ARIS'S POV

My head hurt a lot, and it wouldn't stop. Every beat made me feel really bad about what I did. I groaned and shut my eyes harder, hoping to sleep a bit longer before getting up.

My mouth was super dry, and I could still feel the makeup from last night around my eyes. I must have done some crazy stuff during my last night in Vegas, and now I needed a really strong hangover cure.

I groaned again and buried my face deeper into the soft pillows, trying to wake up slowly. The comfy bedding felt nice against my skin, but then I realized I was naked under the fancy sheets. It wasn't totally weird after a wild night in Vegas, but something didn't seem right.

My eyes flew wide open when I felt a warm, strong body move next to me in the big bed. Slowly, I turned my head, afraid of what I might see next to me.

The first thing I noticed was a man's messy chestnut hair and his broad, muscular back lying next to me. At least he was facing the right way, so he seemed somewhat together. Despite whatever chaos happened last night, this guy seemed to have kept it together enough to pass out properly.

Then I saw his strong arm resting on my hip, almost like he was holding onto me. And I noticed a shiny ring on his finger.

No!!

Oh God!!

no no no !

"This isn't actually happening "

I looked down in utter horror and saw a matching platinum ring on my own left ring finger. The sunlight made it gleam mockingly, as if congratulating me on some twisted achievement. I shook my head, desperately trying to snap out of whatever messed-up dream or delusion I was still stuck in.

Because there was absolutely no way I had been reckless enough to get blackout drunk and accidentally married this gorgeous stranger during a wild night of partying - right?

No matter how hard I tried to deny it, the memories of the previous night started coming back, slowly but surely. Hazy images of stumbling down a brightly lit chapel aisle with this same strong guy beside me floated back into my foggy mind. I remembered drunkenly declaring love in front of an Elvis-lookalike minister, exchanging rings, and sharing messy kisses.

As I sobered up, the harsh reality hit me like a punch in the stomach. The handsome man lying beside me in the luxurious sheets wasn't just a random hookup from a wild night in Vegas.