His Secret Vow

Chapter Two

Melody stood outside City Hall at exactly 9:45 AM, wearing her best dress, a blue one with tiny daisies. Her hands were shaking so bad she almost dropped her phone twice. The morning air was cool, but sweat was already forming on her forehead like tiny raindrops.

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," she muttered to herself, pacing back and forth, lost in thought.

"Melody!"

She spun around to see Grandma Ruth climbing out of a black car. Not a super fancy one, but nicer than anything Melody had ever been in. The old lady was wearing a pink dress today with her signature pearls, and she was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Oh good, you're here! I was worried you might change your mind."

"I changed my mind about fifty times on the way here," Melody admitted. "But I'm here now, so... where's your grandson?"

Grandma Ruth checked her gold watch. "He'll be here any moment. He's very punctual, never late for anything. Well, except for fun. He's always late for fun because he forgets it exists."

Before Melody could ask what that meant, another car pulled up. This one was older and plain gray, like the color of a rainy day. It looked like the kind of car a math teacher would drive.

The door opened, and out stepped the tallest man Melody had ever seen who wasn't playing basketball on TV. He had to be at least six feet and three inches, with black hair so neat it looked like he used a ruler to style it. His eyes were gray like his car, but stormier, like clouds before lightning strikes. He wore a simple black suit that looked nice but not super expensive, and his face was so serious it could have been carved from stone.

He had a small scar through his left eyebrow that made him look a little dangerous, like a prince from a fairy tale who fought dragons on weekends.

"Ryan!" Grandma Ruth called out cheerfully. "Come meet Melody!"

Ryan walked over with long strides, his face never changing expression. When he looked at Melody, she felt like a bug under a microscope. His gray eyes scanned her from her messy bun down to her scuffed flats, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

"You must be Serenity's replacement," he said, his voice deep and cold like a freezer.

"What?" Melody blinked in confusion.

Grandma Ruth smacked Ryan's arm. "Her name is Melody, not Serenity. I told you this three times!"

"Right. Melody." Ryan didn't apologize. He just stood there like a very handsome statue that had learned to frown.

"I have a meeting at eleven," he said flatly. "We should proceed quickly."

"A meeting? You're getting married and you scheduled a meeting right after?" Melody turned to Grandma Ruth. "Is he always like this?"

"Always," Grandma Ruth sighed. "Ryan, dear, could you at least try to smile? You're scaring the poor girl."

Ryan's mouth twitched slightly upward for exactly one second. It was the worst attempt at a smile Melody had ever seen. It looked like someone had told him about smiles but he'd never actually seen one.

"That was terrible," Melody said before she could stop herself.

"I don't smile," Ryan replied.

"Ever?"

"It's inefficient."

"Inefficient? How is smiling inefficient? It uses fewer muscles than frowning!"

"That's actually a myth. Frowning uses-"

"Oh my goodness, you're seriously giving me a science lesson about faces right now?" Melody threw her hands up. "Grandma Ruth, your grandson is broken."

"He's not broken, dear. Just... challenging. Like a puzzle! A very complicated, frustrating puzzle that sometimes makes you want to throw it against the wall."

"Nana," Ryan said warningly.

"What? It's true." Grandma Ruth patted Melody's arm. "But he's a good boy underneath all that ice. He just needs someone to melt him a little."

"I'd need a blowtorch," Melody muttered.

"I can hear you," Ryan said.

"Good! Maybe you'll hear this too, if we're doing this crazy thing, you could at least pretend to be human for five minutes."

Ryan studied her with those storm, cloud eyes. "You're very different from what I expected."

"What did you expect? Someone who would just stand here quietly while you acted like a robot?"

"Essentially, yes."

Melody laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Robot. I talk when I'm nervous, and the thought of getting married to you makes me very, very nervous!"

"You don't have to do this," Ryan said quietly. "Despite what my grandmother says, you can walk away right now."

For a moment, Melody considered it. She could run back to her sister's apartment, go back to hiding in her tiny room, listening to Jake complain about her existence. Or...

"No," she said firmly. "I said I'd do this, and I keep my promises. Even if I'm marrying someone who has turned...."

"We're wasting time. Shall we go inside?"

They walked into City Hall together but not really together. Ryan was three steps ahead like he was running away from her. Grandma Ruth stayed between them like a referee at a boxing match.

The clerk at the marriage office looked bored as they filled out paperwork. Melody's hand shook as she wrote her name. This was really happening. She was really marrying this ice sculpture of a man.

"Address?" the clerk asked.

Ryan rattled off an address in Rosewood neighborhood. Melody knew the area, it was nice but not super fancy. Middle-class, like where normal people lived. That made her feel a tiny bit better. At least he wasn't some rich weirdo.

"Do you have witnesses?" the clerk asked.

"I'll be one witness," Grandma Ruth said cheerfully.

"I called Marcus," Ryan said, checking his phone. "He's parking."

A minute later, a blonde man rushed in, grinning like he'd just heard the best joke ever. He had friendly brown eyes and laugh lines, the complete opposite of Ryan.

"Sorry I'm late!" He looked at Melody and his grin got even bigger. "So you're the brave soul marrying our Ice Prince! I'm Marcus, Ryan's cousin and personal assistant. Also his only friend, mostly because he pays me."

"I don't pay you to be my friend," Ryan said coldly.

"No, that's just a bonus." Marcus winked at Melody. "Don't worry, he's not as scary as he looks. Well, actually, he kind of is. But you'll get used to it!"

"Marcus," Ryan said in a warning tone.

"Right, right. Shutting up now."

The ceremony, if you could call it that, took exactly four minutes. The clerk read some words that Melody didn't really hear because her heart was pounding so loud. She said "I do" when prompted, heard Ryan's deep voice say the same, and then suddenly she was married.

"Congratulations," the clerk said in the same bored tone. "Next!"

Ryan immediately pulled out a ring of keys and handed them to Melody. His fingers were warm when they briefly touched hers, which surprised her. She'd expected them to be cold like his personality.

"These are for the apartment. It's 42B at Rosewood Gardens. The silver key is for the building, the gold one is for the apartment, the small one is for the mailbox."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks." Melody stared at the keys like they were alien artifacts.

"I have to go to work now. My number is 555-0199. Call if there's an emergency. Only an emergency."

"What counts as an emergency? Like, if the apartment catches fire, obviously, but what if..."

"Fire, flood, break-in, or medical crisis. Everything else can wait."

"What if a UFO lands on the building?"

Ryan stared at her. "That's highly unlikely."

"But what if it does?"

"Then call the authorities, not me."

"You're seriously no fun at all."

"I've been told that before." He turned to leave, then paused. "The apartment is furnished with basics. If you need anything else, there's a credit card in the kitchen drawer. The PIN is 4829."

"You're giving me a credit card? But you don't even know me!"

"It has a thousand-dollar limit. Don't exceed it."

Before Melody could respond, Ryan was already walking away, his long legs carrying him quickly to the door. Marcus patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't take it personally. He's like this with everyone.

"Is he human?" Melody asked weakly.

"We're not entirely sure," Marcus admitted. "But hey, welcome to the family!

"That went well!" Grandma Ruth said brightly.

"Did we attend the same wedding? Because mine was a disaster!"

"Oh, honey. Ryan actually spoke to you. That's huge! Usually, he just nods at people."

"Grandma Ruth, what have I done?"

The old lady hugged her tight. "You've given my grandson a chance at being human again. And you've got yourself a fresh start. Now, let me drive you to your new home!"

As they walked out of City Hall, Melody looked down at the marriage cert

ificate in her hand. Melody Cross. That was her name now. It sounded like someone else entirely.

Melody saved his number as "Ice Prince" and followed Grandma Ruth to the car, wondering what other surprises were waiting in her new life.