OWNED BY THE DEVIL'S HEIR

THE WEDDING

"I was taken to my room, and all I can say is luxury...... I wasn't the happiest person at the time, but even at that, I couldn't ignore how exquisite the interior decoration was, I was so exhausted thinking about everything happening around me, but even though it was still feeling strange, I felt a little sense of peace, looking around the room, I saw a gift hamper by the corner, and thank the gods I ran towards it and grabbed a few chocolate bars, as soon as I ate them, I decided to lie down and stretch on the king sized bed to feel the softness on my skin, but I lost track of time as I dozed off..............."

"I was startled awake by a knock from the door...... It was Mrs Irene."

"Hi ma'am, the boss is ready, he is expecting you downstairs, should I tell him you'll be down in a few?"

"Yes please, tell him I'll be down in 5 minutes....."

"I couldn't believe I lost this much track of time, I said to myself as I quickly put myself in the beautiful white knee length flared luxury gown and pumps waiting for me in the wardrobe, thank God I didn't have to reapply makeup or rearrange my hair....."

"I could feel their gaze, the gaze of everyone in the sitting room on me as I stepped down from the stairs, but as I looked up, his stare was the most prominent, his eyes were wide with shock as they locked with mine, but before anyone else could notice it, it disappeared...."

"Miss Ashley, just who we've been waiting for....... Let's proceed, shall we?

"The judge stood up as we went through the processes, but I wasn't even paying much attention to the event, till the most prominent part of the ceremony where I had to respond and put a ring on his finger as he put on mine, because thoughts went through my head, how could he get a judge to come host him a private wedding in his living room, I have never heard of it being done anywhere, how connected was he really.....

"Do you take Mr Lucien Alessandro to be your lawfully wedded husband."

"Yes..... I do."

"Do you take Miss Ashley Vale to be your lawfully wedded wife."

"Yes, I do."

"By virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may seal this declaration with a kiss."

"It just happened to realize that I have to kiss the one person I hate the most right now, and most importantly it had to look real as people were watching......how much better can this day get?"

"For a moment the room went dead silent, his eyes were already on me, but this time not the cold, calculating stare he usually wore, this one was different, it was focused, intent yet soft, like he was checking out something only he could see."

"I could feel his hands on mine, firm but not painful, just enough to remind me that there is no escaping this now........ He stepped closer, it wasn't rushed or hesitant but deliberate, his steps closed up the space between us until I could feel the heat from his body hovering above mine, my breath caught even before I could stop it"

"He lifted his hands slowly, and for a second I thought he was going to touch my face, but rather, his fingers settled lightly by the side of my waist, steadying me, to everyone watching, I'm sure it looked flawless, perfectly natural, but to me it felt like the world had been reduced to just the few inches between us...."

"Relax,"..... He murmured, only I could hear it, but I didn't know if it made me actually feel better or not......."

"His other hand came up, his fingers brushing lightly against my chin, raising my face upwards...... It made my heart race faster, everyone was still present, but somehow, I couldn't feel their presence anymore."

"His eyes dropped to my lips and back to meet mine, then he slowly leaned in, slow enough to remind me of what was about to happen, then our lips met"

"The first touch of his lips against mine was soft, so soft it left me in shock, I had expected something forceful, cold, something that matched the man who had helped wreck my life, but no, it felt controlled, almost..... Respectful"

"The moment our lips touched, it evoked something inside me, something electric, a sharp unexpected warmth which spread through my skin like a spark catching fire, it made my fingers instinctively fasten against his suit, in that moment, his lips pressed slightly firmer against mine, deepening the kiss a little more before pulling away"

"It lasted for just a few seconds, enough to look convincing, to make the room believe it was real, enough to leave an impression but not enough to cross a line. When he finally stepped back his hands lingered on my waist for a brief second before letting go, it filled the room with scattered applause and quiet murmurs, but I could barely hear any of it, I was still hypnotized by the feel of his lips against mine and the unsettling feeling that in those few seconds it didn't totally feel like acting at all."

"As soon as the ceremony came to an end, we were ushered to the dinning area to have dinner, thank God because I was starving, not everyone stayed though, especially not Lucien, he had stepped out like nothing just happened, but I didn't care, I just needed food."

"The table was already set all thanks to Mrs. Irene, we all sat down to eat, I have never seen that much food all my life, I mean we were only about ten, ten people I didn't know at all, regardless we ate while making small talk, or rather they did most of the talking while I just listened. As soon as I cleared my plate, I excused myself and went back to my room."

"I entered the room, undressed and stepped into the shower, I had a really long bath, as I sat in the tub, my mind just raced back to everything that had happened the whole day, and I quickly grabbed my phone to call Maria."

"Hey girl, you are at the hospital now right? How is she doing? How was your day?"

"I'm ok Ash, mom isn't out of surgery yet, but I've been given updates, she is doing pretty well, what about you, what is going on, thank God you are still alive."

"Well, I'm a married woman now, I can't really talk much here but I'll stop by the hospital tomorrow, we have a lot to talk about, right now I'm super exhausted, I had an eventful day, let's talk later ok? When she is out of surgery give me a text or better still a call ok?"

"I stepped out of the bath, forgetting that I didn't bring a towel with me into the bathroom, I hissed and stepped into the room to grab it from the basket of sheets in the closet but to my greatest surprise........."

"Jesus! Lucien! What the f**k are you doing inside my room without knocking?"

I quickly ran back into the bathroom and after a while I saw his arm extend with a towel, I quickly grabbed it and wrapped myself up before going back into the room"

"You are really audacious and rude, why would you do a thing like that?"

"Keep your mouth shut for a minute young lady, I did knock, but you didn't respond so I let myself in, by the way it is my house, which means it is my room not yours, now get dressed

then sit down, we need to talk"