Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
I stood in one of my old favorite college bars from years ago, watching my future wife parading around a group of very drunk fraternity guys at two in the morning.
She was wasted. No, worse than wasted. She was drunk and in a situation that would not end well. She sat on the lap of a blond-haired jock, and another guy kept twirling his fingers in her hair. No—in my hair.
I’d been sitting in the back for an hour watching her. I knew when she left the house earlier, this was where she would end up. But I was fueled by our earlier conversation and her confession.
She would be my wife. For once in my life, I would do something that wasn’t in my plan. No, marrying Madison Ryan was the last thing I should have entertained, but I would do it anyway. Because I couldn’t marry this Irish girl. I didn’t care if it would solidify me as the capo of the family. I didn't care if it would result in our families creating some political alliance. Honestly, I didn’t even care that Ember was going to fucking mutilate me when she found out after all Madison had done to her.
"Come here, princess." The guy whose lap she was sitting on shifted her so she was atop his crotch.
"Let me taste you first," the taller brunette man next to her said.
"You both can." She giggled.
"Let’s get outta here." The blond got up from his seat, holding Madison by her waist as she almost fell onto the cold metal bartop in front of her.
I shut my eyes, rolling them before rising to my feet, ensuring my Glock was secured in my waistband. The text I had hesitated on sending all night was finally sent to Enzo, signaling my intent to retrieve my muse from these undesirables.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for keeping her safe. I'll take her off your hands now," I declared with an authoritative tone, making it clear that testing my limits was neither wise nor advisable.
"Who are you?" barked the blond, a question that Madison seemed to dread based on her reaction.
"Not him again," she whined, running her hands over her face.
The brunette straightened his back, but even in his effort, he still fell short, as I towered over him. "She doesn't seem to know you," he stated, taking a hesitant step backward as he looked down. Upon tucking my jacket to the side so they could see the gun in my pocket, he jumped back and collided with the other guy.
"Take her," the blond blurted. Without hesitation, I caught Madison as she was practically thrown at me. Despite her protests and banging on my shoulder blades, I lifted her over my shoulders, much like a sack of potatoes.
"I can walk. Put me down," she insisted as we exited the bar. I expressed gratitude to the two individuals for safeguarding my future wife, and led Madison to where Enzo awaited our departure in a blacked-out SUV.
"Why are you here? I thought you went away," Madison said once the cool night air greeted us. I gestured to Enzo, directing him to pick us up.
"I told you I'm not going away," I replied before placing her in the back of the SUV and joining her for the ride.
"Where to, Boss?" Enzo asked, ready to execute my command.
"The church." I looked over at my beautiful muse sitting on the black leather of the car. As I reached over to buckle her in, she fell over, her head landing perfectly in my lap. A perfect fit.
"The church," she muttered through sleepy eyes. "Am I going there to confess all my sins?"
She was trying to joke, but little did she know, she was going there to sin.
Ten minutes later, Enzo parked the car in front of the church. I had leveraged a favor at the church in Dansport, the one frequented by most of the family, and the priest had reluctantly agreed to conduct a swift marriage ceremony for us.
The church stood eerily quiet at three in the morning, bathed in the soft glow of candlelight. With Madison in my arms, I approached the dark cedar doors. The cold silence of the church surrounded us, and the only sound was the faint echo of our footsteps on the worn floor. The flickering flames cast dancing shadows against the wooden pews and stone walls, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The air inside felt heavy with a sense of stillness, as if time itself had paused.
A solitary figure standing at the front, near the altar, waited for us. The man, dressed in priestly attire, looked up from his prayer book. His features were obscured by the dim lighting, lending an air of mystery to his presence. Without uttering a word, he gestured for us to approach, acknowledging the unspoken understanding of the ceremony.
I carried Madison farther into the church, and the flickering candles illuminated her face, revealing a mix of confusion and curiosity. Her eyes still hooded with sleep and glazed from the alcohol from earlier.
"You even wore white for the occasion," I stated, dropping her to her feet as we approached the man. I tried to straighten her sweater, and she pulled away from me.
"Why are we here, Walsh?" Her brows were furrowed as she stared up at me.
"Because, Muse. I always get what I want, and I’ve left you in the dark for too long. You were right, Madison. I fucked up. I didn’t protect you like I should've, and I am trying to right a wrong here."
Her eyes darted toward the priest standing a few feet ahead of us.
"No. Please, no."
"It’s the only way."
She hobbled on her sea legs. "You are being selfish, again. I don't want this, but you are forcing me into it."
I ran my thumb along her cheek. "No. You told me if all of our problems went away, you'd have considered my proposal. So I am pretending all our problems don't exist and am giving you what you want."
"But I don't. And our problems do exist."
"Are you ready?" the priest interjected before glancing at Madison. Her glazed eyes narrowed as she tried to throw her hands up in objection. "If she is inebriated, we cannot go through?—"
"I think you'll find the donation we made will suffice in the fact you'll keep this quiet. I also imagine the donation, which can be doubled, means you'll file this certificate in two days' time."
The priest hesitated momentarily, weighing the implications of the generous donation, before finally agreeing and hastening back to the front of the church.
"Come on, Muse," I urged.
"No."
"I'm not asking anymore. If I have to, I'll make you stand up there and say the words, 'I do.' Can't you see I'm trying to do this for you?" I exclaimed, frustration evident in my voice.
"For me?" She scoffed. "It's always been about what you want, Walsh."
Her misconception triggered a snap within me. The truth was so far from her understanding that I wanted to scream at her. This, meeting her, being obsessed like a damned stalker, was never part of the plan.
Ignoring her protests, I lifted her unsteady form and placed her in front of the priest.
"Do it," I demanded, locking eyes with the priest, who glanced at Madison. "Now."
The priest complied with a quick nod and began reciting the vows. "Faster," I urged, watching the color drain from both Madison's and the priest's faces as he hastened through the matrimonial vows.
The priest continued with the vows, each word uttered in a rapid succession that mirrored the urgency in my chest. Madison swayed on her feet, her eyes glazed and unfocused. I said, "I do," for the both of us.
I was finally doing something for myself. This was the second time I strayed from the plan; the first was in her apartment with my ex-girlfriend. Both times were with Madison Ryan—no, Solis. She was finally mine.
As the priest reached the pivotal moment and said, "You may now kiss your bride?"—spoken as a question, not a statement—I turned toward Madison.
"Kiss me? No," she spat, her words dripping with disdain. Ignoring her, I leaned in, ready to claim the victory of sealing our impromptu union with a kiss, then Madison grimaced and vomited.
The expulsion splattered across my immaculate Italian leather shoes, and the stench permeated the air.
I reared back and glared at my spoiled shoes. The priest cleared his throat.
Madison shrugged. "This is your fault," she muttered.
I stood there, torn between frustration and sympathy. Despite the chaos and unforeseen turns, the priest declared us man and wife. Madison, still shooting daggers with her eyes, stumbled toward the exit.
When the church doors creaked open, revealing the darkness, she was running toward Enzo and the car he had parked in front of the church waiting for us before she spread out across the back of the car and passed out.
I gave the priest a nod and reiterated the importance of waiting two days to file the license. The paper couldn’t be filed before I was back in Dansport, otherwise my father would get wind of it before I returned with Madison.
I needed a goddamn plan and time. Both things I was running short of, but with the sleeping beauty lying peacefully in the backseat of my car, I knew I had made the right decision, the selfish one, but the correct one.
"Let’s go to the cabin." I motioned to Enzo, who gave me a curt nod before pulling out and heading toward the ATV.