The Marriage

"Do you accept Adriana Carson as your wife?" The priest performed the rites of marriage speedily as even he could feel how thick the tension in the room was.

"I do" Hayden inhaled sharply before answering and the priest turned to face the bride.

"Do you, Adriana Carson, willingly accept Hayden Carson as your husband?" The priest was in such a hurry to finish the rites that he mistakenly added the words willingly and Adriana winced when she heard them.

"Willingly? Seriously?" She asked incredulously but a warning glare from Hayden had her clearing her throat.

"Yes, I do" She answered hastily, the sooner they were done there the better for her.

"I hereby pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride" Adriana sighed as she heard the last part and pondered on whether or not to let him kiss her but Hayden was not ready to give his grandmother the slightest idea that something was off with his marriage.

"Woah!" Adriana gasped as he pulled her into his arms and tilted her head back. She stared up into his bright blue eyes as his head descended towards her and she thought;

'Heck, I should enjoy this. It's not everyday you get to marry a billionaire from Uptown' she thought and then closed her eyes waiting for his lips to meet hers.

It felt like she was suspended in time as he placed his lips on hers and cupped her cheek with his free arm. She felt as if a hurricane had hit her and she slowly opened her eyes to see him staring back, his gaze not at all like someone who just killed someone a day ago.

He finally pulled away from the kiss and she felt as if all the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

'What?!' she thought as she was surprised at how fast her heart was beating after just a simple kiss. She hadn't been with another man since her and Cody broke up a little more than a year before but she wasn't expecting that sort of reaction from her body.

"Congratulations"

The words of the priest dragged her out of her reverie and she tugged on Hayden's arm to let her go, he did and she felt unstable for a moment but she composed herself immediately and smiled at the priest.

"I'm so glad Hayden, I didn't think I'll live to see the day you got married. Congratulations." His grandmother rolled up to them and kissed both their faces when they bent over to greet her but Adriana's mind was occupied by larger thoughts than wedding blessings.

'Oh great I guess I'll have to try and fit in until my time with the Friedman's has expired' she sighed as the family gathered together for a family picture.

***

"I'd say that was a huge success, wasn't it?" Adriana asked Hayden as he led her to his room.

"Maybe, you almost managed to blow the whole thing" He replied in a stiff tone.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you have to question the priest so much when he was taking your vows?"

"He asked me if I was marrying you willingly, what did you want me to do? Lie under oath?"

"Yes! You and your damn morals" he cursed as he pushed his door open and stepped aside for her to enter.

"Why on earth is your room so dark?" She asked as she stepped into his room.

"The curtains are down and the lights are off, why else?" He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Adriana glared at him in the darkness bht she soon found out she was glaring at the wrong direction as Hayden pulled open the curtains from behind her.

"How the hell do you love so silently?" She asked in amazement but Hayden wasn't in a chatty mood.

"I'll have the servants bring over your things from your apartment, you can use the closet to store your things and you can use anything else in the room. I have to go and settle some business matters and I probably won't be back till tomorrow'" He took off his jacket suit and pulled off his tie before grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.

Adriana stared at his retreating figure for a few long seconds before turning around and sinking into the bed.

"Wow, I never imagined this is how my wedding's eve would look like. Married to a man I do not love, and who definitely doesn't love me and I'm left alone with my thoughts on what is meant to be the best night of my life" she sighed and got up to remove her dress because it was basically suffocating her at that point.

She grabbed a towel out of the hundreds arranged in the closet and headed into the bathroom to have a nice long soak.

***

"Sir Francis, I'm positive Cody was killed in his meeting with the Brothers. My Intel says that he was threatening the lives of the Brothers and they killed him for it. His ex girlfriend who is also Benny's daughter reportedly got married to the second of the Brothers this afternoon"

"She went into the Harmony Corp building with Cody and she must have struck a deal with them in exchange for her silence" A Caucasian middle aged man with bleached hair and a scar on his cheekbone spoke to a distinguished looking older gentleman in a little diner in the Southside.

"So the bitch is mafia by blood and she also dated one of us?" The older gentleman asked, he had an Italian accent which was barely noticeable when he spoke.

"Yes, but she's basically sleeping with the enemy" The scarred man replied.

"That's enough Kevin, the Brothers have bitten off more than they can chew this time around. They dared to touch one of us and take his woman" Francis shook his fist in anger before slamming it on the table.

"They'll pay and they'll pay gravely for their sins, and when we're done with them we'll bring Cody's woman back into the family" He declared with a half crazed smile on his face.

"It's time to kick those Friedmans off their high perch"