Fay followed behind Ace, as they walked out of the funeral room.
She could still feel her heart thumping, beneath the fleshiness of her chest walls.
As much as it had been delightful to meet Ace's mother, she couldn't help but feel terrified at the power his family exuded.
"Hey, we'll be going through the back door," he said, without stopping, or looking at her.
"Why?" She was compelled to ask.
He didn't answer, until they were in the elevator. And just like the first one they took before, this one also lacked space.
She felt her body mashing into his, and as the elevator suddenly moved, she found herself pressed against his body.
Ace inhaled sharply, instantly breathing in her scent. He understood his grandmother now. Her skin had its own scent. An intoxicating one, that drew one in.
"What perfume do you wear?" He found himself asking.
With her head stuck on his chest; broad, muscular chest, she responded, "Perfumes are so expensive, so I make mine. Something I picked up from an older woman who lived in my street. Although, I think the perfume I'm wearing right now is the one the women who dressed me, sprayed on the dress. I don't think mine has a long lasting effect."
Her voice sounded a bit muffled, from being stuck on his chest, but he pretty much heard everything she said.
She was also wrong about the lasting effect of her handmade perfume. It evaded his every sense.
In a way, she fascinated him. Two things he had learnt so far; she could cry, and talk a storm. That should make for an interesting fake wife, right?
The elevator came to a stop, but she didn't move. "Hey, we have to leave," he tapped her shoulders.
She jerked up, her face turning crimson. "Sorry," she said, and pulled away from him.
She couldn't believe she had allowed herself to be carried away by the comfort of his chest. Hopefully, he didn't consider her weird.
"Yeah."
They stepped out, and walked through the backdoor like he said they would.
Fully outside now, she allowed her eyes to roam around.
There was just one car in the parking lot. From what she could see, it looked like a restricted area. It was also dark, and quiet.
A buzzing phone swallowed the silence, and she turned to Ace just in time to see him answer the call.
"Hey, everything's set, yeah?" He asked, walking towards the car.
Awkwardly, she followed after him, her fingers intertwined in front of her.
"I'll be there in five or ten," he ended the call.
With his free hand, he pulled out a remote key, and opened the car.
"Are we going to your grandparents house now?" Fay's eyes light up, as she goes around the car, to the passenger seat.
"Get in," he said in a domineering voice.
A shiver ran down her spine, as she went into the car.
He was physically such a big powerful man. He scared her, but also made her curious.
"It has to be the effect of crying so much." She shook her head, to wade off the strange thoughts forming.
"To answer your question," he said, as he drove the car past the isolated gate. "We're not going to my grandparents house."
"But you…."
"I know what I said. Only said that to piss someone off."
"Oh," she opened and closed mouth.
Who could he have wanted to piss off?
Her brow furrowed as she tried to concentrate on a conversation she could have missed earlier, when her eyes suddenly widened.
"It has to be his aunt!" She thought.
Whilst the rest of his family were warm, despite their intimidating presence, she had felt a coldness from his aunt. Coupled with their fighting glares when they first came into the funeral, it had to be her.
From the corner of her lashes, she took a peek at him.
His focus was entirely on the road. Even in that position, he looked gorgeous.
She couldn't believe she was married to a man like him.
"For a year," a voice in her head reminded her.
"For a year," she nodded.
"Did you say something?" Ace's eyes squinted towards her.
"No," she quickly shook her head.
"Are you sure? Cus if you want to know where we're headed to, I could tell you." He returned his attention back to the road.
"I'd rather it be a surprise," she giggled into her hand.
His eyes flashed with surprise. Barely ten hours of knowing her, she already found a way to always catch him off guard. Either by the things she said, or her actions.
Why was she so excited by what she knew nothing about?
It baffled him to say the least.
"Hey, is that the new junk restaurant where they sell the best burgers? I saw an ad on our manager's phone last month. He made all the staff watch it, because he was mad they were just a junk restaurant, but were outselling him!" She suddenly pointed at the large building which went on forever.
He followed her finger, and shrugged. He knew nothing about it, but he couldn't unhear the excitement in her voice.
"There's something we have to do as fast as possible." He switched the windows to the tinted ones, and turned his attention back to the road.
He didn't see her face fall, or the light in her eyes disappear.
***
Ten minutes later, the gates of his house flew open, and he drove in.
"Hey, we're here," he called out.
"Okay," she nodded.
Before she could open her door, someone had done it already.
She stepped out, and saw the person who did. He looked like one of those valets at hotels.
"Good evening sir. I'm Fay," she greeted.
The man's eyes almost bulged out of its socket, as his lip trembled with panic.
Ace watched the exchange, and sighed. She really had no social currency of any kind.
"Leave us Paul," he said.
The older man, heavily relieved, turned around and scurried away.
"What'd I do? Was it something I said?" She bit her lips, nervously.
The action drew his eyes to them, and he briefly wondered if they tasted just as good as the way her body smelled.
"I'm sorry," she said, when he didn't respond immediately.
The thought instantly wore off, and his mouth became bitter with the irritation that formed. "You need to stop doing that."
"So—"
He shook his head, and proceeded forward.
She was deeply confused, as she went after him.
She tried to think of what she must have said to spur that reaction, but nothing was forthcoming.
The only thing she did was greet. "Is that why he's mad?" She wondered in her thoughts.
She was so lost in her head, she didn't even have the consciousness to evaluate her surroundings.
Dazedly, she almost bumped into someone, but their hands reached out to steady her.
Her eyes flickered, and shot up to see Ace, glaring at her. "You need to get a hold of yourself."
She was opening her mouth to apologize, when she remembered he hated it. Instead, she looked around, taking note of her surroundings for the first time.
There were two men present. One she immediately recognized as the guy with Ace, back at the restaurant.
The other, she didn't know. However, judging by his neatly tucked suit, and shabby shoes, she guessed it was a lawyer.
"You've met Grant, my personal assistant," he said, and she nodded. "That's my lawyer, Michael Scott."
"Ding ding ding!" Her thoughts rang.
"Hi, I'm Fay." She excitedly stretched out her hands. But when the memory of what just happened before kicked in, she quickly withdrew her hands, her smile faltering.
Ace noticed again, and was flabbergasted. It wasn't in his bucket list before, but now he had to get her an etiquette coach.
"It's okay to shake hands with the lawyer," he said.
"Okay!" She brightened up again, and drew closer to him. "Hey, I'm Fay Landon, and I absolutely adore lawyers!"
"Why? Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" He said, accepting her handshake.
"My Aunt would disagree, but that's okay." She bobbed her head, unable to curtail her excitement.
Grant's smiling face searched for his bosses.
He was frowning now, but something told him soon enough, the coldness in his demeanor would be broken down by this bubbly woman.
For once, he was proud of himself for the choice he made on behalf of his boss.
"Why don't we talk about why you adore lawyers later? For now, we have something important to finalize, right Mr Ace?"
"Right," he nodded. "Please, come with me to my office."
In his office, they all took a seat, but the lawyer remained standing.
"Congrats on your wedding," he began. "I prepared the clauses for the contract marriage as soon as Grant called. Here's a copy each. Go through it, and tell me what you think." He handed one paperwork each to both Ace, and Fay.
Ace skimmed through, already aware of what was in it.
However, Fay took her time with it. She felt like a movie star, shooting an important scene, where she had to carefully review the will of her late wealthy father.
But when her eyes found the figures, they bulged. "It's real! He's really going to pay me a million dollars per month!" Her mind screamed.
She quickly raised her head up, her mouth completely hung open.
"Judging by your reaction, I guess you've seen the figures," the lawyer jokes.
"Are you okay with it? Or do you want to negotiate for more?" Ace asked.
She looked at him like he had absolutely lost his mind. More? She didn't even know what to do with this kind of money. How could she ask for more?
"It's okay. Very much fine by me," she nodded vigorously, to show just how fine it was with her.
"Good. Here's the original copy. Please put down your signatures," he said, providing a pen.
Ace hastily signed it, and handed it to her to sign too.
She took a deep breath, and signed, before she would start to overthink things, and chicken out.
There it was. She had signed her life over to a man for a period of a year. Practically, she was a slave to him now.
As much as she tried to convince herself it was for the best, she couldn't stop the harrowing feeling, creeping up on her.