Chapter Nine - The Day

The apartment was silent for the next two days as the only chat I had was with Martha while having my meals. I didn't really see Alec as he would leave for work before I would wake up and come back late at night when I was in bed already.

I was suspicious of him avoiding me and finally on friday evening, which was a day before our wedding, I knocked on his study door, knowing that he had come back early that day.

There was no reply and I didn't bother with knocking again. I slowly peeked inside and he seemed to be absorbed in a file which lay infront of him, his arms firmly resting on the desk and frown lines covering his forehead.

I cleared my throat and he looked up at me.

"Can I come in?"

Heaving a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and nodded.

"It's friday," I spoke.

"So?"

"We're getting married tomorrow,"

"I know," He raised a brow at me.

I bit my lip. "Are you avoiding me?"

"It's not like I talk to you for hours Scarlet, but anyway, no I'm not avoiding you,"

I nodded slightly and my gaze met the floor for a few seconds.

"Anything else?" He asked impatiently.

"I just.....," I trailed off and looked up to meet his eyes. "I wanna go home,"

He didn't seem to care enough as he started typing something on the laptop, which was lying beside the file.

"Can I?" I asked, not really knowing why I was even asking for his permission. I'm supposed to be a free elf.

He kept typing and for a moment, I wondered if he even listened to what I just said.

Taking in a deep breath, I turned around to leave his study and probably lock myself in my room for the next few hours if that's what it took to avoid that marriage.

I turned the knob around to open the door but it was shut firmly by a hand.

"I was listening to you," He spoke.

"Well, you didn't seem to reply," I said.

"No,"

Confused, I turned around. "What no?"

"No, you can't go,"

My brows knitted together and I frowned at him. "Why not?"

"Because I know what's going on in your mind,"

"What do you mean?" I frowned at him.

His eyes darkened and I found myself becoming smaller under his daunting glare.

"If you running away doesn't give your father a heart attack, me buying his company will surely do that," His lips pulled up into a smirk and my eyes grew big for a second.

How did he know I had this idea of running away?

"I wasn't running away," I spoke discreetly.

He withdrew his hand from my side. "I never said you were. I was just stating the consequence incase you considered the idea," His posture was menacing and I tried to stand straight without leaning against the door.

"It's too late to back out now," I muttered.

"That's right. It's too late now. The invitations have been sent out and even if you try to back out now, I will drag you to the altar Price," He spoke the last part huskily and I shivered.

I will drag you to the altar.

And that he did. I thought as I now stood infront of the devil in a well fitted tuxedo, myself in my wedding gown.

His hands were firmly wrapped around mine and he gave them a little squeeze, making me turn to the priest, who seemed to raise a brow at my long silence.

He didn't seem too happy to be repeating his words and Alec's gaze was killing me, so I finally opened my mouth and muttered the words that were going to change my life.

"I do,"

The priest released a breath before pronouncing us lawfully wedded. "You may now kiss the bride,"

Alec stepped forward and kissed me shortly, leaving a tingle on my lips after pulling back. Tears pooled in my eyes but I blinked them away before anyone could notice.

The ceremony was over and Lily, who seemed more than happy to be my maid of honor, approached me when Alec was away talking to his clients.

"Oh My God," She chirped happily and pulled me into a hug. I was exhausted, both emotionally and physically after crying myself to sleep last night and missing my mom a bit too much but thankfully, the stylist didn't let any of it show on my face by the heavy makeup she stuffed it with.

"But what was that about?" She pulled back to examine my face.

"What?"

"You took forever to say 'I do'. Were you having second thoughts? Because it seemed like you were about to run away any second," She burst out laughing and I let out a weak smile.

"No. Nothing of that sort. I was just tired," I spoke and stifled a yawn.

"Why? Didn't he let you sleep last night?" She winked and nudged my arm teasingly while I rolled my eyes in return.

"Lily stop,"

"But I am really happy for you Scar," She gave me a brief hug again. "And really jealous," She sighed dreamily and looked behind me. I turned around to find Alec in all his glory, talking to a few people, and nodding at them with a smile. He looked a lot better smiling.

His arms looked really good in a suit, but it wasn't like I was seeing him in that for the first time. The tuxedo accentuated his muscular frame and I had to admit, Alec Sinclair was sexy.

The same person who was now my husband.

I blinked and looked ahead at Lily. She wiggled her brows at me. "You couldn't take your eyes off him. Aw," She squished my cheeks and I pushed her hand away, annoyed but she just laughed it off.

I saw dad approaching me. Jimmy ran up to me and I bent down to give him a hug. "You did not trip down the aisle and you look so beautiful Scar,"

I let out a little laugh. "Aw thanks Jimmy. You look handsome yourself in that little tuxedo,"

He pulled back. "Little?"

"I mean of your size,"

"I'm not little. I'm a man,"

I opened my mouth to reply but dad interrupted us. "Okay save that for later," He scolded us playfully and I turned to him.

His eyes teared up a bit as he took a long glance at me and I was reminded of the same look he had while walking me down the aisle. How he had gently given my arm a squeeze when I was shaking with uncertainity.

But everything seemed to have frozen when I saw Alec at the altar and when he had held out his hand for me to take, I had reluctantly let go of dad, and willingly took Alec's hand but then the reality of the situation hit me, making me tongue tied at the altar.

Thankfully, I had spoken my fake vows without stuttering but when Alec said his while looking into my eyes, the feeling that crept up my chest confirmed that something was definitely wrong with my heart upon it skipping a beat.

I finally turned my attention to dad and gave him a smile. He embraced me and I rested my head on his chest.

"My little girl has grown up. Your mom would be so proud of you," He muttered in a shaky voice and I tried to control the tears which were threatening to fall, as the lump pained my throat.

I swallowed and blinked back my tears. Pulling away, I gave him a little smile and he soothed his hand over the veil resting back on my head.

Jimmy took my hand and started directing me somewhere. "Cut the cake already Scarlet. I've been waiting since a long time,"

A few people had already gathered around the beautiful huge red velvet cake filled with so many layers and soon, I spotted Alec approaching from opposite direction.

He stood beside me and I picked up the knife. As everyone gathered around us, his hand wrapped around mine in a surprisingly soft grip as we cut a piece together.

Filling a spoon with cake, he lifted it to my lips and I devoured it. I did the same and soon everyone was applauding and a few more people approached us to congratulate. I recognized only a few of them to be my relatives. The rest of them were either from dad's company or from Alec's.

There hadn't been a single relative of Alec. I was surprised he had a best man, who didn't seem much known to me and I concluded he picked up some random employee of his for that role. So he doesn't have friends either.

So he wasn't exaggerating when he said he had no one. A strange feeling erupted in my chest at this thought and I looked up at him to search for a glimpse of melancholy but there was none and neither did he seem too happy, he was just his usual indifferent self.

He only gave a little smile when someone came up to us with blessings and greetings.

The place seemed to be suffocating me with all its happiness but the crowd cleared some space and I wish they hadn't, for that was for our first dance. Dammit.

I felt his arm wrap around my waist and he slowly pulled me to the centre of the humongous hall. I lifted my hands to his shoulders as the lights dimmed and I could feel every gaze in our direction.

A slow song started playing in the background and right then, I wished nothing more than a previous rehearsal. My nerves took over me but Alec swiftly guided me across the dance floor, his steps matching mine.

His grip around me was firm and as I looked up into his eyes, I couldn't help but wish that this was all real. Just how happy I would have been if I really loved him and he loved me too.

But this--this is not fair. It's just not fair to me.

"You look a lot older than you are today," He spoke.

I deadpanned and raised a brow at him. "What?"

He shrugged. "Like a 30 year old,"

"You know I'm 20,"

"Maybe if you smile a little more and frown a little less," He whispered into my ear as he gave me a spin and caught me back.

Remembering how I had said the same thing to him a few days ago, I bit my lip to stop a smile.

His arm wrapped around my waist as he brought his mouth to my ear. "Affection," He muttered, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

He brought his other hand to my cheek and caressed it. I closed my eyes and leaned against his hand, allowing him to guide me on the dance floor. My feet seemed to be moving with his involuntarily.

I heard a few people from the audience going all awe over us and I opened my eyes.

The song ended and people started applauding for us. I forced a smile on my face as everyone joined us on the dance floor. Alec turned to me.

"We're leaving,"

"What?"

"I told you to pack your bags before reaching the venue,"

"Yeah. They're loaded in the car," I said.

Nodding, he took my hand and started walking across the now formed dance floor. I stopped breathing as I looked down at our hands together. A warm feeling erupted in my chest but it was gone sooner than it came when he let go.

I looked up to find dad standing infront of us, smiling down at me. He stepped forward and hugged me. Confused, I pulled back.

"This is a new start Scar. I'm so proud of you," He patted my back and turned to Alec.

"Take care of her," He muttered.

Alec nodded and turned to me. Taking my hand once again, he guided me towards the large antique doors of the hall, his warm hand putting my senses at ease. I turned back to find dad smiling at us.

"Where are we going Alec?"

"Barbados," He spoke once we were out of the large doors.

My eyes grew wide. "Why?"

"For our honeymoon,"

I stopped walking and he turned to me with a sly smirk.

I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it. "That's right. It's honeymoon to others and a business trip to me. To you, consider it a vacation,"

He spoke calmly and I released a breath.

He started walking and I frowned when he didn't take my hand this time, then frowned again at the previous thought. What is wrong with me?

I followed him to his car and Jeremy opened the door to backseat for us. He took the wheel and started driving.

Through the entire ride, I was shifting uncomfortably on the seat because of the heavy gown. Alec was busy on his phone and was instructing someone to be at the airport with some documents. As Jeremy drove up to the airport and finally parked it near a private jet, I released a breath.

He held the door open for me and I muttered a small thanks. Once I was standing outside, I stared at the beautiful jet in awe.

I didn't realize when Alec came to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. I looked up at him but he had his gaze set ahead.

"Go along with it," He muttered in my ear. "You gotta start acting like my wife."

I then spotted a group of people far ahead in a queue for some other plane, pointing their phones in our direction. We're not important people, now are we?

I clasped my hands together and walked ahead with Alec. A man stepped up to us. He seemed to be in his early fifties, having a toffee complexion and brown hair. He was not very tall but was lean.

"Mr. Sinclair," He extended his hand forward and Alec shook it.

"Mr. Johnson," He gave him a nod.

The man turned to me and I shook his hand. "Mrs. Sinclair. Nice to meet you. I'll be your pilot," He greeted and I was about to blink at him for calling me that but I soon realized it. I was Mrs. Sinclair now.

"Mr. Johnson," I said back. "Nice to meet you too and please call me Scarlet," Alec cut a glance at me but I kept my gaze fixed.

Withdrawing his hand, he nodded at me with a smile and turned to Alec. "The jet's ready to go whenever you wish to Mr. Sinclair,"

"We'll be leaving in ten minutes," Alec announced and the man nodded to go back into the jet.

Just then, a man approached us with a file in his hands. He seemed to be in a hurry as he was literally running to get to us, his tie loosened and sweat dripping down his eyebrows. He couldn't be more than 23 surely. Alec gave him an impatient look.

"I'm sorry, Sir," He muttered as he passed the file to Alec.

He flipped through the pages and once he was done examining them carefully, he signed the dotted line in the lower right corner.

Passing the file to the guy and dismissing him, he turned to me with a smirk. "Now that's the closing of a deal,"

"What do you mean?" I raised a brow.

"Price Industries will get their big investment tomorrow,"

My jaw dropped. How could I forget that?

I looked back at the person's retreating figure and let out a small laugh. Turning back to Alec, I gave him a small smile. "Thank you,"

"You're welcome Mrs. Sinclair," He stressed on the last part, making my momentary happiness wash away and remind me of the sacrifice I had made but as much as I hate to admit it, I liked hearing that from his mouth.

Keeping a straight face, I walked towards the jet with him.

My mouth dropped open at the beautiful interior. This wasn't the first time I was in a private jet. Lily's family was quite rich and I had travelled in their private jet. But this one was far better and luxurious than theirs.

The comfortable seats made me want to kick my heels away and get on them. There was a mini bar situated in the back. There was a closed sitting in the left with a small table in between.

Breathing in the rich scent, I finally took a seat in the right and Alec sat on the left, his seat a little away from mine.

I buckled my seatbelt as the plane was ready to take off and had started covering the runway.

"You don't have any take off fears, do you?" Alec asked me.

I let out a laugh. "You kidding? I actually love it," Looking out of the window, I waited for the plane to lift up but turned to Alec.

"Do you?" I raised a brow.

"No," He spoke firmly and looked down at his phone.

I smirked at him. "You can hold my hand Sinclair,"

He looked up to glare at me. "Listen Price-"

"Sinclair," I corrected him with a smirk.

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes and went back to using his phone and when the plane started taking off, I kept my gaze fixed at his face trying to find a hint of fear or tension but there was none.

"You shouldn't be texting," I pointed out.

"I'm not texting," He spoke.

I looked out of the window. The runway kept shrinking and so did the buildings beneath us as the plane kept going up.

I unbuckled my seatbelt once it was safe and got up from my seat. "Where's the bathroom?"

Alec pointed his finger in a direction without looking up from him phone and I carried my handbag with me. I entered the huge well furnished bathroom and pulled my comfortable summer dress out of the bag.

My hands reached the zipper and I pulled it down in a hurry. It got stuck at a point where my hands pained to be struggling with it. How come it didn't get stuck while trying it at the boutique?

I gave one last try before giving up eventually.

"Alec?" I called.

I felt his footsteps appearing outside the door. "Yeah?"

"I--uh--I need your help," I opened the door and stood infront of him.

"What?"

"Can you help me with the zipper?" I asked hesitantly and he nodded, taking a step forward. I turned my back to him and his fingers reached for the dress.

His fingers brushed softly against my skin and I bit my lip, holding my breath. He lifted the zipper a bit, placing his other hand on my bare shoulder. I gulped.

His hand went down with the zipper and I looked up at the ceiling to divert my mind. He let go of it and I turned to him with a smile. "Thank you,"

He nodded and went back.

I closed the door and heaved a sigh. Getting out of the dress, I folded it neatly and put on my polka dot summer dress. The relief.

I walked out of the bathroom and went to my seat again. It was going to be a long five hour flight. I stifled a yawn and watched Alec rub his eyes tiredly.

He got up but I was fast in side stepping and taking the sitting couch. "I'm taking it,"

He gave me a weird look. "Sure. I was about to take the bed anyway,"

I lifted my head up. "There's a bed?"

"Ofcourse," He rolled his eyes and walked past the mini bar and I spotted another door beside the bathroom. I followed him and my eyes grew wide when he opened the door. True! There was a bed.

There was a room, almost like a small cabin with a huge comfortable bed sitting in the middle, night stand drawers on both sides and small plane windows, bringing in the sunlight. He switched the lights on and turned to me.

I stared at him. "Uh....you wanna take the couch?"

"No. I'll let you take it," He said. "Or incase you want that bed--" My eyes lit up. "--You're gonna have to share it with me,"

I raised a brow at him.

He walked over to the bed and slipped into the covers. I sighed at how comfortable that looked but turned around to go back to the couch.

I fell back on the couch, which wasn't comfortable at all but the lack of sleep made me shut my eyes and drift off to sleep within a minute.

I do. Say it Scarlet. Say it.

But I couldn't. His piercing glare made me freeze at my spot but I couldn't take it anymore. I let go of his hands and ran.

I ran away and the hall was filled with gasps as I retraced my steps on the aisle and ran out of the place.

I was about to call for a taxi when a figure erupted behind me. "Scarlet?" I turned around to find dad, confused.

"No time to explain dad," I shouted and was about to run in the opposite direction but someone appeared out of the shadows.

Alec stood there, pointing a gun at me. My eyes grew wide and before I could do anything, he pulled the trigger. I gasped and closed my eyes, expecting pain but it didn't come.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to find dad standing infront of me, his hand placed over his chest as he fell to the ground.

I let out a shrill scream at the sight of blood.

"Dad," I shouted and jolted awake.

Looking around, I relaxed at my surroundings, realizing that it was just a dream and I didn't do anything stupid.

I pushed my hair away from my face and sighed, wiping the sweat off my forehead. It was just a dream.

I looked at my surroundings again and frowned. I was on a bed. I remembered falling asleep on the couch.

Getting up from the bed, I walked out of the room to find Alec. He was sitting on the couch, typing something on his laptop and sipping wine. He looked up at me.

"Did you put me on the bed?"

"No. You sleepwalked,"

"What?" My jaw dropped. "I can't believe I've started doing that again,"

He deadpanned. "I was kidding. I put you on the bed because I found you on the floor here,"

"I fell off the couch?"

"Yeah," He said and went to typing again.

I sighed and took a seat, looking down at my phone. Another hour before we got there.

"So," Alec said and I turned to him. "You used to sleepwalk?"

"Sometimes," I muttered, remembering that time. My mom had recently died back then and stress did some really weird things to me. I had started sleepwalking and talking in my sleep. Thankfully, I got over it through medication and ofcourse, dad's care and affection.

I blinked and found Alec studying me. Turning back, I plugged in my earphones and rested back on the seat, listening to some AC/DC for a while. Once I got comfortable, I tapped my feet along with the beats.

My earphones were suddenly pulled and I opened my eyes to find Alec scowling down at me.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed.

"I've been shouting your name for the past five minutes,"

"What do you want?"

"Stop tapping your foot and stop that incoherent singing of yours. I'm working," He snapped.

He went back to working while my narrowed gaze followed him to the couch. Without another word, I unplugged the earphones and played 'Thunderstruck' at full volume.

Getting up from my seat, I started banging my head in air and throwing my hands up while singing along in a loud voice. I matched my steps with the beats and cut a glance at him.

He leaned back in his seat as he scanned me through his piercing blue eyes. I neared his couch and danced along but suddenly lost my balance when the plane shook and I fell back.

My back landed on his lap and he held me from falling off the couch. "Oww," I groaned as my head hit against his muscular torso and I stood still for a few moments before opening my eyes.

"This is your pilot Andrew Johnson. I apologize for the little inconvenience caused due to air disturbance," There was an announcement in the plane and I looked up at Alec, offering him a smile.

"Hey there," I muttered but his gaze sharpened.

I put my arm around his neck for support and pulled myself up in a sitting position, only to find myself sitting on his lap now with the hem of my dress lifted up to reveal my thighs. His gaze went down to my legs and I froze.

Being the idiot I am, I clutched my legs together and he broke his gaze away, now turning to me. Without wasting anymore time, I swinged my legs off him and got up.

"Sorry," I muttered before going back to my seat and plugging in my earphones once more. I didn't annoy him again and after half an hour, an air hostess stepped out of a room I assumed to be the crew rest compartment to tell us that we were about to land in a few minutes.

I buckled up once more and Alec took his seat on my left. We didn't have any conversation and once we did land, we found a car waiting right outside the jet.

I breathed in the fresh night air and sighed in content. My hair flew in every direction possible while I kept pushing them out of my face.

Everything was so calm and for once, I did not feel like speaking anything at all. I followed Alec to the car and rested back against the seat, looking out of the window.

The car started and I kept the window open, letting the cool breeze in and smiling at the surroundings. After a ten minute drive, the car stopped and I looked ahead. My mouth opened in wonder at the huge building infront of us. This was my favourite hotel!

I would always come here with my family. Me and my mom would spend the entire day on the beach when dad used to take up on of the beach cottages.

We walked towards the hotel and a warm feeling seeped through me at the familiarity of the place. Instead of walking into the main lobby, we turned towards the beach and I looked at Alec questioningly.

He simply walked ahead and the beach cottages came into my sight. My eyes grew wide as I passed the one in which I had once stayed with my family, the old memories rushing back faster than the waves of the sea. Last time I came here, mom was still with us.

Pushing the thoughts aside, I focused on the beach to my right.

We passed all the cottages in line and advanced towards the one in the farthest corner, secluded from the rest of cottages, surrounded by little vegetation on three sides and a beautiful beach on the fourth, stood this phenomenal two storeyed cottage.

One of the leading guy went up and opened the door. We were welcomed by a soothing scent. The interior was elegantly decorated and what first caught my attention was the staircase leading upstairs. There were two rooms beside a kitchen on this floor. The living area was furnished well with all the wooden stuff.

The men kept our bags in the living room and left us alone. Without saying anything, I started climbing the stairs and my mouth dropped open as I was met by a huge opening with a clear view of the sea and a small in built pool surrounded by chaise longues, all facing towards the sea.

It was so magical! Though I didn't see the point in having a pool in here when there was a sea right outside.

I felt a presence behind me but didn't turn around. "This is so beautiful," I muttered.

He didn't say anything and I pictured him looking ahead at the view just like me.

I turned around and a smile formed on my lips when I found him doing just that. The wind pushed his hair away and his face glowed in the moonlight, illuminating his perfectly chiselled jaw and cheeks.

For a moment, I couldn't take my eyes away from his face but I blinked and looked back.

What is wrong with me today?

Hey guys! Did you like it?

Please let me know through your comments! :)