Chapter 4- The Countdown to the Wedding

Collins's Point of View

Days seemed to fly by in a blurry haze of preparation and meetings. Tammie hardly even had a moment to reconcile everything that was happening. Her life had been turned upside down in a matter of days, and she was now hurtling towards something she had never in her wildest dreams thought would come to pass, an arranged marriage.

It had all been as Collins had promised, and he came to the office every day to assist in sorting out the financial mess. They had managed to restore the company to solvency and stabilize it by bargaining with creditors and calming down anxious investors. The worst of the crisis was over. The business of their marriage, such as it was, had been attempted.

One afternoon, as they sat in her office, Collins looked up from a stack of papers. "We need to discuss the wedding."

Tammie's stomach twisted. "We need to discuss the wedding? This all feels so… surreal."

Collins leaned back on the chair, scrutinizing her face. "I know this is a lot to stomach, but we have to forge ahead. The wedding is part of our understanding, the sooner it takes place, the sooner we can attend to everything else.

Tammie nodded, yet in her thoughts, she was racing ahead. Indeed it was strange getting married to a man she had known a few days earlier. By and by she respected him a lot and cherished the help she received from him, but this was a bit different. It was something of marriage; something that she always thought and dreamed would happen for love, not necessity.

"We can keep it small and private," Collins suggested. No reply from his fabulous idea. Close family and a few business associates. It doesn't have to be a big spectacle."

Tammie felt the thought was very nice and considerate, but there was a wave of emotion making her feel a little overwhelmed. "Okay, simple it is then, I just need to sink it all in."

Collins reassured her with a smile. "We'll take this one step at a time. I'll be in charge of most of the arrangements. You've got quite enough on your plate with the company.

Days flew by, and Tammie got wrapped up in the preparations. Collins was quite the taskmaster, making arrangements from the venue to the guest list with very little help from her. That sent conflicting emotions through her: gratitude for his take-charge attitude, but also making her feel like a passenger in her own life.

Soon, the wedding day decided it was time to come sooner than expected. She was standing before the mirror in the apartment, in a simple but elegant white dress. Her assistant Julia was adding some finishing touches.

"You look nice," Julia complimented. "Are you nervous?"

Tammie breathed hard, trying to force her heartbeat to be calm. "A little. It just happened too fast.

"You doin' right, Tammie. You save your daddy's dream. And your future," Julia squeezed her hand.

Tammie nodded even though doubt sat in the back of her mind. Really? Was that the correct thing to do? Could she make a marriage that truly started of necessity work? She pushed the thoughts aside, knowing she better concentrate on the now.

When she arrived at the small, elegant venue, Collins was waiting at the altar. He was as quietly put together as usual, yet something flickered in his eyes as he watched her enter and walk down the aisle. Was that a concern? Hope? She wasn't quite sure.

It was small and there were only a few in attendance. Her father, an aged man but with a healthy state of mind, only nodded his approval from afar. Collins's mother sat sternly, her eyes clear, looking on.

As the officiant spoke the vows, her heart pounded in her chest. She glanced at Collins, who took her hand with a light, brief squeeze. It was heavy when it was time to say, "I do," but she said the words anyway; at this point, there was no un-saying.

It all happened too fast before she knew it, they were man and wife. Tammie pasted a smile as Collins moved in and kissed her. It was shy sealed with a soft, polite kiss, more of a peck worth some small contract, lost not even an ounce of romance.

The reception blurred past. Tammie just went through the motions: greeting guests, thanking well-wishers, and making small talk. Her mind was somewhere else, trying to process the reality of her new life.

Finally, Collins pulled her aside as the night was growing late. "How you goin', then?"

Tammie shrugged, and there was exhaustion in her eyes. "I'm managing. It's just…much."

Collins nodded. "Understood. I mean, I know this isn't what you wanted. But we'll make this thing work. We have to."

A guest has approached Tammie, cutting her off by interrupting. Tammie was about to turn back to Collins when she caught a glimpse of a man standing in the shadows near the entrance. He was watching her intently, his face partially hidden.

Tammie felt a shiver run down her spine. There was something about him that rang a bell, but she couldn't quite put it. Then he turned and blinked off into the sea of faces.

"Who was that?" Tammie turned and asked Collins.

Collins turned following her gaze, though he saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Who?"

Tammie shook her head, cleared of the feeling of foreboding. "I thought I saw someone. Never mind, just forget about it.".

Collins frowned at her. "You are tired. Let's call it a night."

Something about the day had been overwhelming, but this man, this mysterious man, had a way of bothering Tammie. She was curious to know if he fit into her new life with Collins.

They were soon on their way, and, as they drew off, Tammie stared through the window, her thoughts racing with questions to which she didn't know the answers. She had made a marriage to save family and business, but now, with feelings of stepping into something much harder, the whole thing. 

The night was dark, and the city lights blurred in their speed on by. Tammie knew that the real challenges were just beginning. And the guy she had seen, whoever he was, felt like the first piece of a puzzle that he didn't even know he was a part of.