Chapter 6

The days went by like a blur, with Athea having little to no time for herself. She was well occupied with the wedding preparations. Sometimes when she had little time to herself, she found herself thinking. It still baffled her how one minute she was feeling like a prisoner in her aunt's home, and the next minute she was planning a wedding. Not just a wedding, her wedding.

She didn't know what to make of it. And most of all, she did know what to make of the Costello family. She was meant to believe that they are dangerous, but so far, she hasn't seen any true reason to be afraid. The only thing that still bothers her is how Xavier refuses to acknowledge her existence.

Even when they're in the same room, he acts like she's invisible, like she was irritating him. If there was anyone who should feel that way, it was her, not him. The marriage was shoved down her throat, and she was trying to bear it with bravery, while Xavier was busy ignoring her. She didn't even understand why it bothered her as much as it did. Even when she tried to start up conversations, he gave her worded dry responses that made it difficult to continue, and he never initiated a conversation either. It was unsettling and annoying.

She just wanted to get to know who she would be spending the rest of her life with at least. It wasn't too much to ask for. Even if they weren't going to become friends, they should at least be well acquainted with each other.

Sometimes she found herself wondering if it was because she wasn't pretty enough. She couldn't fathom why it seemed like he hated her. It hurt deeply, but she endured it and instead delved deeper into the marriage preparations.

Athea got so invested in the wedding preparations, that she started enjoying it. Things she had only seen and read in books, she got to see for herself, in real life. She also got to make a lot of decisions for herself on what she wanted, or how she wanted something to be Which was not how she lived.

She lived her entire life, solely depending on the decisions and choices of her aunty, but now she had liberty. She chose pink roses to be the decorative flowers for the day, and a beautiful bouquet to go with her wedding dress. She also picked a crown that had beautiful stones to go with the veil.

She later found out that the stones were real diamonds. She discussed with the caterers what foods will be served. And as for the cake, Costello was even present for the cake tasting, to know which cake she would pick. But, he was only there because there was going to be wine tasting too. He hung around for that. He picked some of the finest and most expensive wines for that day. He wanted to make a statement about this wedding.

The hall they were going to use for the wedding was one of the numerous halls within the mansion. Decorators and workers kept trooping in and out, setting up the hall. They made an elevated podium inside the hall, where the couple will be seated. Drapes and lighting were being fixed, it was all coming together, looking so beautiful. The decorations they used ended up being one of the most expensive ones.

The whole week, workers trooped in and out, trying to fulfil all her and Mr Costello's wishes.

Through all the preparation, Xavier didn't care one bit. He went about like nothing significant was happening, and Athea couldn't help but notice his attitude. It was almost as if she was to be married to someone else, and not him. Xavier didn't care for all the fussing around him.

For all he knew, he was just going to wear a suit on that day, get married, and that would be that. He didn't care for the rest of the formalities. If he had his way, there would be no wedding. He was just fulfilling his father's wish, and nothing more.

But, Athea on the other hand wanted more effort from Xavier. She wanted him to talk to her, get to know her, even though the circumstances surrounding their meeting weren't very normal. Fate had brought them to that point, and there was nothing either of them could do about it, so why not salvage, and make do?

Athea however was soon going to learn a lesson. That what she wished for, was never going to happen between herself and Xavier. To him, she was just a means to an end, a thing to push him closer to the Costello throne, nothing more.

She was going to become his trophy wife, as he had no real use for her. That truth was soon going to slap her in the face, and It was going to hurt like hell.

On the wedding eve, Costello had a plan up his sleeve. He'd seen his own son's behaviour and felt like he could remedy the situation, or at least try.

Dinner was going on quietly, as usual, that evening, then he made a celebratory toast. He used his fork to hit his glass to get their attention, then he lifted his glass and said, "let us raise a toast to the beginning of a new chapter, the first bold step out of many. Tomorrow Xavier, you will be married, and you Athea will become a part of our family, so cheers to a new union." Caught unawares, both of them just stared at him but cheered when he tilted his glass at them. Then he got up "I will leave you two to get to know yourselves a bit. The wedding is tomorrow, try to get comfortable with each other." Then he left. Athea could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest.

She was nervous. What was she supposed to say to Xavier, how was she supposed to get comfortable with him? The man had ignored her existence since the day she came. As if to support her claim, Xavier didn't spare her a glance as his father left the room. But Athea decided not to relent. She decided to try again.

"So, the wedding is tomorrow. Are you as nervous as I am? I'm very nervous." She waited a while, but he didn't respond. He was fixated on doing something on his phone.

"Will your friends be here? Do you have friends? I wish I had friends, but sadly, no one would be here for me." The last part came out as a whisper, but he heard her. He looked up at her but looked back down before she could see him.

"Aren't you going to say something?" She asked, getting upset.

"Do you even want to be married? If you don't want to be married, then why am I here? Why are you ignoring me?" He eventually looks up at her and tells her to come to take a walk with him down the terrazzo.

They're walking In silence when his phone rings, and he picks up the call. Just like that, any hope she had of them talking, was shattered. Xavier stayed on the phone, forgetting she exists once again. She waited for over fifteen minutes for him to finish, but when she saw that it wasn't going to end, she went back to her room.

Back in her room, she's angry and sad at the same time. She was better off in her aunt's house. She wished they had just left her there, she wished her dad had not been a part of her life. Everything was fine until he showed up out of the blue.

She slowly took off her make-up, thinking and dreading the next day. She was going to get married to a man who wouldn't even talk to her. Who wouldn't even look at her? He would never love her. Athea realized she may never have a happy marriage.

Her father didn't just sell her, he sold her happiness too. She looked at her mirror and saw tears streaming down her face. She didn't even realize she had been crying. She finished taking off her makeup, took off her clothes and went to have a shower. She stood in the shower letting the water run down her body, and mix with her tears.

After many long minutes, she stepped out of the shower, dried her body off, and got ready for bed. As she lay down on the bed, her imagination conjured up images of what her life was going to be like after marriage, to a man who keeps making it obvious that he doesn't care about her. She broke into another fit of tears, not minding that her eyes may look puffy and swollen by the next day. She wished there was something she could do to get out of this marriage, anything. Eventually, she drifted to sleep.