Chapter 91

Chapter 91
“I need you to turn my maybe into a definitely." Zander crawled into Elvie’s bed at the end of that gruelling Monday in the office.

“Yeah, right. What are you doing here? Thea will—”

“Come on, can a man get some time alone with his wife?”

Elvie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t kick him out, even though a small, vindictive part of her wanted to. Life was too short to deprive yourself of spending time with those you love—something I’d learned the hard way. She thought to herself.

His body seemed to mould into her massive mattress. Somehow, he fit. If there was one thing she’d realised this year, it was that sometimes they belong in the last place they thought they’d ever be.

“Wife, let’s turn maybe into definitely.”

“How can I do that?” she put her thriller in her lap and let his arm loop around her waist, dragging her into the crook of his shoulder. His lips fluttered along her neck.

“Stay at SBC, stay with me no matter how this sht turns out. I can’t make it without you.”

“Make what?” she laughed. “News? Money? You have all the money in the world, you know.”

“You know what I mean?" He sounded drunk, but he looked sober, almost grim. Elvie’s arms wrapped around him involuntarily. They sank into the hug and didn’t come up for air for many minutes.

“Sense,” he said after a while—a minute or three, or maybe more. “Very little makes sense when you are not around. My life is so dull. Scary. Boring. By the way, this is the part where I should say something romantic and profound—that you’re my beginning, middle, and end. But I don’t even know what that sht means. All I know is that the very idea of moving to the other side of the country was enough to make me want to kidnap your ass, and not in a sweet, joking way. You’re brave, sexy, and beautiful, and there’s not one woman on this earth who can push my buttons like you.”

She raised her brow at him.

“Please say you’re offering me the remote to make this super corny.” She bit down on her smile.

He rolled his eyes, thrusting his groin into her stomach. “Only if you agree on flipping channels. So, what do you say we make it official? Let's marry again!”

“Seriously? Oh God! Can we stop marrying again and again? We've been married twice already, Zander.”

“But this time, it's for real.”

“For me, those two weddings were real. My feelings were real.”

“Really?” he smiled.

“Yes. Really. But—this sounds a lot like a proposal,” she snort-laughed.

“It is, wife. I want—”

“Then no,” she answered seriously.

“No?” he blinked, as if she clearly didn’t understand the meaning of the word.

“Jesus, of course not. I want you on one knee, humbled and ringed.”

He smiled, rolled out of bed, walked over to his duffel bag, and threw something into her hands. A new iPod box. She laughed, opening it. But instead of finding an iPod, she found a ring—a multicoloured gemstone ring with pink and blue, green and silver, yellow and red. It looked like a fucking crown and nothing like an engagement ring.

“Really?”

Zander went down on one knee beside the bed, bowing his head. “Make me a happy husband again, Elvie. You’re the only one who can.”

Not a question, but an order. She rolled her eyes at him but gave him a smile that reached the summit of the highest mountain on earth. She was happy. They were happy. He loves her!

And just like that, for the first time since they’d met, it wasn’t difficult to be obedient.

Six months later...

“You look delicious.”

Elvie and Zander just got married again in the art room of the Stanton Towers Hotel, in a ceremony that took them approximately three days to arrange.

After the private proposal in Elvie’s bedroom, she went down on one knee in front of everyone in the newsroom—on the day Matheo stepped down from his position and gave her the real ring, the one that cost enough to buy two apartments.

That was twenty-four hours after the showdown with his aunt and Matheo in his office. The reason they didn’t bother planning a wedding until this week was because they didn’t care.

They were together. Joey and his new girlfriend, with a toothless Thea, and with their SBC friends

Out in the open. Smiling.

The world can fuck itself and jizz all over his new suit. Zander doesn't give a damn.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Elvie countered.

His bride has on her favourite white shoes under her affordable, fuck-knows-where-she-got-it gown.

For the past two hours, the DJ has played Britney and Madonna, and almost nobody has danced other than Gerald, Almera, Patrick, Bella, and the couple.

When Patrick said he was happy for him earlier today, he actually believed him. All his facial features were still untouched and untarnished, so that tells him all he needs to know about their relationship these days. He just hopes that soon, or someday, he and Kristal will settle things between them. But yeah. Who cares!

And earlier this week, when Gerald and Patrick insisted he have a bachelor party, he almost didn’t scowl the entire way through it.

Elvie said she was proud of him for making an effort and being a good sport. He told her he needed to work on his cardio tonight, so she’d better fucking be a team player.

“You think I don’t look bad?” he cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Definitely handsome. But you can look even better.”

He angled his head to the side, knowing where this was going. “Do tell.”

She nodded. “Naked. With your head between my thighs. Me screaming your name!”

This time, they didn’t sign a prenup. There’s something profoundly telling about committing to someone but covering his ass in case sht fails. Elvie Stanton is the only person I want to see every morning and kiss goodnight before I go to sleep, and admitting defeat when it comes to our marriage before it starts is not in the cards for me. He pondered.

The SBC board members and family watched them earlier as they exchanged vows, and now we’re on to cutting the cake. Their wedding cake was a giant yellow notebook, like Kipling, adorned with the words Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Zeus. Gerald’s idea, naturally.

Zander feeds his bride a slice of the oversweet cake the size of her entire face, and she giggles into the frosting. He took the opportunity to lean down and hiss, “Deep throat it, wife, you'll get more of me later,” so only she can hear, and her face turns scarlet, even under the layers of professional makeup.

His aunt sneaked up behind them and hugged us into a three-way embrace. Thea giggled. Hardly the right time, seeing as he sporting some serious wood behind this giant chocolate-flavoured cake, but what-fucking-ever?

“Thank you for inviting me,” she gushed. Her ice-water eyes glitter in different shades of blue.

Before they know it, Joey sheepishly joins them in front of the cake, rubbing his sister’s arm, his smile so dazzlingly happy that he looks like a dream. Mrs. Hawthorne stands behind him, looking down and worrying her lip.

Elvie turns around and motions for her to get closer. “Anne, get your butt over here and join the hug.”

“Mommy, I want cake.”

“Later sweetheart!” Zander smiled at his daughter.

He wants to marry Elvie all over again for that huge heart of hers. Lonely, his ass. She lets everyone in.

“Of course we invited you, aunt,” he finally replied to the old woman. “You are family.” And he guesses, when it boils down to what matters, she was.

After the revelation that Patrick was his brother came out, she surprised Zander by announcing that she was staying in Scotland for the unforeseeable future to try to save what was left of her family. She cut ties with her regular booty call in Florida and focused on reconstructing the SBC board.

They made some of the investors who were eager to kiss Matheo’s butt step down and give up their shares by threatening to come out with all the bullshit they’d done along the way, and he finally got his staff back. These days, he can find ads for health care programmes and gadgets on SBC.

For the past six months, Elvie and Zander have been doing the whole family dinner thing with his aunt, Joey, Mrs. Hawthorne, Patrick, and Bella—who, by the way, has started dating. They took turns. So far, they agree that none of them knows how to cook, and when it comes to smack-talking about people’s culinary abilities, Zander takes the cake. And eat it.

Saying it was weird to be a part of a family would be the understatement of the century, but they’re trying to make it work.

Especially now, when Joey was doing so well. His tumour was barely a few centimetres long, and doctors were predicting a full recovery. He recently moved in with Mrs. Hawthorne upstairs.

Next month, they’re going to the Philippines for a few weeks. Elvie wanted to help cover what was happening there. And he wanted to be with Elvie.

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d live in Scotland, I would have laughed.

But if you’d told me a year ago I’d be desperately in love to the point of madness, I would’ve admitted you to the nearest mental health facility and thrown the key in the ocean.

Yet both of those things have happened, and strangely enough, they didn’t ruin my life. They saved it. He thought to himself.

Patrick appeared behind him and clapped a hand over his shoulder, whispering into his ear, “Proud of you, bro. Elvie is one hell of a catch.”

He smirked, his eyes still focused on his bride, who was wearing the most ridiculous wedding gown. The hem of the dress was painted pale blue and yellow, which makes it look like it was dipped in his piss. Elvie says it reminds her of my Post-it notes—the ones he keeps on writing to her now so she’ll never forget how he feels about her, even when he sucks at saying the words out loud.

“Call me your brother one more time," he hissed at Patrick, as he always does. “And I’ll move you to the marketing department and have you cold-call small businesses to convince them to place plumbing ads on SBC.”

He laughed. “Call us from the honeymoon.”

“Only if you promise not to pick up,” he bantered. He squeezes his shoulder.

Why does the gesture feel more real than any moment he ever shared with Matheo?

Zander looked across the buzzing room, scanning for something to dampen the moment. He kept expecting to see him, even though he wasn’t invited. But Matheo hasn’t been in Scotland for over five months, if the rumours were true. He never bothered checking. Giving a fuck and worrying about people who were malicious robs him of his power and purpose—otherwise they wouldn’t want to harm him. In fact, he let the authorities handle him. He would pay for what he did. But yeah, let the world know. Zander doesn't care anymore! Fuck them!

The coast is clear. Thank the gods!

Zander picked up his bride and carried her to the elevator, honeymoon style, essentially bailing on everyone else. Her arms were looped around his neck, and she purred as she said, “I heard there are CCTV cameras everywhere in this place, so don’t do anything stupid.”

Zander smirked, lifted his hand, and gave one camera the middle finger, still holding her. He then kissed her so deeply and darkly that she didn't come up for air until the next morning.

at the end of the world.

In his bed.

“Fuck them! You are mine, forever and ever. I don't care if they saw us making it out here.”

“Are you seriously out of your mind?” her eyes wandered.

“Yes,” he winked. “I love you, you know that, right?”
“I do, and I love you too, Mr. Zeus!" she kissed him. “I love you so damn much!”

THE END