John and Kyle had their fill of drinks as Madison and Alessa sipped on water. John sang loudly as Kyle cheered him on. Kyle had paid Martha a nice chunk of money to make sure they had the bar to themselves. “I am getting married!” John finished once he was done with his performance as he climbed onto the bar, dancing to no music. “You know, I can get used to cheap liquor. It tastes quite good. “That’s good. You might need to get used to it.” Madison softly said. “What?” Alessa inquired further, but Madison just gave her a tight-lipped smile and shook her head.“Let me get this guy to the hotel. I am also very sleepy. See you tomorrow at the church, maid of honor?” Madison said, getting up. “What about Kyle?”“He paid for you, so you deal with it!” Madison shrugged.“Paid who?” Alessa asked but Madison and John were already staggering out. Alessa then turned her attention to Kyle who was sleepily sitting on the same bar stool he tormented her from all day. She had no choice but t
Madison had asked Alessa to wear a black dress so as a good maid of honor she followed the instructions. She wore a black flowery halter dress she had and tied her red hair with an equally black bow. Kyle had spent the night in the bar and must have snuck out before Martha started her day because he was nowhere to be seen. Martha, who still believed that Alessa was working as one of Jason’s girls, made several comments about Alessa’s night with Kyle so Alessa assumed he left before Martha even got to the bar.Alessa had the day off today, and it was good because she needed it for what she had planned. She took Martha's car to drive to the airport, which was at least an hour away. This also required her to ignore all of Madison's phone calls. She waited for almost an hour before her complaining guest hopped in her car. “This is what he sent, an almost broken minivan to pick me up?” She moaned as soon as she got inside the car.“This is a secret wedding, remember?” Alessa reminded he
Alessa hurriedly turned towards Kyle and the boy. She saw a hole in the shirt on Kyle’s arms and blood, and she yelped. Kyle meanwhile was fighting the blonde boy to gain control of his gun. The gun shot a few more shots, but fortunately, they didn’t hit anyone still in the room.“What are you doing, get out!” Kyle yelled at her, his voice strained. Another shot was fired, it hit a bottle in the back of Alessa. “Now!”“No!” She yelled. “Sir, please. Put the gun away.” The blond kid said nothing. “Do you want to get in more trouble than you already are? You shot a billionaire?” “Wh—what? Who?” His eyes flashed at Kyle. Then his eyes widened at the gunshot wound on Kyle’s arm. He shoved Kyle aside and grabbed Alessa. He had the gun pointed at her temple and her neck under his grip. “Don’t come closer to me or I will shoot her.” Kyle backed away with his hands raised, not even winching even though Alessa was sure this action was causing him pain. “Don’t do anything stupid!” That was a
It was later at night. The light from the sun and the cop cars were all gone now. Mark’s feeble attempt to scam Kyle out of money was easily squashed. Now, Kyle and Alessa sat on a fence made of wooden logs that separated the bar from its neighboring establishment facing each other. Both their hands intertwined. Kyle’s thumb rubbed Alessa’s. They had been there all day.After James had taken Aspen to a hotel at Alessa's request. Alessa decided to spend time with the love of her life. For however many hours she was allowed. “What happens after today?” Kyle asked after kissing her hand. “I am more interested in what happens tonight.” She giggled, getting closer to him and kissing his neck softly. She felt him swallow. “I was thinking of thanking the man who saved my life.” She gently touched the bandage on his gun wound. “How exactly were you—“ Alessa slipped her bridesmaids dress down her shoulder exposing her bare shoulders. “Oh, I see.” Kyle’s voice quivered. He swallowed hard aga
It was a mad dash the next day. Kyle had warned Alessa that if she wasn’t packed and ready to go by six in the morning, he was going to call the whole thing off, so Alessa had packed all her belongings the night before and was ready to go. So when Kyle showed up to her room—ten minutes early— Alessa was ready. She only had one small bag of things to take anyway.“That’s all you're bringing? You know you're moving into your permanent home, right?” Kyle demanded.“That’s all I have,” Alessa informed. “I’ll get you all the stuff you want once you mine,” Kyle said, though his tone wasn’t light-hearted. It was more a warning, a threat. “Kyle I don’t think Aspen—““I don’t want to hear it. I am not a pawn you get to play so I do exactly what you want me to. I am a person. You’ve now used sex twice to manipulate me. You don’t get to call the shots anymore.” He earnestly cut her off. Then he grabbed her bag and her hand and they made their way out. Kyle made no effort to talk to Alessa as
Kyle didn’t come up till nighttime. Alessa pretended to sleep when he did. She was afraid if she was awake, they would get intimate. Kyle didn’t sleep on the bed and Alessa heard him make his way to the couch by his desk. Alessa stuck her head up slightly to verify and got caught. “You're up?”Alessa sighed but didn’t answer him and put her head down. “Well, today didn’t go well. Still, I stood my ground with him. I told him I love you and that no matter what, I’ll find a way to be with you.” Alessa bit her lips. Why was he so adamant about being with me, she thought.“I want you not to worry. We’ll be together in the end. I’ll fight for it.”“I want to talk to Uncle Frank myself.” Alessa finally broke her silence. “Why? He isn’t going to—““I don’t care. Don’t I have a say in this? You're already forcing me to sleep here.”“Forcing? We had a deal!” Kyle yelled.“Which you're backing out of.”“I am not. I never agreed to your stipulations. I agreed to Aspen’s, and I have no probl
That afternoon, Alessa was back in her dungeon room and so thankful for it. However, it didn’t help that her neighbor—aka James—was giving her the cold shoulder. Regardless, she thought, boy was it nice to be home. That was until Aspen found her. Alessa, as she unpacked her very little belongings into the same cabinet, heard a knock on her door. When she opened it, she came face to face with Aspen. Her nose pinched. “It’s disgusting down here,” she scoffed.“Can I help you?” Alessa said, rolling her eyes.“Yes, you can actually. I need help with the wedding. I want you to help me.” Aspen folded her hands over her chest.“You do realize I spent the night with your fiance right? I may not be the best person to be involved in your wedding planning.”“I see this more as a punishment for you.”Aspen curtly said. “the man of your dreams gets ready to make someone else his wife, and you’ll be helping plan that day!”“Punishment? I was the one rooting for you two. Why do I need to be punish
For the next three weeks, Aspen drowned Alessa in meaningless work. “Get a dozen of all the flowers you can think of. I want to see them before I decide on one.” “Make wedding invitations. I already have them but I want backups.” “Steam all my clothes. I want to look perfect the week of my wedding. “Get me a list of this makeup. I have a few test runs…” and the list went on and on. However, it did help that keeping busy meant not seeing Kyle. Though she wondered how much of that was her choice. It almost seemed like Kyle didn't want to see her. He was never outside of his room these days. Until finally three days before the wedding James added something to the list. “Can you go to this address and pick up Kyle’s tux? He has a fitting today but won’t be able to come home after.” He coldly asked while Alessa was heading up to the main room to follow more of Aspen’s instructions.“Okay,” Alessa meekly said. When she arrived at the shop it smelled like sandalwood, and the baby blue wall