Danny Cunningham

If one thing was clear, it was that Ashton wasn't enjoying himself at all.

Things did at one point begin to look up. A blonde man and his wife approached us from across the room, going on about how they hadn't seen Edward in ages as they did. The wife had fiery, curly red hair and a very confident demeanor about her. I wasn't sure if I would like them, but they at least seemed to have personalities other than bold and entitled. And hey, at that point, I was willing to take whatever I could get.

"Hello, James." Ashton said to the man as they shook hands. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. Victoria and I just returned from Vail. We were vacationing there for a couple of weeks in our cabin."

"That sounds lovely. I hope you had a pleasant time."

"We did, thank you."

"You brought a date tonight, Ashton?" The wife asked, eyeing me curiously.

"Not just a date...fiancée." Ashton answered, smiling at her.

I was a little taken aback by how wide her eyes got as Ashton said the word fiancée. Everyone I had met so far that night had been surprised and hostile, but none of them showed the reaction that she was showing.

"Fiancée?" She repeated while literally clutching her pearls.

"Yes, fiancée." Ashton repeated as he pulled me closer to his side.

"When did this happen?" She asked.

"Well, we've been seeing each other for a while. But I just recently proposed."

"But...I mean...why didn't anyone know that you were seeing someone?"

"Victoria, please. Don't be rude." James reprimanded her.

"No, it's alright." Ashton said politely. "You see Victoria, Danny have been very open about it as we've been together for quite a while now. If you haven't heard about it, it's probably because people don't really care about the news."

"Oh." Was all Victoria had to say.

"Um, I'm Dan." I said, extending my hand to James first as he was the most likely to shake it.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me. I didn't even tell you his name. James, Victoria, this is Daniel Cunningham. Dan, this is James and his wife Victoria."

"Very nice to meet you, Daniel," James said as he shook my hand.

"You too. But uh, you can just call me Dan."

"Alright." He said with a nod.

James released my hand and then I extended it to Victoria. She glanced down at it for a second before she took it in her hand and shook it.

"I'm Victoria." She informed me. "It's such a high honor to meet the person who has finally been able to tame the infamous Ashton Belle. You've done what many before you failed at." She said, glancing at Ashton pointedly.

I got the feeling that there was some tension in the air caused by information I may not be aware of, but to be honest, I really didn't give a fuck. My only concern was upholding my end of the deal with Ashton and get him the hell out of this awful party so we can celebrate his birthday the way he wanted to. I didn't really care if Victoria had her panties in a bunch about something involving Ashton and I or whatever the hell else her deal could be.

"Yup, he's great. I'm so glad that he's willing to settle down with me," I said, punctuating my statement with a smile before taking a look at my watch. Even after finish talking to these two, we'd still have to wait longer because we can't leave before the engagement announcement.

Thank god I got the list out of the way.

"Your ring is lovely." Victoria said, glancing down at my hand again as she released it. I guess she thought I was showing it off.

"Thank you." I answered.

"That is a very lovely ring." James agreed, also looking down at it. "That must have set you back a pretty good chuck of change, Ashton." He continued, smiling as he patted his shoulder.

"No price is too high for my baby." Ashton answered, releasing my hand to reclaim his own hand's position on my lower back...dangerously close to my ass.

I was almost certain that I heard Victoria huff, yes huff, in response to seeing this happen. But I couldn't be positive if it was out of jealousy or shock from the class difference. And once again, I really didn't give a fuck either way.

"Excuse me. I need to make a visit to the ladies room." Victoria said before turning on her heel and strutting away.

"I'm going to go check out the food, I'm starved. I'll catch up with you later, Belle Jr." James said, once again patting Ashton's shoulder. "Oh and it was lovely to meet you, Dan." He added to me.

"It was nice to meet you too." I answered.

I turned to Ashton once he was gone.

"Well, that was surprising. He was nice and not condescending at all like that god awful Jacques. But She's kind of, I don't know...jumpy?"

He sighed and looked down to adjust his cuffs.

"Yes. Victoria...she's a character alright, bless her."

"What do you mean?"

He looked back up at me and unexpectedly pulled me over to him so our bodies were brushing against each other and he was positioned to whisper in my ear. I vaguely remember hearing him say something, but his hot breath in my ear and his big, strong hands on my waist totally scrambled up any clear thoughts. My heart started beating a little faster and my nerve endings heated up.

"Baby?"

"What?" I snapped.

"Did you hear me?"

"You mumbled." I lied. "What did you say?"

"Do you see that man standing over by the window with the blonde woman in the red dress?"

I gently pushed Edward back just a little bit because one, I couldn't concentrate on anything with his body so close to mine. And two, I was not okay with the way my body reacted to said closeness. He didn't say anything about me nudging him away though, so neither did I. I just ignored it and looked over towards the huge windows to see who he was talking about.

"Yeah, I see them. Why?" I asked.

"That's Raymond and Tina Biers." He said, still whispering close to my ear but not as close. "Tina and James have been having an affair for years. And Victoria knows about it. They have an open marriage."

"And everybody knows about it? They like...tell people?" I whispered back, shocked.

"No. I don't know if anyone here knows other than me and my dad or not. And I'm 100% certain that James doesn't know that I know."

"Well than how do you know?"

"Victoria told me."

"Why would she tell you that? Shouldn't she be concerned that you're going to tell people?" Like me! This was some juicy stuff! These people all living clean lives on the outside are actually rolling around in dirt at home, just like my dad told me.

"She only told me because she wanted me to sleep with her a while ago. James and my dad, who dragged me with him, both attended the same conference in Florida last summer and he brought Victoria along with him. I bumped into her at the hotel pool and she made a pass at me even after I told her that I was underaged. I told her that my dad considered James a friend and that I wouldn't be comfortable engaging in any of activity of that kind with her. And then she told me that they have an open marriage and that James has been sleeping with Raymond's wife, Tina, for years."

"Holy shit. What a clusterfuck." Why would she do that? 

"I know, it's weird. I really do like James as he's never done anything wrong to me, but I have to admit that I find the idea of that lifestyle weird and unappealing." 

I shrugged and turned back to look at Ashton. "Well, to each their own I suppose. Besides, who are we to judge? We're in the midst of planning a not so conventional marriage ourselves."

"I suppose." He agreed.

"So you didn't sleep with her then?"

"Who?"

"Victoria. You didn't sleep with her?"

"No. Like I said, I consider James a friend. So that's exactly what I told her."

"Yeah but if they have an open marriage then you wouldn't be doing wrong by him to sleep with her."

"I guess." He said with a shrug. "But it doesn't make a difference really. I'm not now nor have I ever been interested in Victoria. She's not my type. In case you forgot, baby, I'm gay."

"So are Tina and Victoria the only women here with personalities? I mean, I realize you don't like them, but at least they're not as dull as all the others. All any of them want to talk about are their husbands, kids, or why we won't work together."

Ashton chuckled. "I told you holding any kind of conversation with them would be mindless. That's why I hate these things."

"Yeah, well, now I see what you mean. My apologies for assuming you were insulting my intelligence. It's obvious now that you were referring to theirs. Or lack thereof, I guess I should say."

"Exactly. And apology accepted. Oh, and to answer your question, no. Tanya and Victoria are not the only women in my dad's social circle with personalities. However, I would say there are only a handful of them. "

"Great." I huffed. "I can tell all of these events I have to go to with you are gonna be a real blast." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

"I'm not sure you'd get along too well with any of them, though. Well, maybe Rosalie. I like her a lot. She's considerably down-to-earth. Her husband, Earle, is a good friend of mine...one of my few real friends, actually. They're not here tonight, though. They're in Hungary visiting Rosalie's family."

"Well hopefully they'll be around for the next stuffy party. It'd be nice to have someone down-to-earth to talk to while you mingle with sweaty hands McGee."

Ashton laughed and slid his hand around from my lower back to rest on my hip. I was starting to realize that he was being awfully touchy-feely right now, at a fancy pants party. Maybe he was just trying to show it off that we were together for people wondering who I was and what I was doing on his arm.

"Are you hungry? I'm sure the food is good."

"No, I'm okay." I answered. "I could go for some fresh air though. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure. I think I saw a patio right past those double doors." He said, pointing across the room.

Ashton slipped his hand in mine and then led me through the room full of people to the large patio. The fresh air from outside felt nice as he opened one of the doors. He stepped to the side, gesturing for me to exit the room first. As I did so, I fished hands through my hair and took a good look around.

The patio had an eclectic beauty, so much like the rest of the garden. The patio stones made a mosaic of sorts, stones collected as left overs from renovations, sitting together as pretty as autumn leaves from different trees. There was an artistry to it too, a fluidity I loved. I bet it'd be even nicer in the summer time.

"Ashton Belle." Someone stated with a rather amused sounding tone.

I looked up and noticed a tall, slender, beautiful blonde woman looking at us. She was standing on the opposite end of the patio, perched on a brick ledge that overlooked a garden as she smoked a cigarette. Curiously, she had a mischievous look on her face. I had no idea who she was, yet she made me feel tense.

Minnie Thompson 2.0.

"Hello, Heidi Burlington." Ashton said, sounding just as tense as I felt.

"This must be your little lady." She said, looking me up and down as she flicked her cigarette onto the ground and then putting it out with bottom of her black stiletto.

They way she looked at me was...challenging? Almost as if she were sizing me up.

"This is my fiancée, Dan." Ashton said in a flat tone.

The way he spoke to her was strange. To everyone else that he'd spoken to, particularly when he was telling them who I was, he sounded serious and unfriendly. But to this woman, his tone was icy and standoffish, like they had a preexisting rivalry.

Heidi laughed almost silently to herself and then stood up, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and pranced past us towards the door that led back into the house.

"Hmm. Charming....for an ogre." She muttered as she past us, taking the tension with her as she left.

I thought Victoria was a weirdo with an attitude problem, but Heidi made her look like someone I would want to be best friends with. "Can I just have a second?" Ashton asked before downing a drink from the waitors cart in one gulp and demanding another. "I can't believe that dumb bitch is here."

It took a moment for me to register what he said, because I had been expecting him to give me some sort of explanation as to what the fuck had just gone down. Instead, he was acting as if our little encounter with Heidi wasn't strange in the least. This was surprising, especially because Ashton had briefed me pretty well on what the deal was with everyone else we had come into contact with tonight.

"Uh...yeah." I finally answered.

"Thanks."

If he hasn't realized by now, I'm not one to allow myself to be left in the dark. If I have a question or want to know something, I'm sure as shit going to ask about it. Regardless of if it seems that Ashton I'm with wants to talk about it or not.

"Um, so if you're done with your moment, what the hell was that about?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Who is that horrible woman and what is her problem?"

"Heidi? That's just the way she is." Ashton answered before taking a long drag on his freshly filled cup.

"I mean, she didn't even say one word to me. Or anything really mean to you, for that matter. And yet, the way she was looking at me and the vibes she was giving off...I feel like I just watched her kill my puppy or something."

"Feisty, huh?" He said with an amused smirk.

"Whose wife is she? Have we met her husband yet? He's got to be one heck of trooper if he's married to that icy bitch."

He shook his head while in the middle of another sip. "She doesn't have a husband. She's widowed. Heidi Burlington is the one exception to what I told you about all of the mindless trophy wives you would meet in my dad's social circle. Actually, she used to be a trophy wife...but never mind. She was married to a man named Royce...easily one of the wealthiest men in Canada. She was his third marriage. She was in her twenties when they met and I believe he was in his late fifties. He died of a heart attack about five years ago and Heidi surprised the shit out of everyone by stepping up and taking over his business affairs. At first a lot of people suspected foul play in Royce's death, but she didn't even want his life insurance money. She divided it among his children. Then she reinvested some of his money and has been able to keep up his estate with no problem."

"Well normally I would say she sounds like a badass, but not after the cold shoulder she was giving us."

Ashton sighed and stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking. "I don't think anyone is ever antagonistic just for the sake of being antagonistic. There are two sides to every story. I'm sure Heidi feels justified in her attitude towards us. Or me, I should say."

"What do you mean? Did you do something to piss her off?"

"Like I said, I'm sure it's not just for the sake of antagonism. But let's talk about something else. Besides, don't you think we've heard enough business talk for one evening?"

Ashton was insinuating that his problems with Heidi stemmed from business related shit, so I let it go. After all, he was right. After meeting all of the people that I had that evening, I heard enough of business related things to last me a lifetime.

And this was my future!

We just stood there staring at the moon. I got lost in thought, and he seemed to do the same. I pulled his head down towards mine and this time, I kissed him as passionately as I could. It was the first time tonight that I'd let loose and actually let myself be comfortable around Ashton. It felt nice. I'd been so caught up in trying to get used to this crazy step we were about to take with each other and it felt good to kiss him. Ashton was looking and feeling incredibly hot and I was finally able to embrace him the way I've been itching too all day.

I am pretty fucking stoked about my soon-to-be husband.

More and more I was realizing just how much I really did like the way that Ashton kissed me tonight. In our normal interactions, he was always the one making the move towards me. I felt like we both always wanted to feel like the ball was in Ashton's court. And the way that we kissed each other was no different. Our lips were insistent and our tongues fought for dominance, each wanting to lead in the dance they were engaging in. Although our lips moved slowly, our actions still felt passionate. Our tongues dipped deeply into one another's mouths and Ashton kept on humming, turning me on.

So, yeah, everything was all hot and Ashton was making my skin tingle...but there was still a problem. Our height difference was still a bit of a buzz kill, a more prominent one the longer that we kissed as my neck started to hurt. I had my arms wrapped securely around his neck while his hands rested around my hips, gently caressing my sides. I kept pulling down on his neck, trying to bring his head closer to mine, and I'm sure annoying him too. He gripped my hips and kept pulling me up and towards him, trying to get me closer just like I was doing to him. I was already stretched up on my tip toes, so there wasn't much more to give.

Thankfully, Ashton found a solution. He slid his hands around from my hips to my lower back and then down my ass, bending down a little as his hands settled on the back of my thighs. Then he lifted me up.

"Oh, so strong," I giggled.

He giggled back and took my bottom lip between his, gently sucking on it. I moaned and pulled him tightly against me, quickly resuming our kiss.

We stayed like that, making out heatedly, for a long time. All thought of any place we had to be was lost, I almost even forgot about the other people that might be lurking around us. By the time Ashton pulled away, my lips were literally chapped. And he didn't even pull away completely. He kissed down my jaw, my neck, and over to my ear.

"Thank you." He whispered against my skin.

"For what?" I whispered back.

"For letting yourself go for once, it doesn't happen very often. It's nice to see you relax tonight, I hate seeing you so stressed. This party really sucks, I know a wedding might stress you out."

I sighed and started nervously chewing on the inside of my cheek. The mention of our pending nuptials put a damper on my fresh new outlook on everything concerning Ashton.

"What's wrong? What did I say?" He asked, pulling back to look at me.

"Nothing, I just...you mentioning the wedding just got me thinking about everything. There's a lot I still have to do concerning...all of that."

"Well, like I told you, I'm sure my mother will be thrilled to help with the planning. I think the more hands on you let her be the better for her."

"That's not what I mean." I said, shaking my head. "I'm not worried about the planning. Just let her plan the entire thing with my mom, I don't care."

"Then what is it?" 

What was it? Was I even ready to move this quickly? I mean....it wasn't like it was happening tomorrow! I still had to go to college either way Ashton before any of that took place. I had years to think about this thoroughly.

I just had to trust Ashton.

"Stop undressing me with your eyes, Baby," Ashton smirked.

"I am not undressing you with my eyes!" I blushed trying to knock to smile off my face but failing miserably. "I'm not sure why I'm worried, I just am. Mickey says all guys get like this when they're about to be tied down. It makes no sense. I just want to forget about it."

"You know I can help you. I could have you right now if I wanted to..." He said softly, lips brushing against mine.

Part of me wanted to moan, and part of me wanted to scream out loud. All we'd done since we saw each other today was this kiss. I really thought that if he got me all worked up and the failed to deliver? I was going to explode with tension.

"But, no. I think I'll wait for that. I think I'll wait until we finish the task at hand, and then we'll leave so I can....get a nice present from you," Ashton teased me, throwing my earlier words in his face."

"We just have to wait until your dad makes the announcement, then we're free to go." I smiled, his lips still against mine. "Next is the bedroom!"

"Actually, I think next is going back out there to the party. We have some mingling and entertaining to do before the bedroom, my beautiful wife."

I groaned as he laughed, leaning back out of my personal space again.

"I seriously wish we could just skip this stupid reception. I want to be anywhere but here! I don't want to spend my night mingling with your boring business friends and saying hi to everyone when I know that we could do literally anything else!"

"Don't worry." Ashton said, loosening his tie just slightly. "I'm sure it will go by sooooooo quickly while my dad stalls the announcement for as long as he can. At least you helped me feel recharged just now."

He couldn't have been more wrong.

The reception...was hell.

A newly invigorated Ashton paraded me around the room for a good hour, keeping me close to his side with his arm around my waist, as we made monotonous chit chat with his contacts and business associates. But pretty much every minute of the rest of our time was spent playing host and hostess. It sucked. And it was totally the last thing that I wanted to be doing.

While it was really my 'big day' in the traditional sense, it wasn't my 'big day' in some ways. It was a special day for Ashton. I wanted to spend it with Ashton, or at least in a more fun way. Not playing the charming little trophy wife. However, that's exactly what he comes with. So, I did my best to grin and bear with it.

I tried to be as sociable and delightful as I could for business sake. If he was giving me and my family financial stability among so many other things, not to mention an entire hotel chain, then the least I could do for him was keep up my pitiful head up for him. I smiled enthusiastically as his boring business friends talked my ear off. I held his hand and doted over him as he spoke arrogantly amongst the guests, using his charming arrogance and big words to impress people. I smiled against his lips as he kissed me, usually as per a request for a picture, and I played the role of a dignified significant other.

"What do you want, Heidi? Why are you even here? I thought you said you weren't coming." Ashton suddenly said.

"And miss this travesty? Are you kidding?" She asked with a smirk. "I was invited, after all."

"A formality."

"What are you so worried about? If I wanted to ruin this for you, don't you think I would have done so a long time ago?"

"Maybe. But maybe not. I know how you like to play games."

"And I know how you like to play games. In fact, I know exactly the way you like to play." She said suggestively. That should be impossible, and I know they were only talking business, but it was still an infuriating statement to hear.

"What do you want?" He asked again.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You're the one who's supposed to be greeted."

"I didn't expect to see you here. I was surprised, that's all."

"I have no vendetta against you, Ashton. What kind of woman do you take me for?"

"Don't you think it's a little self-deprecating for you to be here?"

"No. And I think we both know why."

"I don't think we do."

"Of course we do. Do you love him?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Heidi."

"Exactly."

"Ah, I see."

"I hope you're careful. Marriage is a whole new ball game. I hope you can trust him."

"Come on, Heidi. We've been forced to get along along long enough for you to know that I'm nothing if not careful."

"I suppose you're right."

"And you of all people should also know that I'm certainly not a man of misleading notions. He loves me and I love him."

"Well then I hope for his sake that he's nothing like everyone else here."

"He's not."

Heidi suddenly lifted her hand to his cheek, a longing expression on her face, and for a moment I thought she might kiss him. However, she dropped her hand just as quickly. Ashton smiled, almost sardonically, and leaned towards her. This time, I thought that he might kiss her. However, he moved to the side of her head and to her ear, seemingly whispering something into it. There was no way I could have heard what he said over the waitors. As he pulled back, he still had that mocking smile on his face. Heidi's face, on the other hand, shifted into an expression of anger and something else. Maybe as if he'd hurt her feelings? Her hand rose to Ashton's cheek again, but this time it was nothing like the gentle way she'd done before.

It was a slap.

I fully expected Ashton to get as angry as I was, or at least just as irritated, but he did the exact opposite. He laughed. He didn't lift his hand to rub his cheek or anything. Instead, he chuckled at her as if she'd just told him a good joke. Then, he shook his head at her as if she were a small child who'd just asked a ridiculous question.

"You're still just an emotionless pig," She said quietly, a wounded expression on her face.

The look on her face surprisingly almost made me feel bad for Heidi. I suddenly desperately wanted to know what Ashton said to her, but I couldn't exactly just come out and ask right this moment.

"Come on, Heidi. You're above playing the victim."

"Well," She said, pushing away what seemed to be a breaking mask. "I guess I'll be going back to mingle. You two lovebirds enjoy yourselves."

"Enjoy the party." Ashton said sarcastically.

"I will." She said. "Oh, and Daniel?" She said, stopping and turning back around to face me.

"Call me Dan."

"Congratulations, Dan," She smiled at me, perfectly poised and charming.

"Thank you." I said, trying to smile just as sweetly. When she left our presence I turned my stern attention to Ashton. "What the fuck, Ash?" 

"She thinks you're one of those trophy wives. Like arm candy that you take out in public and take to parties while you have your secret side pieces. A lot of people in upper class family's are born into situations like that, including her. Although, I can't confirm that she thinks that, per se...if that's the type of answer you're looking for." He finally answered.

The vagueness in his cryptic answer annoyed me.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think she thinks that?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, that's what I meant." Ashton said nonchalantly. It suddenly made sense why people kept walking up to us and trying to present their daughters! 

They all think this is a contract marriage!

"And what'd you say to her?" I asked.

"How does it feel to have gained everything but never be able to get anyone to look her way again," Ashton chuckled. "It's the only thing that bothers her."

At this moment, the lights gathered on the stage of the banquet hall, and a man in a black suit stood in front of the microphone and handed it to Ashton's bio dad. He held the microphone, looked at the word card in his hand before dramatically throwing them away. ""Welcome to today's Grand Opening of B Luxury Hotels banquet. I would like to call everyone to order."" 

Everyone started to quiet down and look at the stage.

Before we could ponder any further however, there was the sound of a microphone being turned off and on and the sound of it being tapped lightly to check its function, before a voice rang out through the crowd, ""one, two, one, two...testing... one, two..."".

Both Ashton and I turned in amusement to see his bio dad standing on the stage on h TV e banquet hall holding a microphone, and nodding to the staff in the suit to let them know it seemed to be in working order.

""Hello everyone"", he began, ""I'm sorry to butt in at this point in the night, as I'm sure you were all just beginning to look forward to putting on your dancing shoes and continuing with the celebrations. However, I felt it would be better that I say my few words now before my alcohol levels go beyond what is considered the respectable level for speech-making activities..."", The guests interjected with laughter and clapped, while someone in the back managed a shrieking wolf-whistle, my enjoyment as it was most likely my dads. ""Anyway,"" he continued, ""I won't keep you long as I know there are others that wanted to say a few words also....since it's Valentine's Day. This is a grand opening but, all I wanted to do was congratulate my son and his fiancé again on this very special day. Any of you who know me know that my relationship with these two was not exactly smooth sailing to begin with. Our circumstance of coming together was rather exceptional, and the universe did its damn best to turn us into enemies I think. However, I have since gotten to know both my son and his fiancé extremely well and I now consider myself lucky enough to call them my family. These two here really are two of the best people I know despite what, I'm sure for many of you, have been others best efforts to convince you otherwise!

""But, in all seriousness, I have never known two people more deserving of happiness, and I am so glad that I am here to witness their engagement today. I wish you both all the happiness in the world, and more. Cheers, to my son Ashton Belle and his fiancé, Daniel Cunningham!""

Ashton's bio dad raised his wine glass above his head amd signalled to the rest of the guests, who all raised their glasses and celebratory toasts rang out among them. He then nodded to someone off stage, who I assume was in charge of the lights, because a few seconds later, a bright spotlight shone down on Ashton and I turning all the attention onto us.

I stood there underneath the bright light, facing Ashton and freaking the fuck out. I could feel my eyes start to water and my chest rising and falling repetitively with my rapid breathing. To everyone watching, I probably appeared to be full of emotion on this big day. But that's wasn't it at all. In reality, I feared that I was on the verge of a very public panic attack.

I could feel the eyes of all the guests watching us or straining to see us. I felt so much pressure from their heavy scrutinizing stares that I swore I could feel it searing into my skin. The walls were closing in on me and the roof was caving. Literally hundreds of people watched me intently as I prepared to become married to someone I was in love with. They may not all accept the truth and I knew that. And man did my self-conscious lay into me. Negative thoughts raced through my mind, and the whispers I heard during the party all started racing back into my head.

That I was a deceiver, deceiving my friends and family into being genuinely happy for my impending marriage.

That I was a whore, prostituting myself to Ashton for his money.

That I was a lazy coward, taking the easy way out instead of using old fashioned hard work to get through school and build a better life for myself. I almost wanted to yell at him to deny it. I wanted to tell him that he was a fool for wanting to marry a sickly guy like me, a commoner, but I couldn't. I felt like my heart was beating in my throat, preventing any words from forming.

"I swear I didn't know about this," Ashton said discretely as I watched him smile, almost exultantly, and felt like I wanted to throw up. Why the hell was all of this so easy for him? I knew that I was supposed to reply to him then, but I felt frozen. I swallowed hard, trying to will myself to form words, but it wasn't working. My heart started beating faster, and part of me just wished I would just go ahead and have the heart attack that I was surely on the verge of. Then I could escape from this god forsaken party, or maybe wake up from this glorious dream; this impossible fairytale.

The longer that I stayed silent, the more Ashton's smile started to fade. It was slowly replaced with a look of worry and nervousness. "Baby? Are you upset about this?"

I closed my eyes just for a moment as I swallowed, begging my voice to come back to me.

I wanted this. I'd made my decision. I was going to be with Ashton forever no matter what! It's time to own that decision! "I'm not mad, just embarrassed that the ," I pushed down my fear and anxiety to smile and wave along with him at the sharks, who had turned their full attention onto us. "Still, this is fucking over the top."

"He's naturally dramatic like the rest of us," Ashton continued apologetically. "Never did I think he'd go up there drunk."

"I don't think he's done," I pointed back to the stage.

""Anyway, what I really wanted to do was thank everyone for coming this evening. You have no idea how special it has been for us to have all our dearest friends and business partners in one place to celebrate with us. Thank you especially to those who travelled all the way from Chicago, California and elsewhere - it means the world, thank you.

""Secondly, I want to thank my dear friend Chief Dennis Abbott and all of the team in B Hotels for organising this entire evening. Of corse, this party could be nothing less than something from a soap opera, I'd expect nothing less at this stage. But Dennis and the team somehow managed to keep the show on the road and get everyone here together."" At this, Ashtons bio dad turned toward the crowd, ""Thank you all so very much for your ongoing support, it really means more than I could ever say""The staff members, smiled warmly nodded imperceptibly in acknowledgement as they were applauded loudly. ""Enjoy the night! Happy Valentine's Day!""

And just like that, it was done. There really was no turning back now. I'd given myself to Ashton and everyone knew it. I was officially all in. The spotlight was finally turned off and I was able to drop my forced smile as the party resumed. That was the most uncomfortable two minutes of my life.

"For a minute there I thought you were going to back out on me and my dad had ruined everything."

I looked up at him and shrugged.

"I got a little nervous." I admitted.

"Were you thinking about backing out?"

"No." I said truthfully. I'd felt nervous, and maybe even guilty, but I'd never actually let myself consider backing out. I'd made my decision, and I was sticking to it no matter what anyone said of how anyone looked at me.

"Well," He started, coming over to sit next to me on the loveseat. "Congratulations, future Mr. Belle."

I laughed and turned to face him, catching a waft of his sexy musk smell.

"Thank you, future husband."

"Mm, that's right." He answered, leaning towards me and tilting his head a little to one side. "I'm your official future husband now. You know what that means?"

"What?" I asked, my eyes automatically darting down to his lips.

He leaned forward more until our lips were touching and then spoke against them.

"You're completely mine now." He kissed me innocently, just slightly lingering, and then laced his fingers through mine. "Now and forever baby."

I led Ashton over to where I saw Sam and Soyoung. She was standing at one of the large banquet tables, talking animatedly to Sam next to her. He was pretty dressed up today and I assumed that Soyoung made him part his hair differently tonight. Soyoung, of course, looked just as gorgeous as always. Her long, now honey colored hair was down and curled perfectly. Her dress was an emerald color and as far as I could tell from her standing position, it flattered her figure phenomenally. I wasn't blind to the fact that she was stunningly attractive, and part of me couldn't help but wonder Ashton might ever think that she was prettier than me.

After all, the diet did wonders on her.

Once she noticed me approaching the them, she smiled widely at me. "Dan!" Soyoung squealed happily, bombarding me with a hug. "You look so gorgeous today! Look at you."

"Thanks, so do you." I said with a smile as I gently pulled my hand from Ashton's and returned her hug.

"What a perfect party!" She said as she released me and took a step back. "The banquet hall is gorgeous, your suit is gorgeous, and your future groom," She paused and glanced over at Ashton, letting her eyes do a quick sweep up and down his body. "Is just gorgeous. Only a few more months until you leave for your studies! Are you going abroad?"

"I know! Ashton said something about a semester in England," I answered. "I wish we could just leave already. I'm so excited it's like torture to have to wait."

"Have you been before?" Sam asked.

"No, I've never even been out of the country."

"Oh, you'll have a blast. I went the summer after I graduated middle school. It was amazing." Sam bragged. "Anyway, why don't you two look happier? No one can say shit to you and they have to accept you now that your dad acknowledged the relationship."

"And it's basically confirmed that this isn't a contract marriage," Soyoung pointed out.

"You know about that too?" I asked.

"Yeah, why do you think everyone was being bold enough to approach you guys like that? Of course you'd be looked at like that until you're officially acknowledged by the head of the family," Soyoung told me as though I should've thought it was obvious.

Fucking rich kids!

"And I'm already assuming that I'm the best man," Sam said to Ashton. "I am your only friend after all."

"No problem," Ashton half smiled.

"And I'm your maid of honor, right?!" Soyoung looked at me intensely.

"Maids of honor is for women. Can't you just be my best man as well?" I asked her. In hindsight, I would've chosen my words more carefully because she suddenly looked incredibly offended at what I had said. "I mean best woman."

"Maid of honor!" She snapped.

"Ok, fine, whatever, call it what you want. You're a part of it and all that," I rolled my eyes. "Anyway sorry it took so long to get to you two. We had to handle something first."

"Don't worry about it, it's Ashton's birthday and we felt bad that he was forced to do this so we spent our time thinking of a way to get you two out of here unnoticed," Sam said. "You two introverts must be exhausted after all that attention after all."

"Baby," Ashton said softly. I turned to look up at him. He was gazing off into the distance with a peculiar expression on his face. I tried to follow his eyes to see what he was looking at. I could tell the general direction in which he was gazing, but I didn't see anything in particular that should captivate his attention. "I found an escape route."

I understood the message that he wanted to leave no matter what.

"Hey," I said as I turned back to Soyoung. "We've got to keep making the rounds to greet everyone and make connections so we can get out of here sooner than later, you guys understand, right? Thank you for being here, though. I'm really glad to see you. I'll definitely talk you later, okay?"

"Yeah, for sure" she answered with a knowing look. "We're probably going to head out soon anyway. But have a blast the rest of tonight, alright? You have to call me when you get home so you can tell me all about it."

"Yeah, definitely. I'll call you." I promised. "Nice to see you guys."

"Yeah, you too." Sam answered. "Happy Birthday man! We'll send gifts over tomorrow."

I gave them both a small smile and then took off walking in the same direction as Ashton hand in hand. We speed walked smoothly through the crowd attracting minimal attention and giving false promises of a later appointment, but we made it through.

"I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of you all night." Ashton told me as soon as we exited the banquets hall. "Even more so, I haven't been able to keep my mind off of what's under that suit."

"Hey, don't even start." I said, pointing my finger at him.

"Why not?" He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Because. First things first, we've got to get out of this stupid party area. And I've got to get out this monkey suit myself."

"Yes, you certainly do." He agreed in a husky tone as he leaned in to kiss my neck softly. 

"I didn't mean it like that." I laughed.

"Mhmm, sure you didn't."

"I'm serious. I just meant it's uncomfortable."

"Well I'd have no problem taking it off for you. I'm eager, in fact." He said before kissing my neck again.

"Which is why we can't start this now." I said, letting my eyes flutter closed. "I don't want to spend the next half hour out here making out like stupid teenagers."

"You want to get out of here?"

"Fuck yes." I breathed. "In fact, your dad said we have a room already. And there's only a copy of the room key for me and you only."