I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife

Chapter 5: Dominic

"Everything okay?" I hear. I snap out of my thoughts and see my sister, Liz, standing in front of me.

"Yea, all good." I said to her. "Why?"

"You just seemed to not be here, is all. What were you thinking about?" She asked me, grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite out of it before handing it back to me. I gave her a look and set the sandwich down, realizing I was not hungry anymore. I push the plate toward her and she snatches it back up.

"I was thinking about Charlotte. The day I realized I was in love with her." I say. Liz sets the sandwich down and brushes her hands together, getting rid of the crumbs.

"That was last year, wasn't it?" She asks me. I nod my head. "Speaking of Charlotte, how did that meeting go with her father tonight?" She asks me. She leans against the counter on her elbows and looks at me, waiting for an answer.

"It went better than I thought. I watched Charlotte beat the s**t out of her driver because he didn't pick her up from campus and she had to walk home. Then we started talking about the alliance and she found out that way." I said and let out a sigh.

"How did she take it?"

"Pretty well. She basically said that she was going to go through with it to protect both of our families. She's a natural born leader, Liz; and I get to marry her in order to keep her safe." I tell my sister, looking down at my hands I have folded and resting on the counter. I sat down at the bar next to Liz and looked down at my hands again.

"Well, I think this alliance is the best thing for both of our families. And you get the girl." She says and slaps me on the shoulder. I let out a small laugh and nudged her back. She smiles at me and finishes off the sandwich that I made. "I'm headed to bed. The old man wants to see you. He's in his office. Don't look at me like that. I tried to keep him in bed. Don't stay up too late. Things will work out the way they are meant to work out with Charlotte." She says to me. Lize stands up, kisses my cheek and heads out of the kitchen. I sighed loudly and stood on the stool, grabbing the plate and sticking it in the dishwasher. I put down the rest of my beer and tossed it in the trash can before leaving the kitchen, shutting the light off behind me. I walked down the hall and up a small set of stairs, turning left and knocking on the door before opening it.

"Come in." I hear as I turned the handle. I entered the room and found my father sitting at his desk. He doesn't look any better today. In fact, he looks a little worse. His hair is littered with gray among his back curls and his eyes are sunken in. He's lost a lot of weight in the last couple of months and he only eats about a meal a day due to his medication making him sick. He is leaning forward on the desk, his fingers intertwined and his head resting on them. I can hear his breathing rattling in his chest, and he lets out a single cough, not moving his hands from his face.

"Hey," I said quietly. He put his hands down and opened his eyes to look at me. Seeing his eyes, blood shot and dull, my heart breaks a little bit more. I hate seeing him like this, but if I let him see any emotion, he'd have my ass and tell me that showing emotion is for the weak. I know when I need to show emotion and when I need to keep it hidden. I sigh again. s**t, this is going to be hard after he goes. Everything I know, he taught me.

"How did the meeting go?" He says in a low and breathless voice, his breath rattling with every word he speaks. There is a slight tone to his voice, a disapproving tone, which I ignore. He leans back in his chair and folds his fingers together in his lap, staring at me and waiting for me to give him an answer. I take a seat in a chair in front of him and lean back in it.

"Did you take your medicine today? Why aren't you in bed?" I asked, ignoring his previous question. He just stares at me like I have lost my mind.

"Don't change the subject, Dom. Answer the question." He says to me in a no-nonsense voice. I roll my eyes and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

"It went fine. As well as anyone can expect. The eldest Carstairs boy tried to negotiate a marriage alliance with Jeremiah, but was shot down pretty quickly. Charlotte found out about it, despite Jeremiah wanting to speak with her alone. I couldn't get a read on her very well. That woman knows how to hide her emotions. I think she accepted it, but I can't really be sure. She said that she was going to go through with it to keep our families safe, that it wasn't just about us. I also watched her beat the s**t out of a man who looked like he ate steroids for breakfast." I said. Dad nods his head at me and doesn't say anything for a few moments.

"So, she's on board with the whole plan?" He asks me. I nodded my head, waiting for him to continue. "As much as I hate this plan, it'll benefit our family as well as them. Uniting the North and the South is what's best for the country and both of our families," He says. I call bullshit on it. He hates the McKenzies and he hates the fact that Jeremiahs daughter is about to be a part of his family. I rolled my eyes at him again, trying to hide the smile creeping onto my face.

"That's a lie and we both know it. But I'm not going to push you on it anymore. The arrangement has been made. All we need to do now is pick a date and get it over with. This war is coming and it isn't going to be a pretty or easy one. I am going over to talk to Jeremiah and Rose tomorrow to get everything figured out." I said to him.

"Rose?" He questions me. Damn it, I slipped. I usually don't call her that in front of anyone.

"I meant Charlotte." I said to him. He c***s his brow and waits for me to continue. "I'm not getting into this right now, old man." He just nods his head, dropping the situation. For now. I know that he will bring it up again and press me until I tell him everything.

"Wait, what do you mean she beat the s**t out of someone?" He asks me. I can hear the curiosity in his voice. I let out a low whistle and sat back in the chair to recount the bloody events of the night.

"You should have seen it, Dad. So, from what I gathered, they hired a new guy as her bodyguard and driver and he failed to show up to campus today to pick her up. I didn't quite catch why he was late but he was really smug about it and acted as if it was no big deal. Next thing I know, she yanked out the metal hair pin in her hair and jammed it into the guy's neck. I'm pretty sure s**t hit a vein, but it looks like he will live. She yanks it out and blood spurted all over her face. She climbed his body like a tree, wrapped her legs around his neck and dragged him to the floor using the momentum of her body as she flung herself down. Then she kneed him in the face, breaking his nose. It was savage, if I'm being honest. She's going to be a good leader one day, Dad. I can feel it." I said to him, thinking about what had happened tonight. I stare off into space for a second as images of what it would be like to rule next to her float through my mind.

"She sounds like a fighter." Dad says in a low, out of, breath voice. I looked up at him and saw him wince in pain. It must be time for his pain meds again.

"I'll have someone bring you to your room and I'll call your nurse," I said and got up, heading toward the door.

"I'd like to be at the wedding before I die. So if you could come up with a date for this thing, that would be much appreciated." Dad called out to me. I nodded my head and exited the room. Finding one of my men, I told him to get my father up to his room and call his nurse. He nods at me and sets about his task. I need a shower and some sleep. I stop in to say goodbye to my sisters before I head home. Getting in my car, I start it and pull out of the driveway, headed down the street and over a few blocks, pulling into my driveway and getting out of my car. I yawn and stretch, closing the door of the car and heading inside the house.

I looked around and it looked like nothing had been done. Damn it. I knew I shouldn't have that girl as a cleaning maid. I walked around the corner and almost ran Margo over. She is holding a bucket and has gloves on. Meaning she is cleaning again.

"You know I hired a cleaner. For that reason, to clean." I said to her, slightly teasing.

"Yea, well she isn't doing it. I caught her staring at her phone most of the day and then she was talking to her boyfriend and they got into a fight and so I listened to her scream at him for about three hours or so before I told her just to go home. But not before she took a four-hour break and I found her sitting in front of the television, feet up and a bag of chips in her lap." Margo says, practically snarling at me.

"As soon as I find someone to replace her, she will be gone. I'll have a talk with her in a few days and will deal with this. I 'm too tired to think about anything other than a shower and some sleep. Don't worry about finishing cleaning. Just go home, Margo. I will see you in the morning." I said to her, making my way to the stairs. Climbing the steps slowly, I entered my room, pulling my tie from my neck and tossing it on a chair. I strip out of my clothes and get in the shower, letting the warm water wash over my body.

Once clean, I get out and get dressed before dropping into my bed. I'm asleep before my head even hits the pillow.