chapter 20: Paparazzi Kiss

Autumn
Taking deep breaths, I got out of the washroom. I decided to try to be friends with Ian and act normal around him. I was still not sure if I liked him though.
Ian was playing with his Rubix cube, sitting on the bed.
Act normal, Autumn.
He looked at me and smirked. "Here comes my jealous wifey."
I rolled my eyes and deadpanned, "No. I am not jealous." I sat on the couch and started surfing Netflix. I could feel the seat beside me dip. He sat next to me.
"Yeah, keep denying that. But you are jealous." He whispered, "I know that." Hearing his words, a shiver ran down my spine. He took my hair and put it on one side.
Why did I wear a sleeveless dress?
The scars on my neck were visible. I looked at the scars in the mirror when I was in the washroom and thus, I let my hair down.
"This was all done by him, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice sounding dangerous.
I gulped. "Yes."
He clenched his jaw. "I have to find that Lennox. Where did that crow fly away?"
"What about your wounds?" I blurted out, "You took the blows for me."
"I didn't take the blows for you. I was just worried about what I would answer to our parents if something happened to you. I showed it to the doctor," he said in an obvious tone, but I could sense the lie beneath. He was an expert in lying though his lies never lasted with me.
"Open your shirt." He looked at me in disbelief. I repeated, "I said, open your shirt."
"I never knew you were so desperate. If you were, you could just give me a hint. Why all of a sudden?"
"Ian," I warned sternly.
He sighed, already sensing it was futile to argue with me. He slowly opened the shirt. I was already drooling over his masculine body. But when my eyes fell on his back, I felt like crying. The wounds looked fresh. There were plenty of scars. When I touched it lightly with my hand, he hissed in pain. Even I could feel his pain.
I took out the first aid kit. "I know you didn't show it to the doctor. Let me apply ointment."
"How will you know which ointment to apply? What if you make it worse?"
I shot a warm smile in his direction. "After Lennox released me during training, how did I cure my wounds? I had no doctors to cure me as well. I healed them with the equipment in the first aid kit."
Ian let out, "I hate that I was there, yet, I was of no help. I feel shitty."
"It's okay. It was not your fault." I started applying ointment on his injuries. "Why did you get yourself kidnapped instead of attacking the place at once?"
I knew the answer. 'Because I wanted to be a perfect son in the eyes of our respective parents. And I also wanted to see how you got tortured.'
He replied after thinking, "Because I wanted to be a perfect son in the eyes of our respective parents. And I also wanted to see how you got tortured."
I nodded at his reply. But I knew his real answer was, 'I wanted to save you from the torture and the trauma you were going through. I wanted to be there for you and take all your pain away.'
"Why are you smiling at me weirdly? I didn't say anything good," he uttered, bringing me out of my trance.
"It's done," I said as I closed the first aid kit. "I am gonna go and have dinner now."
"Wait." He announced, "Maya brought dinner for us. It's in the trolley."
I looked at the trolley and walked towards it. I served food on two plates and handed one to Ian.
"Wanna watch High School Musical?" I asked, already playing the movie.
"Great! Mom made you a fan of this movie too. I knew it," he grunted. I arched an eyebrow. "Sure, why not?"
I gave him a toothy grin.
After we finished eating, I was still watching the movie.
Zac Efron is my crush. Damn! I love his blue eyes. I wish I would get married to someone like him.
Wait. Who am I kidding with?
Ian has blue eyes. Even he has pale skin, including black hair. He's my crush goals. But I cannot stay with him forever. It's just for six months. When the realization hit me, I felt a little sad.
"Dessert." Ian shoved a plate of chocolate pastries in front of me.
Chocolate pastries! My mouth became watery at the sight of this.
"Thank you!" I grabbed the plate in excitement. I started eating them one by one, admiring and tasting them properly.
When I peeked at Ian, he was glancing at me for a brief moment, before he started eating the red velvet pastries which I made earlier.
Our night ended with us watching three of the High School Musical movies. I didn't even realize when I fell asleep by keeping my head on his shoulder.
When I got up, I saw I was on the bed, a blanket covering me. There was no sight of Ian.
Did I sleep a lot again?
I looked at the time. It was 8:30 am.
Fortunately, no. I didn't sleep a lot again. Though I had a sound sleep.
I freshened up and had breakfast. Suddenly, my phone rang. I had a little hope that it was Ian, but disappointment flashed over me when I saw it was Mr. Atticus.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Autumn! Listen. I know today was supposed to be your holiday, but we had to open the restaurant because of the bookings." I was listening to him carefully. He continued, "Everything was going fine until Ian brought that Alana girl. No, scratch that. Alana brought him here because she made a booking today. Now, the paparazzi covered this entire restaurant, clicking pictures of them. I think your friend is in trouble. Do something."
I jumped out of the couch and responded, "I'll be right there."
I took my car keys and drove towards my restaurant. I saw the paparazzi outside the restaurant.
I used the door which directly led to the kitchen. When I tried to get out of the kitchen, I found the paparazzi inside the restaurant too.
"Great!" I heaved a sigh in annoyance. I looked at the TV screen inside the kitchen. All the workers, including Mr. Atticus, were watching it too.
It was the live streaming of what was happening in the Romantic area.
Ian was calmly sitting there, eating with Alana as if his eyes weren't going blind with so many flashes of the camera.
Meanwhile, Alana tried to sit and eat properly, pretending to act normal whereas she was actually posing for the pictures.
"When are you marrying Ms. Oakley?" one of the paparazzi asked.
Stupid, he is already married. His wife is even watching this.
"Are you both engaged?"
"Mr. Beckett, is Ms. Oakley your fiance��?"
I couldn't control it anymore. Ian looked at Alana in such a romantic way as if she was his life. He even held her hand.
He held her hand.
That was the last blow.
"Are you okay, dear?" Mr. Atticus asked. I pushed his hand from my shoulder and marched towards the romantic area.
I pushed the paparazzi away from my path. I even hit a few just to make my way to the so-called couple.
"Excuse me!" I hollered facing the paparazzi when I reached their table. They started flashing the lights on me. "Geez! I am going blind."
"Autumn." Ian stood up. "Hey, stop flashing lights at her!" Hearing his loud voice, everyone stopped at once.
"Isn't she Ms. Autumn Emerson, the daughter of Mr. Emerson and the owner of this restaurant?" one of them whispered.
Another one spoke, "Yes. I heard she and Mr. Beckett are childhood friends."
"You? Ian's cousin? What are you doing here, ruining our romantic breakfast date? How dare you?" I could see smoke coming from Alana's ears.
I smirked.
"Autumn, no," Ian whispered which I decided to avoid.
"I am certainly not his cousin. I am Ian's wife," I let out as everyone gasped. I showed them my wedding ring. "Mrs. Autumn Beckett."
"No, it cannot be..." Alana shook her head. "Of course, you're lying. I knew it! You were trying to woo Ian. You bi ��" Ian interrupted her.
"Don't you even dare to finish that sentence, Alana."
"So, apparently, you are the bitch, Alana."
Ian said slowly, "Autumn, stop."
I again avoided him and faced Alana. "You were dating a married person. Didn't you notice the wedding ring on him? What kind of girl are you?" I continued, "And from which angle do I look like Ian's sister?"
"What proof do you have of you being his wife? Ian didn't say a word," Alana snapped out.
I looked at Ian. The way he was acting right now, no way in hell would he agree on anything.
I had to prove it because even the paparazzi became quiet. They were recording and some were even streaming it on live.
"Well, did Ian ever let you kiss him?" I asked. Alana looked at the paparazzi and then back at me. I added, "Don't lie."
"No... but we are dating each other. He said it in the interview. If I kiss him, he will definitely kiss me back."
I smirked. "If you try to kiss him right now, he will push you. Just try it."
She confidently walked towards Ian. She tried to kiss him, but he actually pushed her away.
He spoke loudly, "Enough drama! No one needs to prove anything. Autumn, please go back to your work."
"See, Alana? He didn't let you kiss him, did he?" I said, and Ian sighed in frustration. "Now look what he does when I try to do the same," I mumbled and pushed Alana away from him.
I stood on my toes and cupped his cheeks. I took a deep breath. "This is it, my dear husband," I whispered and placed my lips on his.