“…take this man to be your lawfully wedded…” here I was, standing at the altar with a man I had just met the week before, about to become his wife. If you had asked me a month ago if I ever planned on getting married, I would have said,”Never, no, not in a million years”; it’s funny how quickly you choose the thing you don’t want, if it’s that… or death.
I look out at the small crowd who gathered to watch us be wed… I don’t recognize any of them. My family wasn’t allowed to come, on the promise that they would be killed on sight if they even tried. Then, I look back at the man who is to be my husband and shiver, not because he’s hideous or anything, but because I don’t even know him, I have no clue what kind of person lurks behind that serene, extremely handsome, face. I stand there staring, not even realizing that everyone has gone quiet… oh, that’s right, this is where I speak, “I do.” The priest announces us man and wife, and this is it, the beginning of my new life as the daughter-in-law of the biggest mafia lord in this part of the U.S.
“You may kiss the bride!” Oh no! I forgot about this part, I brace myself for the inevitable, but instead of a long, passionate kiss, he just quickly pecks me on the mouth, and everyone starts clapping. It wasn’t that bad… We walk back down the aisle, his arm around me in a somewhat sweetly protective manner, and then out to the black limo waiting for us. Seems that he wanted to get out of there as quickly as I had, because we had forgone the entire wedding reception, but even if we weren’t there, there was sure to be a party in our celebration. He opened the door for me like a gentleman, and I climbed in, starting to think that my mysterious new husband might not be as cruel and terrible as I had previously thought. When he climbed into the car, he didn’t say anything, or even sit near me. He scooted away to opposite end of the car and just sat, staring in silence. Finally, after about twenty minutes, he spoke, “I’m sorry you got roped into all this, I never wanted us to meet like this.” Never wanted to meet? That implied that he actually had wanted to meet me previously.
”You wanted to meet me? I had never seen you in my life, until last week when I was kidnapped by your father’s goons.”
”Yeah, I’ve been watching you form a distance for some time now… sorry, that must sound creepy. I just never had the courage to talk to you in person, but you know that guy, Eris, that you’ve been talking to on Instagram… that was me, ‘Eris’ is ‘Sire’ backwards. My actual name is Sirencian, my Mother picked my name, and my Father never had the guts to argue with my mother, so it stuck, but he convinced her to at least let everyone call me ‘Sire’.”
”So, what you’re telling me, is that the guy who I’ve been talking to one Insta… the guy who I actually kind of liked… was you?”
“Yeah, and almost everything I said was true, minus my address and my occupation.”
”No, really, I still thought you were a veterinarian that lives in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment downtown.”
”Yeah, actually, my childhood dream was to become a vet, but that would never work out now that my Father has decided that I am to be his successor.”
”Then just leave… disappear and never come back.”
”I could never do that, family and tradition is more important than any dream I could have.”
”I respect family and traditions, but maybe you should reevaluate your priorities, you matter too, you know.”
”You know how weird this is, right? I’m basically having a therapy session with the woman who I like, but barely know, that is now my wife. We are not your typical couple.”
”Not in the slightest.”
We rode in silence for the rest of the ride. Sire didn’t speak until we pulled onto a small airport runway. “Lira, we’re here.” I hadn’t even realized it, but I had fallen asleep during our ride. I felt somewhat more clothed than I had when I fell asleep, I looked down. Sire’s suit jacket was laid over top me, he must have noticed that I was cold at some point and given me his jacket. This small act of sweetness from him caused something inside me to stir.
I picked up the jacket and handed it back to him, “Thank you. Where are we?”
”My father’s private airport.”
Even if I didn’t like Sire’s father, I had to admit, he had style. I stood and stared in awe at the assortment of small aircrafts, helicopters, and jet planes. I was speechless, so I said the only thing I could think of, “Whoa!”
”Impressive, right? You know what’s even more impressive, I can fly every one of these.”
”Seriously!?”
He laughed at my reaction, and I found myself smiling too, that was the first time I had heard him laugh, and I liked it. Sire’s laugh was so rich and full that anyone who heard it couldn’t resist laughing themselves.
”You’re cute, you know.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, we both blush. Trying to move on, he says, “We better get going.” He grabs our bags out of the trunk of the limo and carries them toward one of the smaller planes.
“Wait, are YOU flying us to Greece!?”
“Yeah, um, surprise?”
“I’m not sure I feel comfortable flying with someone who’s not a certified pilot.”
”Who says I’m not?”
”But…”
”Calm down, there’s nothing to be afraid of, I’ve been flying planes, this one in particular since I was eight.”
“Eight!? Is that legal?” I know as soon as I ask the question, what the response will be.
”I’m part of the mafia, Honey, half the stuff I do isn’t legal.” I can’t help but giggle, because it is kind of funny, but also because I’m partially awkward about that kind of stuff. Breaking rules was NEVER a thing for me growing up as the daughter of a former marine. My mom became a little more lenient on the rule-breaking thing when my father passed away.
He packed our things away into the cargo area, and we were set. He made sure I was buckled in properly, then he took off. My body tensed up as we took off on the runway, but I had nothing to fear. Once we were gliding smoothly through the air, I relaxed a little, apparently enough to fall asleep again. I only woke up when we hit a bit of turbulence, but only for a moment, before drifting off to sleep again. As I fell asleep again, I thought of the man next to me, the man who had enough power and skill to control an airplane, but enough tender thoughtfulness to give me his jacket and open the door for me like a gentleman. Maybe I could fall in love this man, I mean, there are worse circumstances.
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