The Coworker

Chapter 13

After almost four hours, my look was complete. My hair was put into a gorgeous updo with some flowers tucked in matched with a simple makeup look. I was dressed and was carrying a bouquet of white flowers and greenery.

There's a knock at the door, and a woman walks in.

"Hi there, I'm the wedding planner. I'm here to escort you to the aisle as the wedding is about to start."

I took a deep breath before standing up and following her. I'm hidden behind doors leading to the backyard before they are opened, and I am exposed. 'Here Comes the Bride' starts playing, and I take that as my cue. I slowly begin descending down the walkway and meet eyes with Chase. I have to hold in my tears. I can't believe this is about to become my reality.

I reach the end and step onto the stage. Chase takes my hands in his and mouths, 'you look beautiful. I nod and look out onto the crowd. There were at least 200 people, and the only people I recognized were Adam, Sean, and Jason, who each had a date.

The priest goes through the whole speech before the part I have been dreading the most comes up.

"Chase, do you take Alexa as your lawfully wedded wife."

Chase smiles at me and says, "I do." He then slides a ring onto my finger. Honestly, the ring was gorgeous and would have been exactly what I would have picked out for myself.

"And Alexa, do you take Chase as your lawfully wedded husband."

Chase squeezes my hands and looks directly into my eyes.

"I-I, do." I finally say.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Chase takes the back of my head and forces his lips on mine. Everyone else starts cheering, and when we finally break away, Chase says, "I love you."

We walk back down the aisle holding hands, and guests start throwing confetti above us. We enter the house, and Chase grabs my waist and turns me towards him.

"You're doing good. Keep it up."

He then kisses me again before wrapping a hand around my waist and pulling me back outside. We sit at our assigned table, and the dinner starts momentarily. People are continuously coming up to us and offering their congratulations, people that I don't know. Adam, Sean, and Jason come up at once with their girlfriends. The boys head off to the bar, and I'm left with the girls, which is refreshing.

I learn that Lindsey is dating Adam, Ivy is dating Jason, and Opal is married to Sean.

"Are you all happy in your relationships?" I ask. I wanted to know if they knew about the trap they were a victim to.

"I mean, yes, aren't you? I can't imagine my life without Sean." Opal answers.

"I'm assuming that since you guys know each other that you know the whole kidnapping thing was fake?"

"Well, of course, we do," Ivy says, and they all laugh.

"Does that not bother you at all?"

"Not really. I mean, it's so romantic. Look at all the effort they put in; they are truly in love with us." Lindsey says. "I mean, if you didn't love Chase, then why did you agree to marry him?"

I see Chase and the others starting to walk back over, so I plaster a smile on my face.

"Ummm, I was just curious, that's all."

Chase hands me a glass of champagne and returns to his seat next to me.

"It's time for our first dance," Chase leans in and whispers.

He stands and offers his hand. I chug my champagne before taking it, and he guides me to the middle of the dance floor. Chase pulls me in and puts his hands on both sides of his waist. I put my arms around his neck, and we sway to the music. I could feel everyone's eyes on us and felt very uncomfortable. The dance finishes, and people start clapping. I guess it must not have looked as awkward as I thought it did.

---

The night starts to wind down, and it's just Chase and me with some workers. I'm finishing my third drink and am ready to go to bed.

I stand up and almost fall down, but Chase catches me.

"Woooaaah, come on, my lovely wife. I love saying that. Let's get you to bed."

We go upstairs, and I go straight to the bathroom to shower. I scrub all the makeup and brush through all the hairspray. I get out and grab a towel to dry myself off before getting dressed, but I realize I didn't grab any clothes to change into.

I wrap the towel around my body and peek my head out the door. Chase is sitting on the bed, unbuttoning his shirt.

"Chase, could you get me some clothes to change into, please."

"Sure thing," he smirks.

He retreats into the closet and then comes and hands me the articles of clothing.

"Thanks," I say, then slam the door shut.

I unfold the clothes to find a cropped tank top and booty shorts with no underwear or bra.

Seriously?

I put the clothes on as I have no other choice and walk back out.

"Wow, you look great," Chase says, eyeing me up and down.

I cross my arms in an attempt to cover up, but Chase moves my arms.

"You know you don't have to do that around me. We are married now, after all."

He grabs my head and forces a kiss. I pull away, go to the bed, and lay down, making sure to turn away from him. He lies down next to me and moves my hair out of my face.

"Part of being a loving wife is allowing me to kiss you, you know."

I shrug. "Well, sorry, I'm not the perfect wife when I didn't even want to be one in the first place."

He sighs.

"That is something that we are going to talk about tomorrow."

He turns the lights off, and I drift to sleep, exhausted from the long day.