Beautiful Enmity. (A Billionaire Romance Novel)

Extended Epilogue: The Engagement

Once upon a time, I could never have imagined I could ever feel this loved.  I am barely holding back tears of joy and can't get anything out . I just nod my head, and Aiden slips the ring on my finger. He kisses my eyes, his lips brushing away my tears with so much tenderness that fresh tears spring to my eyes. We spend the night dancing away on the deck. I always felt awkward dancing because of how clumsy I was, but it felt effortless when his arms were around me , his forehead pressed to mine.

A Week Later
My heels are killing me, and I keep trying to close the slit along the side of my dress. My face hurts from all the fake smiles I have been shooting at the guests. Our engagement party was supposed to be a happy occasion, but I had stopped enjoying it after half an hour or so. It didn't help that I felt like an imposter. I had gone for a complete makeover and looked nothing like my usual self.

When Aiden noticed my new hairstyle, which now consisted of blonde pixie cut with bangs instead of my usual brown waves, he looked taken aback. In fact, it was like I had hurt him somehow, and he was trying to hide it. He was now standing beside me, his arm wrapped around my waist as if he could sense how tired I was standing on my feet with these godawful pumps . I kept leaning on him throughout the event. The engagement party also served as a marketing campaign for the seaside resort that Victor Entreprises had just launched. We were standing in its spacious ballroom, and the glass walls showed a spectacular view of the beach.The guests consisted of many high-level investors, socialites, and celebrities.  All of them seemingly in a competition to flaunt their wealth .

Most of them were trying to kiss up to Aiden, which meant they were polite to me as well. Nevertheless, I did have some probing questions thrown my way. One of the guests, an old friend of Aiden's father who was probably hitting eighty, bluntly said it was weird that Aiden was not investing in his wife's business as the husband is supposed to be the main bread winner of the family. I got some other 'helpful' suggestions regarding my business that seriously left me confused and questioning what the hell I was doing in the first place.

However, it was nothing compared to the dread I felt at knowing I would have to interact with them again at our wedding.  I felt robbed off my special day. I was still fuming about it when the guests left. Aiden appeared with painkillers and a glass of water. I didn't even have to tell him, but he knew I was having my usual attack of migraine.  " Thanks," I smiled weakly.

" I am sorry, Sarah," he said quietly. 

" Sorry for what?" I stared at him dumbfounded. 

" Ever since we got engaged, our whole lives have turned into one huge publicity campaign . When we should have been spending time with our loved ones,going on vacations together, and working on our wedding preparations without a hundred people getting involved in them. I know that's what you would have liked, and all that this media attention has done is make you more anxious and unsure of yourself. " Aiden's eyes were filled with re gret, but every word he said was true.

" Aiden, you don't have to apologise for anything . What with your family's past being revealed,  your mother's passing away, and my going to prison, we have all been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Creating a good public image is so important in the corporate world that we needed to interact more with the press and the public. " I grabbed his hands in both of my own . I purposely used the phrase 'passing away' for his mother instead of suicide. She was frankly speaking a monster who took her own life when she thought she would have to pay for her crimes.

" Our marriage, however, is supposed to be all about us, not a publicity stunt . That's why I am thinking screw the media and what the world thinks . We will get married in a private ceremony with only those closest to us around. " I was loving what he was saying, and it was what I was wishing for.  Yet I didn't want him to make any sacrifices because of me.

" Aiden, please don't do this just to please me . I want to be someone who can support you, not hold you back. "

" Sarah, I wouldn't go bankrupt just because I didn't invite potential business partners to my wedding.  Besides, this is what I want too . And I need my old Sarah back. " He said ,unconsciously tugging on my fake blonde hair strands.

" Is my hairstyle so awful?"

" No, it just isn't you. I would always prefer your natural looks, but if you genuinely looked happy and comfortable in your new makeover, I wouldn't have been bothered . But it seemed that you were trying to change yourself just because you needed to prove something, and I don't want that. I want you to be perfectly comfortable being who you are, and I felt guilty that I had taken your inner self-confidence away from you somehow. "

" Well, now it's back ." I slid into his lap, throwing my arms around his neck. His lips found mine, and we kissed for a really, really long time. Aiden loved me for what I was, and I felt stupid for letting other people's words get into my head . Now I would only think of our wedding and the life that awaited us .