3: The In-Laws

The doors closed behind us at the end of the aisle, trapping our guests so the only way they could leave was through the door into the reception room. We'd been showered in petals and sent to sign the real contract before we had to join the rest of the party.

Armani didn't hold my hand after the doors shut, so I struggled to follow his lengthy strides in the direction of another room. He didn't seem to notice that I couldn't keep up, but he did wait at the door of an office-like room instead of totally abandoning me.

"T-thank you," I muttered, slipping through the door he held for me. "Um, what happens after this?"

"We sign then have to enter the party," he replied quietly. He sat down in a chair, which made him seem much less scary. His incredible height was turned into nothing more than less than mine. Although, it didn't look like he was that much shorter than me sitting down, and that was a kick to the ego.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, but do we... do we have to do the dance? And the cake? The typical wedding stuff?"

"We have to cut the cake but we don't have to eat it, and anything else is optional for us." Armani leaned forward on his knees, his eyes locked on my face. "Weren't you told anything?"

"I was told too- too late. I could barely get ready." I nervously slid into the seat next to him to give my feet a rest from the monsters torturing them.

Armani sighed. "Are you aware we're leaving for a honeymoon at the end of the night?"

My comfort quickly turned into shock. I flung upright and looked at him as if he was crazy, and I saw his lips twitch again like they had when he was with the little boy. But I could see nothing funny about this.

"D-do you... expect- I- No!"

He reached out to take my hand, and despite my best efforts, he took it. "Rose, I am not expecting anything. Your sister and I were never going to do anything, either. She had business in Italy and I wanted to go home for some time. That is all."

I stared at him curiously, analysing every feature of his face. 'Can I believe that?' I wondered.

"Do you think your father would allow you to marry me if he thought I would do such a thing?"

'Maybe.'

"I-I am sorry for assuming," I muttered in embarrassment. "The word honeymoon is just so..."

"Perhaps I should have used the word vacation?"

I nodded. "That would have been better."

"Noted."

A short while after we'd come to a settlement, the officiant, a woman in a professional-looking suit, and my father walked in. I noticed another man follow, one with the same pretty blue eyes as Armani.

"Hello, sorry to keep you waiting," the officiant grumbled as he took a seat opposite us. "I have a person of law here to oversee the document signing, and we have two witnesses." He motioned to my father and the other man.

Armani leaned over to whisper into my ear. "That's my father."

I instantly turned. "Hello, Mr Cartelli."

He smiled. "Rose, we've been through this a hundred times, call me Leo."

I was about to frown but he winked at me, glancing at the two officials opposite us. I realised this was acting, the sort of acting I was going to have to do from now on. I'd almost failed the very first test.

"Right, sorry," I whispered to myself, looking down at my lap.

The woman pushed a contract across the table. "May we begin?" she asked.

Armani nodded and I copied him, as instructed.

"Wonderful. This is your marriage contract, I trust that you and your fathers have looked it over?"

"Yes," Armani answered.

It felt wrong to lie but I knew I couldn't say I hadn't seen it; this was another test. "Yes."

"Great, that does save us some time. It is the generic terms of this kind of union with another, as you probably know, but I must add that you both need to sign a prenup, as requested by Mr Cartelli. Mrs Cartelli, were you aware of this, also?"

Mrs Cartelli.

"Y-yes, I was."

Dad placed his hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed, offering me some comfort.

"Great again. Mr Cartelli, if you could sign right here, and then Mrs Cartelli, if you could do the same just below his..."

There hadn't been many documents for me to sign like this, so I winged it and made a new signature on the spot. I noticed Armani staring at it for a moment, but his attention was on the woman as soon as she started speaking.

"And Dads..." she continued.

Once they passed her the contract back, she handed us both the prenups, which were slightly scarier to look at, but I knew they would help us in the long run if this fake marriage ever had to break up. Though, I doubted we would be sharing much besides a last name and a vacation to Italy.

"That's everything I need. Thank you, Mr and Mrs Cartelli. And congratulations."

"Yes, congratulations," the officiant added.

I smiled at them as they exited the room, none the wiser to the real situation at hand. We'd completely lied to two people of importance about our love for one another, and it felt like I should be put into a jail cell right away. Or slapped.

"Wonderful job, Rosanna," said Leo, once they were gone. "I almost believed you'd had some warning." His smile was sweet but edged, as he glanced at my father.

"I-I was just following what Armani did." 'What my new husband did.'

Dad lowered his hands on my shoulders harshly and rubbed again them for a moment. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. You're usually a bumbling mess, Rosie. Did someone give you drugs?"

My smile was fake for a different reason this time.

"Well, how would you like to meet your in-laws, Rosanna?" Leo asked. "They're waiting in the hall so you get a chance without all the eyes on you. We figured it would be best."

"Okay, thank you."

The three men walked quickly, almost leaving me behind. I forced myself to walk again in the contraptions on my feet, and Armani hung back slightly to wait in the hallway. We walked around the ceremonial venue where we'd married, toward the other entrance to the reception room.

Just outside, five people waited patiently, though one of them could have been considered only half a person, he was so small.

"Rosanna, meet my wife, Madeline..." - Leo motioned to the older-looking woman of the two, who still looked amazing - "my other two sons, Fredrico and Giorgio, and my other daughter-in-law and my grandson, Alyssa and Daniel."

I was overwhelmed by new names and faces, but only one really mattered when a child was present: the child.

"Hello!"

Daniel was adorably excited to meet me, as he bound in my direction wearing a tiny suit. I couldn't help but smile widely at him without even checking to see how everyone else had reacted.

"You... you are pretty," he told me.

I bent down to his level, which wasn't so far from my tiny height. "Thank you! You're very handsome."

He giggled, which was the single cutest thing I had ever heard and seen.

"He's three now," a female voice explained to me, and I looked up at all the adults. "I can remember when he was small enough to push out of me."

"Alyssa," Giorgio groaned, scrunching up his face. "That is so too much information, I can't even look at you."

"You were in the room! You saw more than me!" she defended.

"You think that is bad, Alyssa, my eldest and my youngest are now married!" Marissa looked at me, ignoring their little squabble completely. "In special circumstances, perhaps, but you are both still married."

Dad reached out to help me back up to my feet, which I didn't expect but immediately accepted. "It is so strange a feeling, isn't it?" he asked.

"Ah, but you are not a grandfather yet," Leo chuckled. "It's completely different then. Not only do you have two married children, but you also have a grandchild, who is, of course, absolutely perfect even if he is a nuisance." Leo's bright smile was something I'd never seen on my own father's face, as he looked down at his grandson. Daniel had lost interest in us, so he was tugging on his mother's hand to return to the party.

"You never know, I could be a grandfather soon," Dad muttered, and I turned to him in alarm.

Everybody except for Armani broke down laughing, though I could have sworn he was trying not to smile next to me. I closed my open mouth and looked down shyly. I was going to have to get better at this.

Through his chuckles, Dad explained, "I wasn't referring to you, Rosie! Your sisters!"

My face quickly ignited in flames. I should have realised he was talking about Sara, who was literally trying for a baby, and Bella, who'd been in love with having kids ever since she was little herself. She and her husband, Enzo, had been waiting for a good time to start trying. Of course he wasn't referring to me and my fake partner.

"On that note, I think we should get back to the party," Alyssa giggled, offering me a warm smile. I couldn't hold her gaze for too long without feeling my face heat up even more.

How was I going to get through this entire night?