I sat on the bed, watching as people came into my room, carrying bins of items and racks of dresses.

I was then pulled onto a chair, different hands playing with my head of hair, flipping it around and checking the length.

"It'll have to do," one of them said, glancing at me in the mirror.

I ignored the comment, and watched in silence as they did my hair and makeup.

Soon enough, they were finished and I was tugged to the middle of the room.

Many hands were now on my waist and my hips, finding the perfect dress for my body.

They grabbed different dresses and put them against my body, some claiming the colour didn't match or it didn't fit.

Finally, I was given a dress to put on, the black fabric pooling at my feet.

It was sparkly, enough to make me noticed.

Great

I walked out of the bathroom, all the workers heads turning toward me.

"Mrs Santiago," one of them gasped, their hand to their mouth as I glided into the room.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead thanked them.

I was then told to go outside, where both Kye and a limo would be waiting.

The sound of my heels clicking against the stairway echoed across the foyer, my hand grabbing onto the railing and stepping my way down.

I saw Kye at the bottom, his eyes fixed on the phone in his hand.

But as soon as I reached the bottom step he looked up, his eyes slightly widening as he trailed his eyes up then down.

"Aliyah," he started, his mouth opening then closing.

I still held onto the railing. "Save the insults," I said.

He cleared his throat, adjusting his suit as he stared back down at me.

"No," he told me, "I was going to say you look beautiful."

"Oh," I said, a slight smile on my face. "Thank you."

I watched as his lips twitched up, showing a small smile, but then he let it fall quickly, brushing off the emotion.

"We must go now, we'll be late."

I nodded my head, following him out the door.

He stopped on the landing outside the front of the house, extending his arm toward mine.

"The pretending starts now," he whispered in my ear.

I froze for a moment.

We must pretend we're in love

I nodded once again, looping my arm through his and walking down the steps.

He opened the limo door open for me, helping me step through.

He shut the door softly and then walked over to the other side, hopping in the seat as well.

The driver looked in the rear mirror, and Kye quickly grabbed my hand holding it tightly.

He nodded to the man, signalling for him to start driving.

I went to pull my hand away, but he grabbed onto it, holding it in place.

He didn't move it for the entire car ride, and we both sat in silence as we drove to the event.

"We're here," the man said, pulling up to the front of the building.

Kye quickly took a roll of cash out of his pocket, handing it to the man who smiled at Kye.

"Buy something nice for Sheryl, okay?" Kye said, patting the driver on the back.

"Oh sir, you don't have-"

Kye only held up a hand, "nonsense, it's yours."

"Thank you," he smiled, placing the cash into his pocket.

Kye opened his door, stepping out and walking over to my side.

I stepped out into the warm air, the door shutting behind me as the limo pulled away.

"Ready?" Kye asked, extending his arm toward mine again.

I nodded once more, grabbing onto his arm and walking up the buildings steps.

The dress was long enough that I had to lift it up, and Kye helped me up the steep steps in my heels.

When the doors opened for us, we were met with hundreds of people, all dressed in fancy clothes and drinking expensive alcohol.

"Aliyah and Kye," I heard my father shout, walking over to us with his arms stretched.

He engulfed me in a large hug, and then shook Kye's hand.

"I'm glad you guys could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it, Mr Perez." Kye smiled toward him, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me closer.

I saw the gleam in my fathers eyes, showing that we were doing a good job.

"I must get going," he said, "enjoy the night."

Kye and I drifted around the room, going to different people and greeting them.

Kye did most of the talking, while I just shortly answered and nodded.

I was too focused on the way Kye's fingers traced small shapes along my waist, the motion sending tingles down my spine.

It wasn't till now when the nervousness kicked in, exactly the same moment when Kye and I walked on stage.

My father stood in the middle, a microphone in his hand and talking to the large crowd.

"Now enough with the business," my father chuckled, signalling for us to come forward with his hand.

"I'd like to welcome an alliance," my father boomed, a wide smile on his face.

"Tonight we join two mafias together, where two leaders will come forward," he said.

I sucked in a deep breath, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

"It is my great honour to announce the engagement of my daughter Aliyah and her fiancé Kye, and the joining of the American and Italian mafia!"

I watched as the crowd erupted into cheers, some staying still with disappointment on their faces.

That was enough to make me even more nervous, and my breathing started to pick up.

"It's okay," Kye whispered in my ear, "they'll get used to it."

His fingers started to move against my waist again, and I felt myself calm down.

"Deep breaths," he said to me, pulling me closer, "it's okay."

I did as he said and took deep breaths, briefly closing my eyes as I felt myself relax.

The sudden words from the crowd made my heart stop, and the panic start to kick in again.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" They all shouted, throwing their fists at us.

Kye only smiled, and I could see his eyes squint.

He was either mad or nervous too

My body was completely frozen, and I watched as my father gave us a nervous look, enough to make my heart beat faster.

But that all stopped when Kye walked in front of me, putting both hands on my waist and smashing his lips against mine.

I didn't have time to react to the kiss, and instead I kissed him back, both of our mouths fighting against each other.

Even when the shouts stopped he only pulled me closer, his tongue slowly slipping to mine.

And when we heard my father cheer into the microphone, we both pulled away, our breaths mixing together as we stared at the other.

Kye dropped one of his hands, keeping the other one wrapped around my waist, leading me down the stage and back toward the middle of the room.