"On file, she is currently married to Arnold Albedo and has only son named Ivan— age 24 and in the process of taking over the family business. She does not seem to come from any major family and was simply married into the Albedo family." I glanced briefly over the pictures as Joseph gave his report.Margarett Albedo...I didn't recognize her from any of the events involving the families, but she also didn't have any features that particularly stood out. She had simple short dark hair and brown eyes. Not too tall and not too short. Not very large nor too thin. Even down to her name, she seemed average. Her husband wasn't anything particularly interesting either—dirty blonde hair with dull eyes. A lean stature without much confidence. Even their son looked just as plain, being a simple mix between the two.I thumbed passed the first page and asked, "What about off the paper?" Joseph shuffled nervously for a moment before handing me a packet of headshots. "It's not for certain, but t
"Sir? I think you might have accidentally left a smudge on your neck?" I glanced at my reflection in the car window in confusion and soon realized what Joseph meant. I fixed the collar of my shirt a bit and straightened out my suit before replying, "It's from Jane. She's been feeling a bit... possessive recently..." He arched an eyebrow in the rearview mirror. "But you're only meeting with the heads or successors of each family. There won't be any other ladies there." I sighed as I leaned back into my seat. "I know... She said it's for the waitresses..." He hummed in amusement as he pulled into the valet section in front of the restaurant. "The madam is quite an interesting lady." I chuckled lightly in agreement, "It's all a part of her charm and I'm the one lucky enough to experience it." He chuckled softly as he turned off the engine. Changing the topic, he informed me, "The guards are already stationed around the building. All of the attendees should be waiting on the upper f
I rolled over to the left side of the bed as the rays of morning sunshine fired through the window, but it was completely cold and empty, notifying me of the lack of my lovely girl's presence. I groaned unhappily as I buried my face into her pillow, taking in a deep breath of her comforting scent of warm spices and tart fruits to ease my nerves. My mother insisted on making Jane and I sleep separately the night before the wedding for some sort of wedding tradition and ended up whisking my girl away to my parent's house last night before I could even protest. To make it worse, she also wasn't allowing me to see Jane at all today until Jane walked down the aisle because apparently, it is "bad luck" to see the bride before the wedding. I sighed at the memory of her words, knowing that I wouldn't be able to see Jane until noon. I just wanted to spend all day with Jane. I didn't see why we had to follow such absurd rules. They were just superstitions after all. In the midst of my mela
My heart pounded in my chest. It felt like each beat was booming in my ears. My hands were aching, and it felt like it was absurdly hot in the chapel, even though I knew that it was pouring outside with meters and meters of snow. I had never felt so nervous in my life before. It was completely unlike me to feel nervous, but it was a good kind of nervousness. The kind that also felt so exciting that I simply couldn't wait for it anymore... The kinds of emotions that were only ever brought out of me by Jane...Probably noticing my restlessness, the priest gave me a warm smile and reassured me, "She loves you. I can tell by how she talks about you... It's the same way you talk about her... Like she's your whole world... She sees you in the same way, so please rest assured, my child." I nodded, releasing my breath shakily as I looked around the room. The interior of the chapel was touched up like how I promised Jane. My contractor fixed up and repainted all the benches, neatly lining e
"A-Achilles, n-not t-there... P-people are g-going to see..." I panted heavily as he continued his assault on the sweet spot right above my neckline along my jaw. But he paid no mind as he continued to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses up along my neck until he finally captured my lips. We had just gotten in the car taking us from the ceremony to the reception site. I knew that Achilles had gotten a bit restless with how many pictures his friends and family wanted to take at the chapel. He was quite happy with taking the first few photos with me and then with Liam in the frame too, but he started getting a bit fidgety when his mother started making him pose for different pictures with his family and friends. I just didn't realize how antsy he felt until now, now that we were finally alone. His hand slid smoothly under the edge of my dress, slowly hiking it up my leg as he continued to distract me with his kisses. It was almost as if he was trying to devour me. By the time he pulled
Each shakey breath... Every tightening of his arms around my neck... To every last whimper... It tore my heart to see my boy in such a state. Although he had ever told me what his life was like before I met him, I had figured that he most likely didn't have a very good history with his biological family. But I never thought that it would be this bad. How could a mother ever treat their own flesh and blood like that? Pushing him around so roughly... Crushing his confidence so into rubble with such malicious words... Instilling such fear into his little body that he couldn't even move in her presence...I remembered how his clothes were in tatters and how gaunt his face looked when I had first caught him rummaging through my house. His skin was so pale and sunken in that he looked as if he could have collapsed at any moment. Based on the state of his condition, he must've spent at least a few months living on the streets by himself before I found him, meaning that he was probably onl
I pursued my lips as I finished recounting the night to Achilles. Everything from when I first found Liam talking to his older brother before his biological mother stepped in to how we were hiding out on a private balcony on the upper floor to calm down. Achilles had asked me about what had happened the moment he finished tucking Liam in after we came back from the reception. At first, I didn't want to ruin the mood by telling him, but I knew that I would never be able to hide anything from him, nor did I want to. He had shown me over and over how much he cared for both Liam and me. There was no reason to hide such a thing from him. But at the same time, I didn't know what to say when Achilles fell completely silent at the end of my confession. He was just standing in front of me, completely lost in thought and unmoving. Was he upset that I didn't say anything earlier? Or was it something else? We were still in our wedding tuxedo and dress from the ceremony, standing in the middl
I blinked sleepily as rays of sunshine beamed through the gaps in the curtain.A heavy arm was draped over my bare waist as pair of soft lips slowly traveled down my back, pressing tender kisses between my shoulder blades and down along my spine. It was as if he stamping me with whispers of his love with one soft kiss at a time...I shivered as the tips of his hair brushed against my skin, acutely aware of just how naked we were under the sheets. A husky voice greeted, "Good morning, Jane." "Good morning, Achi," I replied warmly as his arm tightened around my waist, pulling me even closer to him until my back was pressed completely flush to bare chest. He hummed softly in contentment as he buried his face into my messy hair. Taking in a deep breath, he asked softly, "Did you sleep well?" I nodded as I interlaced my fingers with the warm hand splayed across my stomach. "Just a little sore on my lower back and between my legs..." He chuckled softly as he pressed a few more lingerin