A Little Bit Married

Care to Dance

"You have declared your vows and consent, and by the power vested on me, I pronounce you both as husband and wife. What God has put together, let no man put asunder."

I felt the gun slowly leave my lips, and I swallowed, my eyes lifting to him, a tear dropping down my left cheek. What do I tell Kelvin? What do I tell everyone? That I stepped out for a part-time job and somehow got married?

My chest heaved as I turned to the countless people all clapping, the smiles, like they hadn't seen him force me to marry him. Like they hadn't watched him put a gun on me.

"You may now kiss the bride."

I took a step back, my chest heaving, my eyes wide. Luckily for me, Gray did not move an inch towards me.

"We can skip that."

I swallowed, my eyes blinking. At least. At least.

"Gray? Will you introduce your wife to us?"

I turned to the kind, soft-spoken woman who was now standing beside Gray, her eyes trained on me.

"Not while she is dressed like that. Have her cleaned up."

"Of course," the woman said with a smile. "Come with me, dear."

Gray's eyes met mine, and I knew better than to try to protest. I let the woman take my hand and pull me away from the crowd. We took a long flight of stairs, and I soon found myself occupying the seat that Samantha had run away from. The one that I had helped her escape from.

I sat there in a daze, my mind reeling as a makeup and style crew walked in. The elderly woman sat next to me, her eyes taking me in, her hands elegantly resting on her lap.

"Evangeline, is that so?"

I turned to her, then blinked back the tears. "Yes."

She nodded. "You are extremely beautiful, child. I have no doubt that you and Gray would make beautiful children."

"You saw what he did to me!" I yelled, tired of everyone acting like they didn't see the gun. "He forced me to take the place of his bride, and everyone is acting like I should be celebrating having my marital status, my freedom, and my will taken so forcefully away from me."

The woman gave a small, knowing smile. "Gray may be what he is, but you both took vows. None of this changes that fact. It would help you to adapt as quickly as you can."

I swallowed, tears rolling down my eyes even faster now. I turned to the mirror, my chest heaving, my lips lightly quivering. I closed my eyes, and I felt the woman tap my shoulder lovingly.

"Get ready."

As if I have a choice.

I turned back to the mirror, my chest heaving as my eyes filled with tears. I watched as the women worked through the strands of my light blonde hair, curled it to give it more volume, then made a ponytail and put the small white tiara in. All I could see was Kelvin.

The way we had talked about bridal hairstyles and how I had told him I would be fine with just a ponytail. How he had said I would be the most beautiful princess on our wedding day.

I drew a long sigh, then closed my eyes. Soon enough, they were all done, and I heard one of them lean to me.

"Come so we can fix the dress."

I blinked. I was married. To a stranger. Someone I don't even know ow, a psychopath.

"Ma'am?" I blinked, then stood up slowly and walked to where she was standing. I removed the robe they fitted around me before starting and watched them fix the dress around me. Surprisingly, it was a black dress. Not like it wasn't okay, but it was rather unconventional to have a black dress.

It was armless, with a stiff top that was knitted tightly with black pearls. The back was open but had intertwining threads of lace to be woven around each other.

I wondered if Samantha had picked this on her own or if this was Gray's choice. I swallowed as she arranged the lower part of the dress. It was big, with the pearls scattered around the lacy material and a slit that went up to my right thigh.

She put a net add-on to my waist and let it fall with the gown, adding to the allure of the gown.

She turned me towards the mirror as I tried to balance on the black block heels that she had earlier fitted on. It was a little loose, and I knew my feet were smaller than Samantha's.

I watched myself in the mirror. I hated that this right here had been my dream with Kelvin. To look the best on our wedding as I vow to love him forever. But it wasn't happening. It didn't look like it ever will.

"You look stunning, my dear."

I turned to the elderly woman. She seemed to genuinely like me, and I forced a small smile, my eyes slowly going back to the mirror.

"Gray will be happy with this."

I didn't think I cared what would make him happy.

"He must have been devastated to see Samantha leave."

"I don't think he was," I said slowly, turning to her.

"You will not understand Gray until you are Gray. Let's go down now. The guests are waiting."

She held my hand, and I went with her, my eyes solemn. The crowd were now sitting in a large, well decorated hall. The decor was elegant, and the guests smelled of money and opulence. I didn't fit. I never will.

We slowly descended the stairs, and I looked up, my lips parting as I found Gray. He was standing a little distance away from the stairs, his eyes cold as he watched me walk down.

I swallowed, wondering if he still had the gun on him. He didn't move from where he was, even as the lights dimmed to create a spotlight on just me. Even as I slowly covered the distance to him.

He looked down at me with the same emotions that someone would watch a couch, with absolutely nothing passing in his eyes.

Slowly, he gave me his hand, his head slowly tilting upwards, his brow raised.

"Care to dance?"