I let out a loud hysterical laugh which made my mother flinch slightly and step back. "You want me to get married right now?" And I laughed again. "Is this a joke? Didn't dad say the wedding will be at the end of the week?"

Mom placed the sparkly white wedding dress on the bed carefully. "Try to understand...we are doing this for your safety, Farren. Don't make this difficult for us."

"Right, I am the one making this difficult. Are you guys even hearing what all you say? Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?"

There was a loud knock on the door and dad stepped in looking impatient. "Why aren't you dressed up yet?"

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. "Because I don't want to."

I inherited dad's stubbornness so he can't blame me for that.

"Farren..." Dad massaged his temple and his voice became softer. "Please, listen to me. Don't be stubborn, I promise you at the end of all this you will get whatever you ask for."

"As a matter of fact..." He added and held out a long paper and placed it on the table nearby. "Here's the contract, sign it and I will fulfill whatever wish you will have."

In our world, girls are being married off by the age of twenty but I was an exception since I rebelled against it cause I wanted to work and be independent and dad in the end agreed to it at one condition that in future he will be marrying me off to someone of his choice and I won't protest to it. Hence, I was twenty five and unmarried and working but now that seemed to change but still it wasn't a real marriage, this one was just for a show and in some ridiculous way, for my safety.

So, if I do this and I can get dad to fulfill one wish of mine which is going to be my freedom, that he can't make me marry someone. That I will marry whoever I want.

Dad held out a pen to me and after ruminating for some time, I signed the contract.

He patted the top of my head and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Okay, now get ready, hmm?"

Swallowing my pride, I nodded and he left us alone and mom started to get me ready.

It wasn't a lavish wedding, just a simple one in our backyard with a selected number of people present that included my parents, Hector and some of my father's other men and obviously that jerk. Elysian.

Mom had already bought a dress for me and thankfully it wasn't a typical wedding gown, instead a short dress.

Later, she did a nude makeup on my face and gave some waveness to my hair and handed me a small bouquet of flowers.

She stepped back and roamed her eyes over me in appreciation. "You look beautiful, Farren."

I flipped my hair dramatically. "Of course I do. Did you even doubt it?"

She chuckled softly and brushed a kiss to my cheek. "Let's get over with this."

.

.

.

Oh, how I wish Zeke and Nora would be here too. Had the wedding be a few days later, I would have told them the whole thing but since I had to get married so early I didn't get the time to. They are in for a huge surprise tomorrow.

"Do you Elysian Leonidas take Farren Calathan to be your wife. To have and hold. From this day forward, For better or worse, For richer or poorer, In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, Till death do you apart?" The priest's voice jerked me out of my thoughts and my eyes clashed with that jerk's cold gaze on me.

He didn't even hesitate to say, "I do."

And then it was my turn. "Do you Farren Calathan take Elysian Leonidas to be your husband. To have and hold. From this day forward, For better or worse, For richer or poorer, In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, Till death do you apart?"

I rolled my eyes listening to all those words. To love and to cherish. Puh-lease. It's a fake marriage for god's sake.

"Yeah, yeah...I do..." I answered nonchalantly surprising the priest.

He cleared his throat after Hector shot him a glare as he paused for more than a few seconds and he continued, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

This time Elysian and I both glared at the priest and he took a step back. "Or...you may not..." And he chuckled nervously and cautiously left from there.

Dad came forward and shook hands with him and murmured something to him which I couldn't hear and he nodded.

Since everyone was on a tight schedule there wasn't any time to have a lunch or something so we were all served fruit sundae on Hector's order and for the first time since I came here, Elysian's face showed some emotion, and his eyes lit up in delight. For what? For ice cream of course. Fucking kid.

We were all seated around the round table that was set up in the backyard with him sitting beside me, his focus on the ice cream and nothing else.

It's not like I don't like ice cream but I was just not in a mood to eat something so I slid my bowl towards him. "You can have that too." I told him when he raised a brow at me.

Though his face remained neutral, his eyes twinkled and he reached for my bowl since he had finished his but I held it back. "Nah. Not like that. Say the magic word first."

His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed and he looked away refusing to say it.

"Okay... it's your loss. Poor ice cream will melt and go to waste just because someone couldn't say the magic word." And I gently stroked the bowl. "Aww...poor ice cream...so sad..."

His head snapped to me and he released a deep breath. "Thank you", he finally said in the chillest tone possible and snactched the bowl from me making me smile in victory.

This is interesting. I can make him do anything while bribing him with an ice cream.

Once he was finished eating, he stood up and gestured me to get up too. I folded my arms and glared at him. "Are you going to take me to a corner and murder me there?"

He looked like he would rather be buried in the ground than being here with me. "I am supposed to protect you despite what you think."

"So, where are you taking me?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "To North Korea. For our honeymoon."

North Korea?! And for honeymoon?!

My eyes widened and I looked around for dad who was talking to mom in a corner and I opened my mouth to scream but that jerk pressed his palm against my mouth silencing me.

And he grabbed arm with his other hand and forced me to stand up and started to drag me away.

Not knowing what to do, I parted my lips and sunk my teeth on his palm which was pressed against my mouth making him jerk away his hand but his hold on my arm remained firm as he glared at me.

"Are you a spy from North Korea?!" I finally shouted. And then scanned his face. "You don't look like Korean though...not being racist or something but still...and why are you taking me there?! It's not like I am from South Korea--"

"Do you have this talking disorder since birth or you acquired it recently?"

My jaw dropped. "How dare you say that! I don't have a disorder! You do, asshole! Do you really think I am going to follow you anywhere?!"

At that moment he seemed to be regretting his whole life and he face plamed himself. "For fuck sake shut up! I am taking you to my home, not anywhere else. And I am definitely not interested in taking you on a honeymoon."

I scoffed. "Obviously... it's not like you have the money to take me somewhere." And I rolled my eyes.

His grip around my forearm tightened and he stepped closer causing me to smell his delicious cologne but I didn't let that distract me and I stared straight into his eyes, not backing down.

"I have more money than you can ever earn in an year, so don't say that ever again."

I remained unfazed. "I highly doubt that. Prove it to me."

"I don't have to prove anything to you." He hissed.

"Yeah, because you don't have the money to prove it."

His jaw ticked and he stepped even more closer making the tip of our noses brush against each other. "I know what you are doing, it won't work."

Okay he was too close for my liking and he was kinda scaring me so I took a step back and tried to act cool. "That's what I thought. Was checking how much control you have on your ego though I am not that impressed."

"I don't plan on impressing you." He had this permanent bored expression on his face and he started to drag me away with him and this time I followed him silently to his car.

He opened the door for me and I slid inside as he rounded the car and sat in the driver's seat and revving the engine, he drove away.