A Loveless Marriage

Chapter 22

Natalia’s POV

I always thought both Andrew and Magnus were such clever, smart, and considerate people. But the way they behaved today made my blood boil with anger. I mean they made Xenia and I travel that long on short notice. Without any packing, no preparations, nothing and guess for what?

I have been asking both of them what is going on. Where are we going? Are there any problems and whatnot? But they both remained silent, and I was literally that god knows what was waiting for us that they were behaving so indifferently, and what we found, this?

“A marriage?”, I yelled, looking at both of them. The moment we entered there, a beautiful church came into our view. In front of the church, there were many cars parked, and a beautiful getaway was prepared for entry.

Yes, the same entrance to which Magnus and Andrew ran to enter the church, but I was stopped on my track. Because I knew there was nothing serious. It is again something important but not serious. So, I waited for them to get over.

I slowly reached the entrance and found the church was filled with many people and bands, but there was no bride. Magnus and Andrew were standing with someone, but he didn’t look like a groom. The moment I saw smiles on their faces I was relaxed, knowing nothing was wrong.

They were talking until someone came and interrupted them. That’s when they realized that I was not with them.

They walked back to me, and we were standing out of the church, which was located near the beach, and now it was their turn to listen.

“Seriously, we are here to attend a wedding and you guys didn’t even bother to inform me.”, I asked, trying to calm Xenia, who was ready to go to the beach.

Soon I heard Andrew, “But babe, we were not sure if we would reach here on time.”

I chuckled and looked at Magnus, who was also listening silently, and turned to Andrew and continued, “Any more excuses?”

“Natalia?”, Magnus finally intervened, but before he could start, I declared, “Magnus, leave it. I am already tired and don’t want to argue.”

I heard someone yelling excitedly “Ohh my baby” and I turned to look.

There I found a Korean man with the best features, like I have seen in the Korean drama, or should I say just like the BTS army.

“Where is he?”, he asked from a girl and looked towards us, and soon he was coming towards Magnus and Andrew with open arms and saying, “Hey man.”

He added, “Welcome to my wedding” and the next moment he was on the ground with a booming sound.

Yes, he had just got a red eye from Magnus and Andrew was also ready to punch him next, but he just got his hand at just the right moment and heard Andrew, “Seriously, this is how you invite your best friends to your marriage? Do you even have any idea how long we have traveled that too without any preparations?”

Magnus pulled his off the ground and asked, holding his shoulder, “Leave us. Look at my wife and daughter. How angry they are with us because we didn’t tell them anything and made them travel.”

Hearing Magnus, I was glued to my place. Did he declare me his wife? But soon I came out of my thoughts when he pushed Magnus and Andrew aside and yelled, “What”, looking at us.

“Your wife and daughter.”, He murmured, looking at us, and turned to Magnus, saying, “Let me meet them first.”

Soon he was standing in front of me. He forwarded his hand to me and said, “Hey, I am Suho.”

“Hi, I am Natalia.”, I shook hands with him, and he touched Xenia’s cheeks, telling her in a baby voice, “Hey little girl, I am your uncle.”

“xeenni”, She muttered, and he looked at me dumbfounded, making me chuckle.

I translated it for him, “She meant to say her name is Xenia.”

He nodded and turned to me and I finally said, “Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Marriage which wasn’t completed?”, He corrected, and I thought he had gotten married. That’s why Magnus and Andrew were worried.

I finally looked at them and chuckled. Then I turned back to him and apologized, “Sorry for that. But you should have called your friends properly for your marriage.”

“How would I have done that? They didn’t contact me for a long time. I was dying to meet them and that’s when I decided to call them my way.”, He complained whining like a child.

I asked him confusingly, “Your way?”

He gave me a charming smile and took out a paper out of his pocket and showed me the front page headline. He said, “Yeah, I gave an exclusive interview in the newspaper and made sure they read it. And of course, there is no chance they would dare to ignore my wedding and here they are.”

“Smart Idea.”, I praised him, and he bowed charmingly, “Thank you.”

Finally, Manus and Andrew joined us, and we went to the hotel at which Suho booked our rooms. We had some talk and had some food. Later on, Suho suggested, “You must be tired. Let’s get inside so that you guys can have some rest.”

“Yeah, sure.”, Magnus said, and soon we were in our room.

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Magnus’s POV (Same day in the evening)

Magnus and Andrew were sitting in the bar of the hotel and drinking like they had just been freed from prison. They were not saying anything, but the storm between them was not ready to calm. Suddenly, Suho came and sat beside them and asked, “Care to share?”

Magnus finished his drink and discussed everything about his life in a few sentences, “Life has been so tough lately. So much happened. We have lost a lot and gained too. Still trying to recover from the past.”

Hearing Andrew, Suho was more confused and took his first sip and asked, “What are you talking about?”

He suddenly remembered something and said, “And wait, if I am not wrong, you were in love with a girl named Sophia, then how Natalia your wife is?”

That’s when he got Magnus and Andrew’s attention, and finally, they told him, and he hugged Magnus, saying, “Ohh, I am sorry man. If I had known any of that I would have come sooner.”

“No worries Suho.”, Magnus said, and drank his wine, adding, “You know we have nothing in our hands. Maybe things were meant to happen like this.”

“But the way Natalia takes care of your daughter, no one can say she is not her biological mother.”, Suho mentioned Natalia, and he nodded, “Yes, she loves Xenia as her own child.”

“Leave this topic and tell me, what is going on here?”, Magnus wisely changed the topic, making him confused.

“I mean your marriage.”, he added, and Suho chuckled, saying, “Okay, that was planned.”

“Means?”, Andrew asked, and Suho filled his glass and cleared everything, “I wanted to meet both of you and that was the only idea.”

“Means you were not getting married?”, Magnus asked, trying not to stutter since he already drank a lot.

“I will get married but when both of my friends join it properly”, he declared, and they all hugged.

“So, tell me when you are free so that I can arrange it again and this time for real.”, Asked Suho and Magnus replied, trying to stand, “Anytime you want, but we need a proper invitation instead of a newspaper invite.”

“Okay, Mr. Wales.”, Suho saluted, giving him a hand.

“I am going to have some rest. Good night.”, Magnus said, and heard both his friends, “Good night.”

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Natalia’s POV

After ensuring Xenis was sleeping, I went into the washroom to get changed. I put on my black nightwear that fits me perfectly, and reaches my knees and is the least relieving. I went out and found Magnus kissing Xenia.

I looked in the mirror and touched my shoulder, making a painful expression that didn’t go unnoticed by Magnus. He asked me immediately, “Natalia, are you okay?”

“Nothing much, my body is aching.”, I was sitting on a chair and with wobbly legs, Magnus walked to me and said, “Sorry, because of us you had to suffer like this.”

“It’s okay, Magnus.”, Natalia replied, applying her night cream and suddenly realized her mistake and apologized, “Sorry for the way I reacted. I should have understood that he is your friend after all.”

I was waiting for him to say something, but he asked, “May I?”

It took me some moments to understand what he was saying and the moment I realized I asked, “Are you sure?”

He nodded and soon Magnus started giving me a shoulder massage and after some time he asked, “How’s it feeling now?”

“It’s good.”, I replied, closing my eyes, and out of the blue Magnus suggested, “Do one thing. Lie down first, let me apply the ointment. It will help.”

I don’t know why, but I did it. I laid down on the bed, and he started touching my entire back, igniting the fire inside me.

I closed my eyes, feeling the butterflies in my stomach and suddenly remembered what, I was doing.

I opened my eyes and tried to talk with him to keep myself distracted from his touch. I called him, “Magnus?”

He hummed in response and I asked, “Are you okay?”

He was silent, and my intuition was telling me he was not, and he confirmed that saying, “Don’t know if I am good or not.”

“Means?”, I turned to look at him and found him sitting still with both his hands on my lower back, “I am tired. I don’t know why.”

I thought for a while and told him, “More than physically, you are mentally exhausted. You need a break from everything, Magnus.”

“I think you are right.”, he agreed and looked at Xenia who was almost on the left side of the bed.

“Can you shift a bit there?”, He asked, motioning me to move towards Xenia.

“That was supposed to be your side.”, I pointed to the left side.

“I can’t sleep on the left side.”, He argued, and I replied, “So do I.”

“But you slept last time.”, He remembered the last time we slept in Xenia’s room and I corrected him, “I didn’t have any choice that time.”

“But this time I have already got this side.”, I said, lying back on my side, and Magnus stood on the bed.

I was shocked to see him standing on the bed between my legs with his wobbling legs. He asked, “Really?”

“Yeah”, I replied, and suddenly he held one hand and moved me in the middle. Technically, I was between Xenia and Magnus.

He lay down on the bed where I was lying a few minutes earlier, “I will still sleep here.”

“Magnus?”, I turned to him, and he looked at me with his victorious smile, “You are so bad.”

“I know that.”, He said, and covered us with a blanket. I was about to close my eyes, but suddenly I sat down and took some pillows from my place and heard Magnus, “Are you going there?”

“No”, I replied and put on pillows to prevent Xenia from falling the bed in sleep.

“I am making a little barrier for Xenia.”, I told Magnus, and he commented, “Good.”