“Sorry, I was taking care of some business. I came here as fast as I could though. The thought of you unpacking all alone at home was not making me happy,” I said and sat down on the couch. “Come here,” I told her and welcomed her with my arms.
As she walked towards me, I tried to take a mental picture of the scene so I could keep this perfect moment savored in my memory forever.
She sat next to me and put her head on my chest, looking tired but content.
“How was your last evening with your friends?” I asked gently. “Were they upset? Are you?”
“It was bittersweet,” she said without removing her head from my chest to look at me. “We were happy together. And drunk at some point. They sent you a little present. It’s over at the kitchen counter. How do you feel about chocolate chip cookies?”
“I don’t feel strongly about them.” I shrugged.
“Well, that is about to change then. Stacey makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. And she sent you an enormous batch to thank you for everything.”
“I take it you told her about my plans with Fiona for their wedding?” I said amusedly.
“Was I not supposed to?” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no! Don’t apologize. I am glad you told them. I was merely amused that you guys seem to have a system of sharing news as fast as possible. Which is why I am quite surprised your friend Stacey didn’t tell you about the ring.”
She giggled. “We know to keep it tight when it really matters. They were so thrilled, Zayden. Stacey couldn’t stop crying. She can’t be
lieve you’re real sometimes.”
“Is that so? If I weren’t real,” I said and moved my hand across her body to slide a few fingers underneath her panties, making her shudder. “How come I just made you do that?”
Aria moved away. “As much as I would like that train of thought to continue,” she said and grinned. “I have a lot of unpacking to do so no room for distractions.”
“That game huh? Whatever, I have some important matters to discuss with you anyway.”
“Is everything alright?” She looked immediately alarmed and for some unknown reason, it made her appear more adorable. She was such an insanely genuine person.
“Yes, everything is alright. Pretty fucking perfect, actually. I just wanted to talk to you about your mother’s hospital bills—”
“Oh right. I suppose since we are getting married, the contract is no longer valid. Don’t worry about paying for the last two months; I don’t want it to be a conflict of interest. With my new promotion, I am sure I could handle those payments myself. And since we have been paying all the other amounts on time, the hospital should allow me some extra time. I will probably incur some interest but that hardly matters in the grander scheme of things.”
“Aria,” I said with an urge to laugh. “What on earth do you think you are talking about?”
She raised her eyebrows. “My mother’s hospital bills. I am guessing that’s where you were going with bringing up that subject?”
“Quite on the contrary. Have you not realized by now that I will gladly turn over my entire fortune for you? My money is your money. What I wanted to discuss,” I said, planting a kiss on her mouth, unable to help it. “Is that I paid off the rest of her bill. Since I am marrying her daughter, it’s the least I could do. She is giving me far more than I have given her. You were right on one account of course; the contract is no longer valid. You are going to be my wife now. We don’t need some stupid contract.”
“Well, I have actually been thinking about that,” Aria said softly and slowly, as though weighing her words in her mind. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Zayden. You know I love you a lot, more than words can ever describe. If you don’t then you’re just stupid and shouldn’t be allowed to run such a huge empire.” She giggled. “I love you with all my heart and want us to be together forever. But life is strange and sometimes things happen. In the case that we ever find ourselves in a situation that is unpleasant as far as our union goes—”
“What are you trying to say, Aria?” I felt myself stiffen. I didn’t like hearing those words.
“Well, I guess what I am really trying to say is that the last thing in the world that I want is to feel like I am in some way taking advantage of you. As you know, I have nothing but some annoying amounts of debt. You have quite a lot. In the case that we were to,” she choked up trying to formulate that idea. “In the case that we ever, you know, split up for any reason, I want you to feel like your assets and everything you own are secure and yours. Which is why I think a prenuptial contract is important. To protect you.”
“Are you joking?” I stared at her closely to make sure that she was being serious.
Her words at once annoyed me greatly but also made me admire her even more. Any other woman would be thrilled that I hadn’t brought up a prenup or tried to convince me to ignore it if I had brought it up. Aria would be the only person to care so much about protecting me because she didn’t want me for my money. She wanted me for me.
The part that annoyed me was that she thought that such an arrangement would even be necessary. That was absolutely preposterous. I saw no situation in any part of our future where divorce would ever even cross my mind and I highly doubted that she did too. So she must think somehow that I might change my mind about how much I loved her down the line…she simply did not get that what I felt for her was beyond everyday romance, beyond my concern for my own life…
“I am not joking, Zayden. I want you to feel secure. It is important to me that you know that I am marrying you for the right reasons. I appreciate the promotion I got at work and it will certainly help me grow into my own going forward. As such, even though we are nullifying our contract, I am going to pay you back for the money you paid towards my mother’s hospital bills, just like we had planned. I want us to be equals in this relationship, I couldn’t stress that more. In fact, down the line I expect to pay for half the costs we incur during this wedding. I know you don’t need the money, but it’s really a matter of principal at the end of the day. Do you understand what I am getting at?”
“I do,” I said and pulled her back towards me. “I know exactly what you are getting at and this is precisely why I am in love with you. We are getting married which means there is really no distinction between my money and your money, my home and your home. Everything is ours from now on, together. That is what family is all about. We will be sharing our lives with each other, every bit of it. But okay, if it makes you feel better you can slowly pay me back for whatever you wish, so you feel like we are equals. If the scales are tipped at all, they are in that you are cleverer and far more intelligent than I will ever be, so you have the upper hand in a sense.”
She giggled and let out an adorable little snort. “You guys must all stop this ridiculous praise of my intelligence. It’s starting to get way too funny. I am twenty years old and I don’t even have an undergraduate degree yet.”