Chapter 19 Florian
Florian
Wedding Day
The attack on my warehouse is the final push I need to convince Arabelle to marry me as soon as possible, hoping that marriage will provide us with added protection.
Well, that’s the excuse I gave her. I can increase the level of security around her, but my priority is to have her by my side sooner rather than later especially with cops sniffing around.
My sanity can’t take her being any other place than with me.
After I ate her out one more time, we finally relaxed, and I explained my position on why we needed to get married as soon as possible.
Although I could see in her eyes she wanted to protest because she didn’t think we knew enough about each other, she did at least give me the opportunity to explain my stance.
However, it took me finally explaining to her the attack on my warehouse, its implications for us as a couple and for my organization, my father’s role in it, and his threats to her before she finally agreed.
Although she’s not too fond of going to the courthouse to get married, she also doesn’t want to have a grand church wedding, which surprises me.
What woman doesn’t want the pomp and circumstance of a huge wedding, especially a woman like her?
But I don’t question her about that decision.
Everyone wants different things. However, I do believe it has something to do with her family.
I don’t think she wants them anywhere near her big day.
More than likely, she fears they would ruin it somehow, which I can understand because her father is a bastard, and her sisters are not ones who would let her have a moment in the spotlight.
Her fame and fortune are the reasons they hate her.
However, I promised her some kind of destination wedding with just the two of us at a later date so we can have pictures of our big day.
She reluctantly agreed, so today is our wedding day, and I’m excited.
“Are you ready to do this?” Asva asks as we walk up the steep concrete stairs of the courthouse. “You can turn back now if you change your mind.”
I laugh while holding on to a stunning bouquet of red roses that I picked up this morning myself. “No chance I’m changing my mind. She’s the one.”
“The one?” Asva asks with his brow arched.
I nod with a grin on my face. From the moment I saw her dance, I knew she was the one for me. Today, I’ll make it official. I want everyone to know that Arabelle Williamson is mine.
“I know it’s fucking weird coming from me, but yeah, Arabelle Williamson is the one made for me.”
“You know, word has gotten back to Adahlia,” he says, which causes me to stop in my tracks, the joy of the moment draining from me immediately.
I want this day to go by without any surprises, but of course, someone would try to interfere.
“And?”
“And she’s throwing a fucking fit, Florian.”
I respond with a slight shrug. “Not a surprise and also not my problem, Asva. I’ve always been upfront with Addie. She’s always known what my stance is on our relationship. There’s nothing I can do if she doesn’t want to take the hint. We fucked, and I’ve told her that it’s now over.”
“I know that. We all know that. But apparently, she doesn’t,” Asva says. “She’s throwing a fucking tantrum.”
“Still not my problem. She can bitch, cry, whine, and complain all she wants. Arabelle will be my wife, and no one’s going to stop me. She can move on to the next willing cock because mine is done and belongs to only one woman.”
“Just make sure you watch your back,” he replies, “because it definitely can become your problem pretty quickly.”
“That’s what I have you for. My problem solver.”
Although he’s usually quiet, he’s a highly efficient killer. If Adahlia becomes a problem, I’ll either send Asva to handle her, or I’ll deal with her personally.
“Any direct threats?” I ask as we wait for Hugo and Arabelle to arrive.
Everyone, I’m sure, knows by now that I’m getting married, but only the men here know it’s happening today.
“None,” Alrick answers instead of his brother. “If there are, they are keeping silent right now. But you really need to head Adahlia off before she gets out of hand, Florian. Don’t underestimate her. A woman scorned and all that bullshit.”
Alrick and Asva are both right. I shouldn’t underestimate Addie, but I hope she’s more talk than action. I’d hate to kill her if something happens to Arabelle. I don’t particularly like to kill women, but I will if she fucks with me, and Arabelle is harmed.
“Have Nero keep an eye on her,” I say as I watch Hugo pull the black Range Rover to a stop in front of the courthouse steps. “If she makes a move, just take care of it. I will deal with the fallout afterward.”
“Ja, Beast,” Asva responds.
Hugo jumps out and then goes to the other side and opens the back door. The moment Hugo helps her out of the SUV, my breath gets caught in my throat. It’s like watching an angel.
Her tight, cream-colored, off-the-shoulder dress accentuates her petite frame, and her matching heels highlight her toned legs.
Her hair is elegantly pulled into a bun with sprigs of baby breath intertwined, which emphasizes the string of white pearls draped around her slender neck and the teardrop pearl earrings swaying gently from her ears.
“Beautiful,” I mumble.
“You’re one lucky man,” Asva says, clapping me on the shoulder as we all watch her walk up the stairs with the grace of a queen.
“Don’t fuck it up,” Alrick chimes in.
I have no intention of fucking it up. Arabelle will be my wife until I’m cold in the grave and beyond.
“Trust me, I will not fuck this up. This is my dream come true, and it will be ‘until death do us part.’”
When she reaches me, I clasp her hand and press her knuckles against my lips, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine.
“You look amazing.”
Despite the nervous energy emanating from her, a genuine, breathtaking smile spreads across her face.
“Thank you. You look handsome, too.”
Her smile is contagious, and I find myself unable to resist smiling back.
“Are you ready?” I ask, handing her the bouquet of roses I made for her.
She takes hold of them and brings them to her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, savoring their fragrance. When she opens her eyes and focuses on me, she takes a moment to breathe in the crisp, clean air before exhaling slowly.
“I am.”
I give her a wink, intertwine our fingers, and we enter the courthouse together. As I walk inside, I’m walking toward my future. We’re walking toward our future.
“Where are we going?”
Despite the quick ceremony, I sense the exhaustion in her voice.
Not only did I get my fill of her most of the night, but she also had an early start this morning to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding ceremony didn’t match my vision of marrying Arabelle, but it fulfilled its purpose.
Once things calm down, I’ll give her the wedding she deserves.
“It’s a surprise,” I tell her as we navigate to the back of the house.
I decided to give her a tour of our new home. I know she’s used to doing things herself, but now, she doesn’t have to.
“You can do anything to the house that you want.”
She nods, her eyes still scanning the surroundings. With each step, she takes a moment to inhale the sweet, fragrant scent of the roses that fill every room. I make sure I replace them every other day with fresh ones.
“I love these roses.” She pauses in front of another vase brimming with them. “They’re so beautiful. Where do you get them? I spent a lot of time trying to track down the florist.”
“I grow them.”
I nudge her forward, encouraging her to discover her surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting that.”
I chuckle softly, but I remain silent, savoring the moment.
I grow all these roses in honor of my mother.
Her favorite flowers were fragrant roses, and she couldn’t help but stop and inhale their sweet scent anytime she came across them.
I have an entire indoor greenhouse full of them.
It’s something I don’t share with anyone.
“I don’t like surprises.”
“You’ll like this one.”
She sighs heavily. “Well, can you at least tell me if we’re almost there?”
“You’re an impatient little thing, aren’t you?”
When she stops, she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest in irritation. I give her a gentle push, encouraging her to move forward, and she resumes her strides.
“Well, if you tell me what I want to know, I’ll stop being impatient, Florian.”
This is the Arabelle who fills my senses with love and joy. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t want someone who’ll tiptoe around me, afraid to be themselves because of who I am. I need a partner. Someone on my level.
Arabelle is definitely on my level.
Correction. She’s leagues above me.
I grab her by the arm, stopping her in front of the door that leads to the in-house dance studio that I had custom-built for her so she can stay at home and practice dancing.
“This is it. Close your eyes.”
She starts to protest.
“Please,” I tack on to keep her from arguing with me.
My mother always used to say that a spoonful of honey is the best way to calm a bee.
Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I catch a glimpse of something before she conceals it. She’s been doing that for most of the day. I’ve noticed her gaze lingering on me when she believes I’m not looking. However, I see everything she does.
Reluctantly, she sighs but complies with my request. “Is this it?”
“Yes.” I twist the doorknob and give the door a firm push, feeling a rush of cool air brush against my skin. “You can open them now.”
She slowly peels her eyes open and gasps. Her hands tremble as they rise to cover her mouth in disbelief. She takes tentative steps inside the room, her eyes darting around, taking in every detail.
I absolutely don’t know shit about ballet, so I reached out to Madame Rostova, Arabelle’s dance instructor in Los Angeles, to ensure the best design for this room.
Anything Arabelle needs to excel, if I can’t provide it, I’ll find someone who can.
Hopefully, this is up to her standards, but if it isn’t, then I’ll tear everything out and have it done the way she wants it.
According to the old ballerina, the high-density foam beneath the special Marley vinyl flooring helps lower stress on the bones and joints, reducing the risk of Arabelle getting injured.
Also, along with Megan, I had a state-of-the-art music system installed.
This way, Arabelle can simply ask Megan to play any musical number she needs, eliminating the need for her to struggle with CDs or music apps on her phone.
The studio is flooded with natural light, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up one wall of the room.
Along another wall, there are mirrors and a floor-mounted barre for her to use.
She has everything in this one room to make sure she performs to the best of her abilities.
“This is amazing.” She kicks off her heels and walks barefoot across the floor toward the barre. With a gentle touch, she runs her fingers across it with the largest smile on her face. “This is…wow.” She turns and walks back to me, her gaze never leaving mine. “You had this built for me?”
I push my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out to touch her. “You deserve nothing but the best.”
She reaches up, and her fingers delicately trace the contours of my face. I shut my eyes, savoring the sensation.
“I can never repay you for this, Florian. No one has ever done anything so sweet for me. I’m at a loss for words to explain how much this means to me.”
I open my eyes. My skin is buzzing from the simple touch of her fingers. I pull her close to me and waste no more time. I want this woman. All of her.