Falling, Fallen | ✔️

4

~Ayla's POV~

The next two weeks seemed to pass by so quickly that it felt almost as if I had only blinked before the day of the wedding was here.

"Sit still!" My mom exclaimed in frustration, trying to do my hair as I sat in front of her in a chair. I had never been very good at sitting still when people were trying to do my hair of makeup, which was something I knew very well drew my mom insane. "Sorry." I huffed, looking at my reflection in the mirror as I tapped my fingertips against my thighs. I hadn't put on my wedding dress just yet, but my makeup had already been done.

My full lips were painted a glossy pink and I had soft pink blush over the foundation on my cheeks and on the tip of my nose, with a little highlight on the high points of my face. I had done my brows myself, since I liked them done a certain way, and my lashes were darkened with mascara. There was simply a light, pinky color on my lids with shimmery champagne colored shadow on top to keep it soft and simple. Usually, I wore different makeup than this, but I figured today I'd have to do it lighter than normal.

Mom finally finished tying my hair up in an elegant up-do, which was something I knew I'd be letting my hair out of the second this wedding was over, but I didn't tell her that. "Oh, honey, you look so beautiful." Mom giggled as she placed her hands on my shoulders and glanced at me through the mirror. "Soren will probably fall in love with you on the spot." She teased, causing me to cringe slightly.

"You're getting your hopes up." I said softly, slipping out of the chair as I glanced at the clock. The door to the room mom and I were in was open, and my dad poked his head in. "Are you ready yet? Everyone's waiting." He told me, causing me to sigh deeply and grab the dress from where it sat on one of the tables. He left the room so I could get changed and I shimmied my way into my dress once he left, letting my mom zip it up in the back. She put on my veil and I looked at myself in the mirror, beginning to feel a little anxious. Even though this marriage wasn't even real, my mom had invited our family, and Mr. Maxwell had invited all of his family. It was just to make it more realistic, but I didn't want any of them here. I'd have preferred if it were private, under the circumstances.

"Ready, honey?" Mom asked me, watching me pull little hairs forward to frame my face. I nodded weakly. "I'm ready." I said, raising my head. If I was going to do this, I was going to play the part as best as I could.

We left the room and I walked with her until we reached the rooftop that Mr. Maxwell had decided to have the actual wedding upon, the city lights of Manhattan twinkling in the distance. It was dark by now, but the area was well lit, thankfully. The rooftop was very large, large enough to seat both of our families and still have plenty of room leftover.

I could hear sappy music playing when my dad seemed to pop up out of absolutely nowhere, looping my arm with his so he could walk me down the aisle. He began to lead me down the aisle and it felt like forever before I'd reach the altar that was set up, where Soren was standing in a dark suit, looking devilishly handsome. It was right then, only halfway down the aisle, that I realized that I would have to kiss this man. Somehow, that had completely slipped my mind amidst all of the sudden hectic drama within my life. At the time it had been the very least of my concerns, and now it seemed very intimidating.

Not only did I not know this man at all, but I wasn't the type of person that could carelessly kiss or hook up with guys, which I had learned the hard way. I hadn't ever been in a relationship before, but I had already had my first kiss and lost my virginity. The only thing was that I had had them both within minutes of each other, and then I hadn't done anything since with anyone. I was sixteen when I did that, and it had been such a long time and I was so inexperienced that I felt anxious. My first kiss was horrible, and I still didn't know how to properly kiss someone, even though I was twenty three. It was embarrassing to admit, but it was true.

My heart and my mind were racing as I stepped in front of Soren after I reached the altar, hardly hearing what the pastor was saying yet knowing enough to speak when I needed to. "I do," I agreed after Soren had, and then the pastor said it—the words that I was dreading. "You may kiss the bride."

Soren slid a muscular arm around my waist, my heart pounding as he stared down at me intently before he ducked his head down to kiss me. I could have cried out of embarrassment when my hands shook as I placed them on his firm chest, as I was absolutely sure he'd felt it. His lips were soft and the kiss was slow, which wasn't exactly what I was expecting, honestly. It was over so fast that I was sure it would be pretty easy to forget the feeling of his lips on mine within the hour.

Both of our families were cheering, thinking that this was a good moment, but Soren and I just couldn't seem to find it in ourselves to act like we were excited as well. Instead we just glanced at one another, his bright blue eyes stunning me once more. He truly had eyes like I had never seen before, they were just so pretty and such a clear shade of blue. Soren looked away first, beginning to lead me back down the aisle with his arm around my waist still. It felt a little stiff but I knew that it would've looked weird if he wasn't holding me like this, so I didn't say anything against it. We didn't have much of a choice but to play the part.

"Where are we going?" I asked when he walked me back inside with him, leaving our families up on the rooftop. He practically ripped his arm from around my waist and took a large step away from me once we were alone, a sour look on his face. "I don't care where you go, but I'm leaving." He said simply, still not quite answering my question. I raised a brow at him and frowned deeply. "We're supposed to be married, you know. It would look incredibly suspicious if you just disappeared directly after we got married." I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He practically glared at me. "So what? You're the only one of us who actually agreed to this marriage. I didn't have a choice either way." He scoffed, making me purse my lips. "That's not the point." I said simply. "You can't disappear now. It would look very weird." I insisted, causing him to roll his eyes and spin around, ready to leave again. He took a couple of steps and I followed him, having to hurry in my heels just to keep up with how far he was carried by his long legs. "Soren!" I huffed, grasping him gently by his wrist to stop him. He whipped his head my way and ripped his arm away again, shooting me a dirty look. "I didn't say that you could touch me so familiarly." He grunted, clearly in a bad mood. I stepped away and sighed deeply, peering up at him. "I don't think you sh—" I began to protest again but he cut me off, again.

"It doesn't matter whether I leave or not anyways. My dad set it up like this so we wouldn't have to be around everyone afterwards. I don't need to stay. You can go home or to wherever, and I'll leave too." He told me, causing me to purse my lips. "Fine." I agreed, because I truly didn't have a problem with that. I just hadn't wanted to be left here alone to clean up a mess or create a story when people asked where he was, why he wasn't with me. They probably wouldn't suspect anything if we were both gone, though, so it was no big deal. "Goodbye, then." I bid him, slipping past so I could head out to my car. I was just ready to go back home so I could get out of this dress, these heels, and take off my makeup. All I wanted was to curl up in bed in something comfy, or maybe in nothing at all, and watch TV. Today had been too long of a day.

"Ah, wait." Soren said suddenly, making me half as I glanced at him over my shoulder curiously. He eyed me closely and then said, "You know we leave for our fake honeymoon tomorrow, right? At noon." He told me, to which I simply nodded my head and raised a brow at him. "Yeah. What about it?" I asked with a little more sass than I intended.

He looked evil when he smirked at me. "When we get back in a week, my dad expects you to move in with me—in my house."