down, their lips nearly an inch apart. “It could be different.” His eyes moved to those plump, kissable, perfect lips.

“And what do you have in mind?” 

Alexander stared and then straightened up, shaking his head and looking away. 

“Come on, Xander. You can do this! It’s just one or two years more!” Inaya imitated his deep voice. 

Alexander looked down, an amused smile on his face. “You are crazy.” He said. 

Inaya raised a brow. “Rich. I am crazy rich.” 

“And. You are crazy and rich.” Alexander added. 

She looked down, suppressing a smile. “I am going to go back to bed. The bride needs her beauty sleep.” 

He nodded, and she turned around and walked away without another glance. 

Alexander stood there smiling and then shook his head when he realised what he was doing. “Come on, Xander. It is just one or two years more. You can’t let your needs blind your judgment!” He pumped his fist and left the room. The groom needed his beauty sleep as well. 

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The dress was hideous. But it was expensive. 

‘You look more like a chandelier than a bride.’ Penelope had to point it out, using sign language, since the stylists and other staff, along with Alexander’s teen sister Elena, were in the room. 

‘It is important to make sure Alexander Adam Thorne knows every step of the way what a mess he is in.’ Inaya smirked as she signed back. 

“Oh my god, that dress is sooo pretty!” Elena squealed, dressed in her beige maid-of-honor slash only bridesmaid dress. “So Enid coded.” 

“Who?” 

“Enid Sinclair, the werewolf from Wednesday.” Penelope chimed in, taking a good look at the dress. “Now that I think about it, it does look like Enid’s dress with crystals in it.” 

“Right? So dope!” Elena clapped before running back to tell the stylist her suggestions for the bride’s hairdo. 

Inaya turned to Penelope. “I look good?” 

“With a face and body like that, you would look good in a burlap.” She winked. 

The bride raised a brow, and the assistant shook her head and signed frantically, ‘No, no, no, I did not mean you should get work done on your face or body.’

Inaya rolled her eyes, flipping her hair. “Well, I can control my personality, but my mother’s exquisite genes are something I have no control over.” 

She walked over to the vanity mirror where the stylists were waiting while Penelope chuckled - her friend had one heck of a personality even with her trying to tone it all down. 

There was a knock on the door before Parker stuck his head in. “Princess?” 

“Daddy.” Inaya waved through the mirror. “What’s up?” 

“Just wanted to see my baby girl before the ceremony.” He stepped in as all the staff moved away so that the father and daughter could have their moment. 

Inaya gave him a flat look. “Daddy, it is not my first rodeo, remember? This is just a - I don’t know - a replica of the real ceremony. No need to get all emotional when your daughter is getting married to the man she already married two years ago.” She said as she watched her father dab his eyes with a tissue. 

“Only the most fortunate of men get to see such beautiful moments twice.” He croaked out. 

Inaya smiled thinking, ‘There will be one more moment like this, Daddy. No, a moment better - far far better - than this, when I finally marry the love of my life. I will marry a man who loves me and I will be surrounded by people who love me. Poppy will be my maid of honor, and I will be the happiest woman on the planet. There will be one more, with my actual ‘dead do us part’.’ 

“Alright, take the bawling outside, Daddy. The bride needs to look pretty.” She clapped her hands. “And she is on a tight schedule.” 

Parker pressed his lips to her temple. “The bride is already the prettiest. But sure, do whatever makes you happy.” 

She nodded and watched him walk away. The staff swarmed around her again, her hands moving swiftly to make up for the lost five minutes. 

Inaya’s eyes met Penelope’s in the mirror and the PA nodded in reassurance, making Inaya smirk. He was right about one thing - she was going to do whatever makes her happy, and she did not care who all ended up as collateral damage.

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