“I think you’re beautiful, Emma. I know this is fast. I know we haven’t known each other long. But I want to marry you. You came into my life. You needed help. I want to help you still. I want you. Marry me.”
“This is all so new. I mean… this is all so new for me.”
“You’re innocent. I know that. But marry me. I promise I’ll take care of you. I promise.” For a second, his eyes flick down to the bed and back up to meet mine. There’s a determination on his face. “Marry me.”
“I didn’t even know you liked me… like that.”
“Like that. So innocent. I do like you, Emma. I think you’re beautiful. I think you’re sweet. I want to marry you. So say yes.”
“Is this a dream?”
“It’s not a dream. Say yes, Emma. Say yes.”
Leo is the answer to all my problems. He’s wealthy and kind and wants to take care of me. And is handsome on top of it all. He’s exactly like the men I would read about in my mother’s romance books.
“Yes,” I answer. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He takes my face between his hands. The first time he’s ever touched me like this. “Thank you.” I hold still as he presses a soft kiss to my lips. It’s just the barest of brushes but it lights me on fire. My stomach and heart tingle.
Leo pulls back. “We’ll marry tomorrow.”
“So fast?” In the books I read, couples would take months to plan the wedding.
“Why wait when we both want this? I’ll buy you a dress. You’ll look beautiful on the day. I promise.”
“I can’t even sleep now. I’m too excited.”
He laughs but it almost sounds… strained, like he can’t fully get it out. “Me too. Me too. See you in the morning, Emma. My soon to be wife.”
Married to Leo. All my dreams are coming true.
I made the right decision by leaving my mother. I’m living the fairytale I always wanted.
I wake back up to a wedding dress hanging on the wall. It’s soft and made of lace and flows like water. It’s perfect. Leo chose the perfect dress for me.
With a gasp, I change into it. I’ve never worn something so beautiful. For once, Leo is making me believe that I am beautiful. My mother tore me down but Leo is rising me up.
I notice makeup on the vanity table that wasn’t there before. My mother forbade makeup as she thought it was a sin, though there were times I wondered if she was wearing some herself but whenever I would ask, she would scold me and make me tend to the cows longer.
Since I don’t know how to apply makeup, I decide to go without it. I look at myself in the mirror. My hair, with the help of Leo’s great hair products, looks soft and wavy. My eyes look light. I’m happy, I realize. Truly and utterly happy.
I go downstairs to find Leo waiting for me in an all-black suit. There’s a dangerous quality to him but I know Leo isn’t dangerous. He’s too kind.
“You look… beautiful,” he murmurs, staring at me with wide eyes before he masks his expression. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.”
Leo drives us to a church where we are the only people present except for a priest and one other person in the pew. The other person is a middle-aged man.
“Rocco,” Leo says, shaking the man’s hand. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
“I can’t believe you’re really getting married. Well, I can. You’ve always done things without thinking them through.”
“We need a witness. Gabriel will understand.”
Rocco frowns. “What do you mean by that?”
Leo lets out a whistle before walking us past Rocco and to the priest. “Let’s hurry this up.”
