Chapter 9 - The Wedding Vows.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding. A very beautiful day, Amelia thought as she looked outside the window and noticed the birds chirping and the warm weather.

All around her was pure chaos. Her mother was running around nervously and her friends Molly and Ruby did little to help. In fact, they only contributed to the chaos.

Her mother had been able to extend the guest list after talking to Xavier, and twenty more people were going to be in attendance. Amelia had no idea who they were yet but she was pretty sure her mother had lied to Xavier that they were family.

She hadn't heard from Xavier after they visited his Grandmother.

She wasn't even sure that the old woman would be able to make it. He had called her and asked her how everything was going. Amelia was scared that he was going to complain about how much they were spending since the purchases they made that day was over twenty thousand dollars but Xavier didn't say anything about that.

"Finally, we're done with hair and makeup. Can you bring out the gown please?" The stylist said as Molly and Ruby both ran towards Amelia's walk in closet.

They retrieved her wedding dress while Amelia absent mindedly scrolled though her phone. She was tired of feeling antsy about the wedding.

Rather than doing that, she preferred to just remain calm and watch how everything was going to unfold.

She knew what marrying Xavier meant to her and her family, but that didn't mean that she was happy about it. Marriage was the farthest thing from Amelia's mind.

She wished Xavier would stop having unrealistic expectations of her. The argument they had about babies was still replaying in her head.

Xavier had admitted that one of the reason he married her was because he wanted to have kids and Amelia had reacted out of instincts. Even as an adult, Amelia didn't think about having kids in her future, she just didn't think it was possible and Xavier wanted it.

She didn't know if she'd be able to sleep with him again, not because she didn't want to, but because it was going to go against everything Amelia wanted. She wanted very little relationship or attachment with Xavier. All she wanted was her freedom and her life back.

Her nights were still plagued with memories from their first night and Amelia shuddered at the thought... And so far, Xavier had been of very little help.

He continued to rush things, as if he was in a mad hurry to get them  married.

How could a handsome billionaire like him not even manage to get a decent girlfriend, she thought as she slipped into her gown.

It didn't make much sense to her.

It's not like she ever cared about what his intentions were, but it finally dawned on Amelia that maybe she should have asked.
Was it because he wanted children so badly?
Or it was something else?

Amelia looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.

Everything was perfect. Down to every last detail. From her flawless makeup and hair to the way the dress fitted her perfectly and even to the dainty glass heels she was wearing.

Amelia felt beautiful.

And when the borrowed tiara was placed in place on her head so it could hold her veil in place, Amelia had to blink back tears so she wouldn't have to ruin her makeup.

"Oh! It's so beautiful Amelia! Look at it!" Molly shouted as she fussed over Amelia like the rest of them

Amelia smiled a bit. Yes, everything was perfect. But it wasn't what she wanted.

The wedding was going to be done at Roxbury. An exclusive resort and barn that had been reserved for the entire day just for Amelia and Xavier.

Amelia was having a lot of mixed feelings as she got ready to leave the house.
She wondered what Xavier's grandmother and family were going to think of her.
She wondered what kind of lie he was going to tell them about how they met.

Or did they already know? She wondered as she clutched her bouquet of flowers dearly as she walked out of her room.

Roxbury resort was a peaceful and serene environment with chirping birds and the soothing smell of fresh air and the outdoors. Nervously, Amelia looked out of the car window as she waited for her father to come and pick her up.

She had tried countless times to get rid of her shaky fingers but she was so nervous that she couldn't.

"Hey honey! Are you ready?" Her Dad asked with a smile as he opened her car door.

"Dad." Amelia called out to her father as she stood got out of the car, carefully so she wouldn't wrinkle her dress.

"You look amazing. Really." Her Dad commented.

"I'm only doing this because of you. And Mum. I hope you know that." She said and her father flinched.

"Well, if that's the reason you're doing it, I'm happy to tell you it's a good reason. You're making the right choice."

"Am I really? Because it seems to me like you are selling me to the highest bidder!"

"Selling you!" Her father scoffed as he took her hands and started walking her towards the wedding aisle.

"Come on Amelia! You know we would never do anything like that to you. Think of all the good things that are happening because you decided to marry Xavier. You're doing a good thing."

Amelia rolled her eyes, of course, that was the only thing her father would say. More encouragement to get into her sham wedding. It irked her.

The set up was beautiful.

White flowers lined the makeshift aisle all the way to the altar in the woods.

There was a small gathering of guests at both sides, both standing and all waiting expectantly for the bride.

There was a band not far off playing a perfect rendition of the wedding march.

And there was Xavier Carlton Jnr Black. Perfection in a tux.

He was everything a woman would have dreamed of, a woman who wasn't Amelia.

Tall dark and handsome with a generous sprinkle of elegance and charm topped off with a well built body.

He looked nice and scrubbed clean. Everything about him was pristine and immaculate down to his nails that were clipped short.

They both had their eyes on each other.

Xavier's jaw slightly dropping as he watched Amelia walk down the aisle.

And Amelia with a raised chin and proud look on her face.

They were both staring each other down, till they came face to face and it was time to say the vows.

That was when Amelia broke out in a sweat.

She glanced at her parents several times before finally repeating the vows that would make her bound to Xavier for life.

'For better for worse',  'take you to be my husband' 'in health and in sickness'

Those were the words that got stuck in Amelia's mouth as she managed to spit them out with a smile.

Xavier struggled to maintain his cool, he had recited his vows smoothly, without any hiccups or hesitation like Amelia.

And he had slid the wedding band smoothly into Amelia's finger.

But when the Marriage officiant solemnly said the words.

"You may kiss the bride."

Amelia and Xavier stared at each other for several seconds before slowly moving towards each other.

His lips brushed hers. Not innocently, like a tease but hot, fiery, passionate and demanding. Amelia wanted to pull away before she lost herself  but she couldn’t seem to…  In the quiet moment, her senses had been seduced and she could no longer think straight.

Flashes from their first night together danced in her memories.

He kissed her and the world fell away. It became slow and soft, oddly comforting in ways that their wedding vows would never be.