Arranged marriage : Married to an unknown man

Ariana

“I’m going to die…”

“I’m going to die..”

I cried clutching my head tightly. I got up from sleep with an unbearable headache. Why my head is hurting so much? What happened overnight that caused a headache?

“You won’t die just because of a hangover,” Xavier said entering the room.

“Hangover? To get a hangover you have to drink alcohol first and I do not drink.” I stated and he laughed.

“When I found you in the bar, you were drunk.” He stated.

“I just ordered a drink which I never drank before. I’m sure that didn’t have alcohol in it.” I mumbled.

“Oh? Well for your information, the drink you ordered had tequila in it which by chance is alcohol.” He stated sitting on the bed beside me.

That explains the headache. How could I be so careless? Well not my fault, I don’t know the names of alcoholic beverages.

“Have this medicine first, you’ll feel good.” He said, giving me medicine.

“Umm.. no this medicine won’t work. I have my regular medicine in my handbag. Can you take it out of my bag?” I said. He then gave that medicine to me.

“Did I behave strangely?” I asked after a few minutes when I felt okay. People behave strangely when they’re drunk. Hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing.

“Strange? Don’t you remember?” He asked stifling his laugh.

“I only have blur memory of last night. I don’t exactly know what I said or what I did.” I said truthfully.

“Then let me give flashes of what you did. First thing, you drank 8 cute glasses of tequila shots which made you drunk. I helped you to the room then you demanded pizza which I denied then you know what you did? You screamed and hit me with pillows. You act like a monster when you’re drunk.”

I gaped at him. No, I can’t do that, I’m sure he’s exaggerating. But I feel delighted that I hit him in that state because sober me wouldn’t have done that. He deserved it for how he behaved. And did he just call me a monster?

“You know what was the funniest part?” I shook my head. Hope it’s nothing embarrassing.

“You made Sean hold his ears to apologize to you. See, I recorded it.” He laughed out loud and showed me a video from his phone.

Oh no, what was I even thinking? I hid my face in a pillow, feeling embarrassed. Goodness, what Sean must be thinking of me? Please someone bury me deep inside the ground.

Xavier removed the pillow from my face and pinned his gaze with me. His eyes left all the playfulness. He became serious.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that at the office some employees are behaving rudely with you?” He asked out the blue. How does he know?

“Last night you told me everything about Bianca and Diana. What they did and the way they behaved with you. You should have told me before, I would have taken strict action against them. They hurt you and you saved them by telling me you slipped in the kitchen?” He asked sternly.

“I may have not taken action before but now that I know what they did, I surely will. And you won’t have any say in it.” He ordered.

“No one can hurt you.” He stated.

Oh, he is concerned about me now? Where was his concern when he left me alone for the whole day? He didn’t even call once to ask how I was doing alone in this foreign place. What about the hurt he gave me?

“What about you?” I whispered. His expressions softened instantly.

“I know what you’re talking about and I also know that you’re mad at me.” He said in low voice looking down on his lap. Oh? He knows! Well, then he must be aware of the reason why I’m mad at him.

“I’m aware of my mistake, I shouldn’t have done that. And I’m sorry about that. I promise that this will not happen again.” He mumbled. I sighed and made him look at me.

“How many times will you apologize? What if you do it again? What will you do then? You’ll apologize again?” I asked softly.

“I promise I won’t ever shout at you again, I’ll always trust you. Just forgive me this last time and if I repeat the mistake, you can even slap me.” He pleaded.

“Xavier, I’m not asking you to be partial to me. If I make any mistake regarding work then it’s your right to correct me because I know every minor mistake is huge in such a big business. I just want you to listen to me first, listen to my reasons, and if after that you feel like it’s not a good reason or it’s just an excuse then do whatever you want. I’ll accept it wholeheartedly. But never behave like you did yesterday. It felt like you don’t trust me.” My voice cracked in last.

“No Ari, It’s not true. You’re one of my most trusted people when it comes to work. Not just work, I trust you with everything. It’s just that I have high hopes with this project and when I didn’t find the papers I lost control. I’m really sorry.” He said, cupping my face in his hands.

Should I forgive him? I think I should because he accepted his mistake again, he apologized again and I know he’ll try his best not to behave like that again. At least he’s not like many others who don’t even accept their mistakes.

“Ariana, accept those as my apology. Please” He said pointing at the corner of the room filled with many bouquets of three types of flowers. Why I didn’t notice it before?

He went there and picked up three bouquets and came near me. First, he gave me a bouquet of purple hyacinth. A flower that symbolizes regret. Then he gave me a bouquet of Freesia flowers. Flower of ultimate trust. Then he gave me White Poppies. A flower that symbolizes peace.

“Please forgive me.” He smiled like a kid asking for forgiveness. His thoughtfulness made me all mushy. How can I not forgive this man?

I jumped out of bed and lunged onto him. Snaking my hands around his neck, I nuzzled my face in his neck.

“I forgive you,” I mumbled. He snaked his arms around my waist and kissed my head.

“Are we at peace?” He asked.

“We were never at war,” I said, pulling away.

“Is that so? The way you hit me with pillows last night, I thought you were declaring war.” He laughed making me blush but I recovered soon.

“Whatever. And I’m not a monster.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You are. I saw a monster unleashing out of you last night.” He said between laughs. I hit his chest playfully. He tugged my wrist and pulled me closer.

“You’re so perfect.” He whispered. Only if he knew.

“Now come on, get ready we’re leaving for Paris.” He said.

“P.. Paris? I thought we’ll return today as your work is over.” I asked.

“Mm.. hmm.. but what’s the reason to come to France if you do not visit Paris? So you wanna visit or not?” He flicked my nose.

“Yes, yes, yes, a hundred times yes.” I jumped excitedly.

I wore an off-white woolen layered ruffle dress which ended inches above my ankles. I let my hair down and applied matte dark red lipstick.

I went out of the room to find Xavier waiting for me while sitting on the couch. He stood up when he saw me and walked closer to me. His eyes were lingering on my lips.

“You look beautiful.” He said.

“Thank you. You too look good.” I whispered tucking my hair behind my ear.

“Thank you.” He smiled boyishly.

“Is your lipstick smudge-proof?” He asked coming more closer to me.

“Umm…yes? Why?” I asked in confusion.

“Good because I haven’t received my morning kiss yet.” He said and crashed his lips on mine.

We left for Paris on his private plane. I wanted to ride on the train but he said it’ll use up our time. Sean didn’t come with us, he left for New York. When I met him I apologized to him for my behavior last night but he just laughed it away.

When we reached Paris, we roamed on the streets of Paris. I pleaded with Xavier to bring me to see Eiffel Tower but he said it was not the right time. We visited the Louvre Museum, Sainte-Chapelle, Paris Aquarium Cineaqua, and did too much shopping. And finally, when the sun was about to go down he took me to the Eiffel tower. Only then did I found out that he booked tickets to see the Eiffel tower two days ago and for the whole fifteen minutes the top floor was ours.

He led me up on the top floor and the view of the sunset from there was breathtaking. The blend of yellow, orange, red, and purple was giving the sky a mesmerizing look. I was lost in watching the view when Xavier hugged from behind and rested his head on my shoulder.

“It’s so beautiful,” I whispered. He turned me around and pulled me closer. His eyes were stuck on my face.

“Not more than you.” He whispered and leaned forward to capture my lips. Closing my eyes, I kissed him back. We kissed at a slow pace. It felt as if time had stopped for us, letting us feel our emotions through the kiss.

I asked Xavier to click photos. He obliged but clicked all the photos with his phone. We clicked many selfies. He asked me to kiss his cheek and when I kissed his cheek, he clicked the photo. Then he pecked my lips and took a photo of it too. Thankfully no one else was there watching us otherwise I would have died of embarrassment.

When we went down from Eiffel tower, the tower lit up with lights sparkling the whole area. I wasn’t able to take my eyes off of the tower. My eyes twinkled watching the lights twinkling in the night sky. Intertwining my fingers with Xavier, I rested my head on his shoulder and watched the beautiful view.

We stood there for a few minutes when we heard an announcement being made from near us. The person announced a dance on romantic music for the couples present there. Some of the couples started to rush there to dance and some just stood there to watch.

Xavier dragged me there, I thought he wanted to see the couples dancing but he dragged me on the dance floor.

“Xavier, what are you doing?” I asked.

“We’re going to dance.” He stated. I gaped at him.

“N.. no, I’m not d.. dancing.” I stuttered.

“Why?” He asked arching an eyebrow.

“There are people around here,” I said looking around.

“You have to dance with me, not with people.” He said, putting my hands on his shoulders

“But..” he shushed me by putting his finger on my lips.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“Just look at me.” Saying that he snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. He started to move but I hesitated because I was aware that people were watching us.

“Don’t break the eye contact,” Xavier whispered which made me look into his eyes.

“Just focus on me, on us.” He said and made me move.

Without breaking eye contact, I started swaying with music matching his every step. Deep, slow romantic music was playing making us flow with it. Slowly, slowly I was catching up with the rhythm and in no time I was no more hesitant. Our moves started becoming more intense and sensual. He twirled me around and caught me to lift in the air. Our bodies rubbed with each other when he put me down. He embraced me from behind and swayed side to side without breaking eye contact. His hold on me was loose making me move the way I wanted.

I guess it was his magic that faded every other thing. We were in our own world; oblivious to many other couples and people around us. His presence gave me the power to be strong. His eyes said a lot. His captivating eyes were sparkling with delight. There was a state of deep connection and trust between us.

Music embraced us in its magic which made us dance for so long. Our feet didn’t stop moving, our body didn’t detach, our hips didn’t stop swaying, our eye contact didn’t break until we heard loud cheering and claps.

We stopped dancing and looked around and then only I saw, we were the only ones dancing on the dance floor. All the other couples stopped dancing and were watching us. We became the center of attention. An old couple came near us and looked at us adoringly.

“Both of you make a beautiful couple. Your chemistry during the dance was mind-blowing. And your eyes.. my, my your eyes never left each other. May the love between you two always sparkle like the lights of the Eiffel tower, like the stars in the night sky. God bless you.” The old lady said with a smile and patted my back.

A blush crept on my face and I hid my face in Xavier’s chest. He laughed and embraced me in warmness.

“She’s so cute.” I heard the old man say.

“She is,” Xavier replied, chuckling.

In the end, I was contented that I was with the love of my life in front of the symbol of love in the city of love.