CHAPTER FOUR:
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That was the final straw.

Aphrodite could not expect two people who barely know each other to marry each other the day after they found out that they're engaged! How had nobody killed her before? Okay, so a bit excessive and illegal, but how had anyone gone along with that crap.

Flabbergasted, Adrian's sea-green eyes had gone so wide that they almost bulged out of his head as he froze on the spot. His gaze had settled on Aphrodite, but his vision was unfocused.

"You cannot honestly expect us to be okay with this little plan of yours? Are you telling us that people have married someone they hardly know, or, even worse, someone they don't know at all?"

"Well, dear, yes," Aphrodite responded, still reeling from Clara's earlier outburst of emotion.

After another moment or two, the shock wore off, and Adrian emerged from his preoccupied state, turning to look at Clara as she spoke.

"Aphrodite, you told me before that you have centuries of experience?" Clara began, waiting for confirmation from the clueless Goddess; she received a nod in response. "Well, that doesn't mean that you've married thousands of couples. How many have you actually married?"

Uncomfortable with the escalating conflict, Aphrodite looked towards her feet, wishing she still had her gummy bears for moral support... or just for brain power, not that she needed to eat, but she found food yummy.

"Three..." Aphrodite answered after a moment, still finding her shoes very interesting indeed... they were so nice and... brown?

"Oh, wow! Do you hear that, Hadria? Three couples! Three!" Clara exclaimed while throwing her hands in the air infuriated.

"I don't understand... I didn't receive this must resistance from them. I will admit that they were a bit cautious at first, but I think that was because I'm real, not because of my plans... I thought that you'd be happy?"

Feeling a little sorry for Aphrodite, who had just been trying to help, all be it in the most bizarre way possible, Adrian spoke up. He, too, was still a little surprised by Clara's outburst, having been temporarily consumed by the groundbreaking news that they would be married the next day.

"Aphrodite, we appreciate that you were just trying to help; however, this is very intrusive, you're dictating our lives," he started, briefly interrupted by Clara.

"Not we, you appreciate she was just trying to help," she said, looking Adrian in the eye as she did so.

"Okay," he sighed before continuing, "I appreciate that you were trying to help. You implied that you couldn't remove names from your list?" He inquired, trying to become a peacekeeper.

"Oh yes, enlighten us oh wise one," Clara added with sarcasm lacing her voice and her lips turned down in a scowl.

"Well, it's binding. It's impossible to remove your name. When I said you couldn't leave unless you're married, well I was telling the truth... it's impossible to remove your names unless you marry..."

That was just great. There was no escape, Clara was doomed... okay, a little hyperbolic, but it wasn't untrue.

"Cheer up a bit Sunshine," Adrian tried, receiving a sour look in return. He sighed and continued, looking at Aphrodite. "You said you've been doing this for hundreds of centuries, yet you've only done this to three previous couples? Why us? And why have you not done this a lot more often?

It was a valid question, one that Aphrodite was scared to answer in case she got into even more trouble. She hated being in trouble.

"Well, I only added people to my list if I know that they do want to fall in love, and they have someone in mind for that. I wasn't quite truthful-"

"Oh, what a surprise," Clara chimed in, interrupting Aphrodite.

"I wasn't quite truthful. Or I was, but I didn't tell the whole truth... you see, many people are added to my list, but then they disappear when they're married. Most marry without issue. I don't act before they marry if I see signs of individuals opening seeking love, even after they promise never to love again. In your case, I chose you because I realised that you knew each other, you have history. Many people are on the list, but I don't act upon it until they're ready. Sometimes they never are, other times, I think they are."

"What is it about us that made you think we were ready?"

"I could feel it... it was clear in your heart that you were ready... even if you were too stubborn to admit it. That's why I'm doing this... you're both so adamant that you won't fall in love, but you don't mean it..."

Still trying to resolve some of the issues, Adrian looked at Aphrodite and spoke, his voice soft in an attempt to calm her down.

"I understand that you wanted to help, but don't you think that it was up to us?"

Clara nodded in agreement and waited for Aphrodite to respond, her gaze more demanding than Adrian's.

"That may have been wise, yes..."

"Hypothetically, what would happen if we said no and we refused to marry each other?" Adrian questioned, hoping for good news. He doubted it, but maybe they'd just get a slap on the wrist.

"Well, I would have failed at my job. I would be punished. Names can sit on the list forever, and nothing will happen to me because there are reasons. But, as soon as two people become eligible and I get involved, I have to finish the job and have you marry, or I will have failed." Aphrodite replied. Her once jovial and childlike attitude had transformed to become sad and uncertain.

"Why should we care about you?" Clara replied harshly, earning a firm glare from Adrian. Aphrodite looked close to tears at this point, even evoking a small amount of sympathy in Clara.

"Aphrodite, what would happen if we agreed to get married, meaning you have completed your task, but then we divorce? Would that satisfy this magical God contract thing?"

Clara looked over at Adrian in shock, surprised to find out that he was even considering this absurd idea. 

"I... I would have to check, but I believe that would solve the issue," Aphrodite responded with a little more excitement in her voice.

Then, to her delight, Adrian picked up her confiscated gummy bears and handed them back to the child disguised as a Goddess. She stuffed her mouth with the sweets, eager to experience the sweetness that they provided again, drawing an eye roll from Clara and an amused chuckle from Adrian.

"Why don't you pop off and see if that would work while Clara and I discuss logistics?" Adrian suggested in an attempt to iron out the remaining tension.

Still overjoyed at her reunion with her gummy bears, Aphrodite gave them both a small smile with her cheeks still full of sweets, before disappearing to wherever the hell Goddesses live.

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"Well, that was eventful," Adrian began to try and spark a casual conversation or even small talk. However, it became evident that Clara was still unsettled by the ordeal when she shot him an unimpressed look.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Clara asked, hoping that Adrian could impart some wisdom that would help her relax.

As she studied him for the first time since he arrived, she noticed that he had grown a lot since she'd last seen him. He ran a hand through his messy hair and thought for a minute before finding the right words.

"I'm not calm, trust me; my mind is as disorganised as my desk always was in our politics lessons. But, it looks like there's not much we can do about this..." he replied, continuing to run his fingers through his rich brown hair.

Clara noticed that, when the sun hit it, it appeared shiny and lighter than it really was.

"I suppose you're right..." Clara added with a sigh, hating to admit when she was wrong or not entirely correct. It was the latter in their case; she was a little bit right, or so she liked to believe.

"I'm always right," Adrian replied while mockingly puffing out his chest. One thing that Clara had always liked about Adrian was that he wasn't like the other boys, he didn't want to be big or tough or the bad-boy, he was happy with being himself. That was an attribute that was hard to come by throughout high school and sixth form. It was always one of his more attractive characteristics, she thought.

Hold on, attractive?