The Marriage Contract

Life is A Movie

Ryland looked down at me and a warm smile lit his face. He chuckled a bit and spun me around, "So, does that me you like me now, Miss Rory?"

As he said my name, a chill went down my spine and I smirked up at him, "Don't let it go to your head, lover boy."

"...I know it ain't easy

Giving up your heart..."

As the song continued on, winding towards the end, Ryland and I's conversation died down. Looking up into his steely gray eyes, I couldn't help letting the small smile that had been appearing all day slip back onto my lips. He returned it, his eyes soft as they stared into mine.

Finally, as the song came to an end, all of the guest cheered and smiled our way. Grabbing my hand, Ryland led me back to our seats. Looking down at the plate in front of me filled with steak, potatoes, peas and corn, and fresh bread, my stomach growled and I noticed just how hungry that I was. Ryland chuckled and smiled over at me as he looked down at his plate, "They spared no expense, did they?"

"Clearly not," I said, chuckling as I took a bite of the heavenly piece of meat on the plate before me. Ryland followed suit and we drifted into a comfortable silence, listening to the music, talking and laughter of our wedding going on around us. As I watched, I could see my parents laughing and talking with Ryland's and Hayley and Axel speaking quietly to each other in the corner. I smiled lightly at the look on Hayley's face. It's been a while since I've seen that look.

It wasn't long before I had finished eating, and decided that I should probably mingle about and actually speak to the guests that had so graciously attended my impromptu wedding. Standing up from my chair, I told Ryland of my plans, then walked away from the table.

The first few people I came into contact with were business associates of my fathers; they smiled politely at me and congratulated me on marrying such a "handsome" and "well established" young man, and wished our marriage well. The next few people were distant relatives of mine. To be completely honest I didn't remember half of their names, but I smiled and thanked them for coming anyway.

After making my rounds through the crowd, I finally stopped next to the wine table that had been set up. Grabbing a glass of white wine, I stood off to myself and watched the crowd again. This time, I spotted Ryland as he happily spoke to his sister. I smiled slightly at the genuine smile on his face as he regarded his sister, but was taken out of my reverie when I heard someone clear their throat next to me.

Pulling my eyes away from Ryland, I glanced up at the unfamiliar man standing in front of me. He was tall, about Ryland's height with light green gray eyes that set me on edge. And his creepily charming smile didn't help with that.

"Hello, Miss Aurora...I would like to say that I have heard a lot about you, but alas I cannot," the man said, reaching for my hand and placing a feather light kiss there.

Something about this action made my skin prickle with unease and I pulled my hand away, "Hmm," I hummed, narrowing my eyes at him slightly. "Pardon my frankness, but I don't believe that I know you, sir."

The man laughed a deep, throaty laugh, letting it rumble deep with his chest, "I wouldn't expect you to, my dear. I am a...business colleague of Mr. Steel," he said, sounding almost snake like.

Backing away slightly, I glanced behind him and almost physically sighed with relief as I saw Ryland approaching, a hard look on his face. "Parker. I see you have met my wife," Ryland said, his usual mask on full display.

A sly smirk came to the mans – who I now know, whose name is Parker's – face, "Indeed I have Ryland, and she is very lovely."

I shivered at the sheer iciness of his tone. Glancing at Ryland, I could see cracks beginning to show in his calm façade. From seeing before how bad Ryland's temper could be, I walked past Parker and looped my arm around Ryland's, lacing our fingers.

Ryland looked down at me, still silently fuming, but a look of surprise came across his face, "Dance with me," I quietly begged as innocently as I could, attempting not to alert the rest of the guests of the potential of the groom and another guest fighting on the floor for whatever reason.

"Of course," he said tightly, locking his eyes with Parker, then tugging me away.

Once we were a good distance away from Parker, I placed my hands on Ryland's shoulders as he wrapped his arms around my waist, "What was all that about," I asked quietly as we swayed back and forth to the slow intro of Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.

Shaking his head, he looked away from me, then closed his eyes. Releasing a breath, he looked back at me, "Not tonight. Tonight, even though it is contractual, it is about us. I'm not letting someone take that away, especially him," he said.

And with that little speech, there was nothing more to say. I simply nodded, then tuned in to the actual words of the song as they continued.

"...Watch you smile while you are sleeping

while you're far away and dreaming.

I could spend my life

in this sweet surrender.

I could stay lost in this moment

forever..."

As Ryland and I swayed back and forth, I quickly got lost in the sound of Steven Tyler's voice. The words that he sang that even I could feel rang with truth to whomever he was speaking to.

"Don't want to close my eyes,

I don't want to fall sleep

Cause I'd miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a thing.

Cause even when I dream of you

the sweetest dream would never do

I'd still miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a thing..."

About half way through the chorus, I couldn't help myself but to sing along with the classic rock ballad. It was easy to get lost in the sound of the music, and the rhythm of the song. I didn't realize I had closed my eyes until I opened them, only to meet the piercing gray eyes of my husband who was staring back at me with a soft look on his face.

Looking up at him, I was completely trapped in his hauntingly beautiful eyes. Smiling softly down at me, he reached up and pushed a stray piece of hair away from my face, letting the back of his hand linger of my cheek for a moment. Letting his hand drop back to my waist, his smile widened as he whispered the last few words of the second verse to me.

"And I just want to say with you, in this moment forever. Forever and ever..."

"I don't want to close my eyes

I don't want to fall sleep

Cause I'd miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a thing.

Cause even when I dream of you

the sweetest dream would never do

I'd still miss you babe,

And I don't want to miss a thing..."

As the second chorus ended and led into the bridge, I stared, mystified, up at this beautiful, infuriating and confusing man. As I looked at him, his mask was gone. I could see the whirlwind of his emotions that weren't far off from mine. My emotions were all over the place and I couldn't get a firm grasp on any of them but the pure awe of the fact that he was my husband. I had married him. I didn't like him. He drove me crazy. But he was funny. He was sweet – sometimes. He woke me up at crazy hours for dress shopping that I didn't want to do. He got me there on time. We argue. He has a temper just as bad as mine... And I was drawn to him, there was no denying. I couldn't fight it.

Without another thought, I wrapped my arms around his necked and smashed my lips against his.

Ryland kissed me back without even a second of hesitation. His lips molded to mine, and I didn't think that it was possible, but it felt better than when he kissed me the first time when we said "I do." As he kissed me, his hands slipped from my waist and sunk down into my hips, pulling me closer to him. Wrapping my arms tighter around his neck, I pushed myself even closer to the point where the only thing separating us was our clothes.

Finally, pulling away from him when we both ran out of breath, I looked up into his now wild gray eyes with wide eyes of my own. Before we could say anything, the wedding guests cheered and we glanced around, noticing them all watching us with happy smiles, particularly our parents, and Hayley whose smile was particularly smug.

Pulling away from Ryland, I could literally feel my cheeks turning red. As the guests continued cheering, someone cleared their throat into a microphone, drawing everyone's attention up to the DJ stand. Ryan, Ryland's father, stood there with a smile on his face holding a microphone in one hand and a glass of Champagne in the other, "Well, I would say after that little display, it would be a good time to start the toasts, before cutting the cake." At that moment, a spot light was placed on Ryland and I, and his father, respectively. "Let's kick it off with the Maid of Honor and then the Best Man..."

With that said, Hayley smiled at me and made her wait up to the podium and took the mic from Ryan. "Ok...Well you guys, you made it," she said with a smile looking at Ryland and I. "I would like to say that I won't get all mushy like I did at the rehearsal dinner, but I can't guarantee that, so I just won't address it." Everyone chuckled lightly, but she continued on. "You guys are probably the most polar opposite pair that I have ever met. Yet, somehow, you make it work. Both of you deserve happiness and I am glad you found it in each other," she said with a genuine smile on her face, looking me dead in the eyes. "Here's to you guys!" Raising her glass in the air, everyone followed suit and took a sip. With one last smile, Hayley stepped down and handed the mic over to Axel, Ryland's Best Man.

Taking the mic from Hayley, he gave her a smile, and then looked back out at Ryland and me. "Again, man, I don't know what you did to convince her to marry you," he said bluntly, causing everyone, including Ryland and myself to chuckle. "But in all seriousness, Rory, you are absolutely stunning and my cousin is so lucky to have you. And like Hayley said, you guys both deserve to be happy. And I think that you two are great together. To you guys," he said, raising his glass like Hayley and taking another sip.

Next was Roxy, Ryan and Clair, Ryland's grandparents and mine. Finally, after my dad went up and made a small speech about how he loved me and respected Ryland, I figured that everything was finished, until my dad handed off the mic to my mother. Shocked, I stared up at my normally soft spoken and reserved mother as she stood there with a soft smile, regarding Ryland and I.

"Hello, everyone," she said in a soft voice, glancing around at everyone. "I will be the last of the night, I promise." She cracked a smile, and everyone laughed lightly, and slightly relieved along with her. "Ryland," she started, shocking him as he looked up at her. "I am delighted to have you entering our family. I have watched you grow into the man that you have become today since the time that you were three and my baby girl here was yet to enter the world. And from that time on, I knew that I wanted my daughter to marry someone like you. Someone kind, someone smart. Someone firm and caring and would take care of her. I had only hoped for someone like you for my daughter, and here I am, twenty years later, accepting you, yourself into my family. I am trusting you take care of her, Ryland, and I am already assured that you will."

I was shocked at my mother's speech for Ryland. I glanced up at him and smiled when he looked right back down at me, tightening his hand around my waist that hand somehow found its way there.

"And to you, my daughter," she said, now speaking directly to me, "I love you. From the moment that I found out that I was bringing you into this world, I knew that you would be the light of my life. Your father and I prayed for you, my dear, and you are the biggest and brightest blessing in my life. I am now happy to give you over to a man like Ryland. I adore you, my love. My princess, my Aurora. Here's to your Happily Ever After, my darling." Raising her glass in the air, she smiled at both of us and took the last sip from her wine glass.

The crowd was quiet for a moment, in shock of the beautiful speech that my mother had just made. Finally, they all erupted into applause for both Ryland and I, and my mother's kindhearted words.

Coming back to the podium, Ryan took the mic and smiled out to everyone, "Now, after all of the kind words, it is finally time to reveal the cake," he said, gesturing behind Ryland and I as four men carried in one of the most beautifully over-done cakes that I have ever seen.

The cake was solid, creamy white and stood six tears high. Instead of being round, like most wedding cakes, it was a squared off. Covered in ivory, handmade sugar flowers from top to bottom, it was a sight to behold. It almost made me feel bad for cutting into it once they handed Ryland and I the knife to slice the first piece together. But as beautiful as it was, nothing could surmount to its taste. The creamy vanilla texture melted in your mouth and made it like I was floating on a cloud.

After us, everyone took their turn coming up and getting passed a slice of the remarkable cake that no doubt cost well over the amount that I would've wanted to pay for it. As I sat in my seat next to Ryland, I happily watched everyone sip at their wine and eat the pieces of the cake, which slowly began to dwindle away until only about twelve sugar flowers were left and the top two tears of the cake that had been set aside for storage at mine and Ryland's flat.

After about another half an hour, the sun had gone all the way down and the sky was now glittering with small stars, something rarely seen in the city where I now resided, unlike living with my parents, where I could see the stars every night. I would frequently find myself watching them, entranced by their beauty. I missed it.

Soon enough, I was taken out of my thoughts by Ryland as he nudged me slightly. I looked over at him, only to be greeted with a soft smile, "It's almost seven. Our flight leaves at eight, so, I think they should be about to send us off to pick up our things and head to the airport," he said quietly.

Slightly confused, I looked at him questioningly, "Why are we going the airport?"

Laughing, he shook his head, "Did you forget about the honeymoon," he asked laughing. When I didn't follow suit, he stopped, "Oh, you really did forget. Ok, well. Roxy and your friend Hayley set it up, apparently. I figured that they would've told you."

Before I could respond, Hayley and Roxy, themselves, made their way over to our seats and pulled us each onto our feet. A spotlight was then shown on us and they two girls smiled at us, and then out to all of the guests.

"Attention, everyone," Hayley said, drawing everyone's attention even more to us. "It is time to send the happy newlyweds off on their surprise honeymoon," she shouted and the crowd erupted into cheers. "Your limo is waiting just outside the gates."

Leading us around the table, the crowd parted ways. Ryland offered me his hand, and I took it as we made our way down the center of everyone. Every person that we passed tossed small white grains of rice at us, and I couldn't help but laugh at the ancient tradition.

As we made it through everyone, we made it to the end of the drive and to the large iron gates, where both sets of our parents stood, smiling happily, along with Axel, and Hayley and Roxy, who had followed us.

"Your bags are already packed and in the back of the limo," Roxy said with a smile and a wink as she looked at the both of us.

"Thank you," I said, looking at everyone. They didn't have to go through all that they did for us, especially for this wedding being forced upon us. I was especially grateful to Hayley, because even though she knew that I wanted nothing to do with this wedding, she stuck by me and made it as painless as possible and even made it enjoyable – even though some of that can be chalked up to the groom himself, surprisingly enough.

Hugging everyone, I told my parents I loved them, and told Ryan, Claire, Axel and Roxy goodbye. Finally, hugging Hayley, I whispered my personal thanks to her. "It was nothing, Rory. You won't regret marrying him, just don't come back pregnant and make me regret all the lingerie I packed for you," she said pulling back and sending me a wink. I gaped at my best friend, but didn't get the chance to say anything as Ryland and I were ushered into the limo and the door shut behind us. With one more wave to our family and friends, we were off, headed towards the airport.