Chapter 1
The organ starts playing, if Genesis wasn't about to walk down the aisle to the man she's never met and who she's about to marry. What if he's ugly? What if the man has a long beard that reaches his chin – and not a well-taken care of the beard, what if the reason he's not taken yet is because he's ugly?
"Dad, I'm scared." The whisper sounds almost like a cry. Robert squeezes his daughter's hand and he turns to her. "You're brave," he answers. He wishes his daughter could've met the man before this moment, but Gael wasn't interested in meeting the girl before this moment.
Genesis's chest heaves and she blinks nervous tears away. "Thank you for doing this for me and your mother," Robert answers. She didn't have a choice and she isn't doing this for herself. "When will you move?" Her stomach sinks.
The hospital treating her mother is in Washington State. That's the other side of the country. She marries a stranger so that her mother can live with her dad a little longer. She won't be able to enjoy the presence of the woman she's giving up her life for.
Before Robert can give her an answer, the door opens. The church is beautifully decorated with white roses, a white carpet that leads down to the pastor, and the man standing on the right side of him. "Is that him?" Genesis makes sure to stay extra quiet so the guests won't notice.
The sight of him instantly calms her down. Gael stands tall in his black suit. His back straightens when the girl is revealed and the man takes a slow breath in, his chest rising. His hair is dark and it's in waves, perfectly brushed back. His jawline is sharp and covered by a well-trimmed stubble beard. He's not her age, he looks older.
"Yes," Robert says and he walks forward, signaling that Genesis has to follow him. She does. The walk to the aisle feels like a lifetime. Like the 23 years that have just passed aren't nearly as long as the walk down to the man she's about to marry.
Just for a moment, Ginny forgets that he was the man that stood her up when she wanted to meet him. He had better things to do than see her.
Robert takes Ginny's hand and he holds it up to Gael. She looks up at him. Gael bites the inside of his cheek before he takes her hand, recognizing the ring around her finger because he was the one who picked it out. His eyes meet hers for a split second, then he helps her up to where he's standing.
God, she's fucking tiny.
He looks at her, his eyes taking in every detail of her face. She looks different than the pictures of her he could find on the internet. Her eyes are overflowing with nerves and he can tell that the only reason she's staring right back in his eyes is that she's searching for an anchor of hope and comfort. He feels pity for the girl.
Genesis sends him a nice smile and she looks back at her mom and dad. They're both seated on the front row and she smiles before looking back at Gael in front of her. The pastor starts an entire speech and Ginny looks at the pastor. Her right hand is still holding his, like they have to.
"Gael Boaz Mayfield, do you take Genesis Penelope Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The pastor speaks, reminding Genesis that up until this point, she hasn't heard his voice once.
"I do."
A muscle in his jaw twitches and he looks down at the girl. He's unsure of what this thing is going to get him. A wife? He didn't sign up to get a wife. He understands what's in it for her, her mother stays alive for a few more years.
"Genesis Penelope Jones, do you take Gael Boaz Mayfield to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." The girl looks up at him and she takes a deep breath. She knows what's going to happen next. Gael slides the ring around her finger and Genesis follows his example, sliding the ring around his. "I pronounce you husband and wife," the pastor says. Gael looks back at his now wife and then waits for the next few words. "You may kiss the bride."
He leans forward, planting a short kiss on her lips. It wasn't even a kiss, it was a peck. He pulled back and forced a big smile on his face before he turned to the guests. Genesis follows his movement and she smiles just as big, cameras flashing in her face and she looks at her dad for support.
He's squeezing the hand of her mother.
Genesis then turns to the other side. She instantly recognizes Gael's dad, has his arms crossed, and has a smirk on his face. He's not looking at Ginny, he's staring right at Gael. The music starts playing again and Gael takes Ginny's hand in his, leading her outside.
It's happening so quickly and she's holding onto the man next to her to guide her back to reality. Before she realizes it they're walking down the steps straight to a white limo. Embarrassment fills up the pit of Ginny's stomach, she just met the guy she's supposed to be spending the rest of her life with and she's already freaking out with nerves.
Normally she has more to say, she'll have her speech ready and she can talk her way into and out of situations easily. But Gael has already seen the worst of her without ever meeting her.
"Calm down, Ginny," Gael speaks. His voice is deeper than earlier and he holds the limo door open for her. Ginny climbs in and she looks up at him. "I don't bite," he says and he shuts the door instantly. There's a hint of annoyance in his tone and Genesis can't figure out if it's because of her personally, or because of the situation.
Gael turns back to the forming crowd outside of the church and he waves, before getting in the limo with his now wife. "Can I ask you something?" The girl breaks the silence and she looks at him. Gael picks up the bottle of champagne from the side of the door and a plastic champagne cup.
He stares at it and then groans. "Think you already did," he says, popping the bottle and he meets her gaze, "Want some champagne?"
Genesis isn't feeling very festive despite it being her wedding, so champagne wouldn't be her alcohol of choice. "Is it the only alcohol you have?" He glares at her and then picks up another cup for her. He fills up both, his all the way to the end, hers halfway through. "Mine up to the edge too." It's not a question, it's a demand.
His eyebrow arches and he glances at her, then he offers her her cup. It's halfway filled. She looks at it but doesn't take it. "Fill it up." It's another demand. His lips thin and he pulls the cup back to himself, filling it up completely before giving it to her. Genesis takes it and she brings it to her lips, looking in front of her.
Gael stays quiet as he places the bottle back where he took it from. He drinks his champagne, then picks up the bottle again to see if it has alcohol or not. 5%. How the fuck is he supposed to deal with this thing when he's not even able to get drunk. He could devour that entire bottle and he'd not relax at all.
"So your name is Genesis?" He glances at the girl beside him. "Yes, and yours is Gael." He nods in response. "How fucking old are you?" If she'd tell him she just freshly turned 18 he'd believed her.
Ginny looks at him and her lips thin. "23," she answers truthfully, "You?" It was the question she was about to ask him. "32," he answers. "When's your birthday?" Her voice exposed a hint of joy and Gael looks back at her, not answering her question. "I think I can know your birthday as your wife," she says.
He snickers.
Ginny waits a few seconds before accepting that she's not getting an answer from him whenever she's the one asking the questions. "So the plan for now is that we go to the party tonight, then back to the house, tomorrow we're going on our honeymoon," he looks over at her.
"Where are we going?"
"Cabo." Gael grabs his phone, reading a text that he got from his father. The name alone on his lockscreen is already making the muscles in his neck tense. Ginny glances at him, noticing the little movement in his body while reading whatever it is on his screen.
Johnathan Mayfield: Congratulations on your wedding, CEO.
"What's that?" Ginny asks, taking note of the little twitches in his face. "What?" He quickly glances at her before focusing back on his phone. "On your phone," she asks. Gael pauses and he puts his phone away, unbuttoning his jacket before he looks at her. "Nothing," he answers.
Again that same annoyance in his voice. Ginny doesn't know his boundaries, but with the look on his face she can tell that even within this first hour, she's already testing his patience. She leans back in her seat and she picks up her phone. She didn't get any texts, so she'll just aimlessly scroll through her messages app to pretend that she has anything to do.
"Where's the party by the way? My parents didn't say much about today." Ginny bites her lip, hoping to give him a little hint that she's unaware of what is going on and what's to come. Gael glances at her, meeting her curious eyes.
"Mr. Mayfield's summer mansion."
"Your dad's mansion?" She bites her lip, watching him nod before he breaks his gaze away. Ginny imagines the scenery of the house where she's about to celebrate her marriage. "Can we talk about rules or boundaries?"
"Ness-"
She freezes at the nickname. Nobody's ever called her that before and she's not entirely sure where it came from. "Relax, just go with it," he looks at her and then he takes her hand in his, "Calm down, it'll be a good night and I'll have you in bed to get some rest after this day."
He just has to get over with this day and when they're back at his house, he can go back to his own life and she can go back to hers. Her new name and status will make her life easier, which will simultaneously make his life easier because she'll be out of his hair. Maybe if he acts nice now, she'll be at least a little less of a nervous wreck later.
Ginny looks over at him. "You called me Ness-" she starts. His eyebrow twitches and Ginny instantly ends her question. "Would you rather have me call you Genesis?" His voice carries that same authority as his dad did when he spoke. "Ginny would be okay," she whispers.
Gael's gaze instantly shoots back to her. Her whisper portrays innocence and surrender, but he has no idea if it's him who did that or if it's because of the situation.
Fucking hell, this is exactly why he was – still is – so against this whole marriage. Why Johnathan forced him into it is still beyond him. He asked, but even with the man's reasoning, he still doesn't understand a single thing. Not that he had a choice, he got a date, a suit, and a ring.
His only job was to pick out an engagement ring for his future wife to wear.
The limo keeps driving. "Is there more champagne?" Ginny looks at him. "You're not getting more," Gael answers, popping the bottle open to pour himself some more, "I don't want Mrs. Mayfield to ruin my reputation."
"How do you know how well I hold champagne?" Ginny looks at him, her eyebrows arched and her eyes are shooting daggers. Her husband is becoming more unbearable with every word he says. "I don't, and I don't intend on finding out on our wedding day," he mumbles. The conversation ends when the limo stops.
Gael sits up straight and unbuckles. "Wait for me to open the door," he says and he gets out. He shuts the door before Ginny even has a chance of saying anything. Ginny bites the inside of her cheek and she gets out of the limo when he opens the door.
He offers her his elbow. Ginny glances at it, before hooking her arm with his. The ride here has given her an indication of what type of man she has now, so she's just going to go with it. Gael places his hand on hers before making his way towards the backyard where the wedding party is going to be.
"Gael," Johnathan's voice breaks the silence between them and he walks over to the pair. "I told you last time we met, you two would be a beautiful couple," Johnathan says, his eyes on Genesis. She smiles warmly, forcing away the memory of when Gael didn't want to meet with her because he had other things to do. His attention shifts to his son. "Congratulations on the CEO title," he says.
Ginny looks around the people attending, there are a lot of people that she doesn't recognize, so she assumes those are her groom's guests. Suddenly a loud laugh catches her attention, her dad's.
Her eyes follow the sound and she finds him standing with her mom, they both have a drink in their hands. Ginny looks up to Gael and she squeezes his arm to get his attention. "I'm going to say hi to my parents, I'll talk to you later," she announces and she turns her back to him and walks off.
Gael watches her go and his lips thin, turning his attention back to his dad. "I still don't get what we get out of this, your employee fucks off to Washington state and I'm stuck with an oblivious girl as a wife." Gael scoffs. Johnathan crosses his arms. "You're overreacting and ungrateful." He grunts and glares at his son.
"Oh please, what happened wasn't even that bad," Gael answers. Their voices are quiet enough for nobody but them to hear. "What happened was that bad that I had to fix it by marrying you out before you became CEO," Johnathan answers.
Ginny walks to her parents and she smiles warmly. "Is he nice?" Her mother, Evelyn, instantly asks. Ginny looks at her mother, then over at her father. Robert narrows his eyes, trying to read his daughter. Genesis knows that if she tells them the truth and that he's actually an unmannered asshole will get her in trouble on her wedding day so she'll just keep it in and deal with it by herself.
"He's nice, mother," she lies. Robert knows her well enough to know that she is lying. Evelyn refuses to notice her lie, so she just goes along with it. "I really appreciate you and you do deserve a happy life," she says, a small smile on her face. She means that seriously and Ginny knows that.
Evelyn looks back at Gael, then back at her daughter. "I'm sure your babies will be adorable."
"I need a drink." Ginny nearly chokes on her words and she quickly walks to the bar to get herself something to drink. "Soda for her," Gael says before Ginny has any chance to say anything. The girl looks up at him and rests her hand on her chin. Gael glances at her and furrows his eyebrows together. "As I said in the limo, you will not ruin the reputation that I had to rebuild these past few years," Gael says and he gently places his hand on her lower back.
Ginny steps aside.
Gael's face softens at her movement and he looks at her. "You don't even want to keep up the charade that we married for love?" He picks up the glass that's filled with sparkling water and he passes it to her. Then he picks up his own drink and he turns his back to the bar, resting against it. "I don't get you," Ginny admits, looking up at him.
Gael chuckles quietly and he looks around the crowd. "I'm an open book." He knows that he's not. He's just trying to lighten the mood so that she can get through tonight happily and everything will be fine after. "Do you have any hobbies?" Genesis remembers his attitude in the car, so bringing up his personal life will prove to her that he's not an open book.
"Working out. Yours?"
Ginny looks up at him and her eyebrows rise in surprise. "Working out as in?" She's not finished. "Now who's the closed book?" Gael's lips transform into a forced smile, but it's good enough for Ginny to believe it. "It's dumb," Ginny answers. Her voice is lighter and Gael also notices the happier look in her eyes when she glances up at him again. "No tell me," he says, bringing his whiskey to his lips and he takes a sip.
"I like to make scrapbooks," she answers quietly. But it's loud enough for him to hear. "You make scrapbooks?" Ginny scrunches her nose when he repeats the hobby. "Hey if you enjoy it, you should make sure you have supplies at home," he suggests and he raises his eyebrows, taking another sip of his whiskey.
Home. To Genesis his home isn't hers, it could be, but she can't imagine her living in a big mansion like the one she is in right now. "Can I please get one of those?" She points at the whiskey that's in his hand, the ice in the shape of a cube moves around his glass and it sometimes taps against the glass.
"You can have a sip of mine?" He holds down his glass for his bride to take a sip. The girl takes it from his hands and she eagerly takes a sip. "You really need this much alcohol to spend time with me hm?" He chuckles, his hand finding the small of of her back again.
He looks over at his dad, who's talking to some of his business associates. The four men turn back to look over at him and Gael's gaze lands on his wife again, he forces a warm smile on his face before he takes the glass from her again. Maybe she doesn't want to keep up a charade but for his dad's– now his business associates and the press he'll gladly keep up the image of him being the loving husband with a beautiful bride.
That last part is true, she's a beautiful girl, and the way her dress fits her– Gael notices how the dress covers up everything about her but at the same time he's curious to explore what's underneath it.
He takes the glass from her and he leaves her by herself. Genesis watches him and she turns to the bartender. "Give me what he got," she says and she thins her lips, waiting for the guy's answer. "How about a soda? Mr. Mayfield gave me strict orders to-"
"I'm Mrs. Mayfield now, give me what he had." That sounded terribly wrong and guilt fills up her stomach. The bartender backs off from the bar and he gets her a glass with whiskey. The girl watches as the glass fills up. The ice cube in the center makes it seem like he's filling it to the top. When he's not.
The time passes by. Gael spends most of his time talking to people in his business circle, Genesis doesn't talk to many people. This marriage was only for his business reputation anyways and for her mother's medical bills. Gael does his round of goodbyes and he then turns back to Genesis.
She was waiting on one of the seats by the table and she still drinks the same whiskey that she got an hour ago. The drink barely tastes like anything now that the ice cube has melted so much in her glass. "Did you have fun?" Gael offers her his hand so that they can stand up.
Genesis takes his hand and gets up. "Yeah, I guess," Genesis answers. She never knew what she could expect on her wedding day, so she's convincing herself that this is the best that she could get. The hallmark movies are all acted anyways, maybe this was the way it was supposed to be. This way she's helping her mother and father.
"Let's go, Ness." There it was again, that nickname. She nods and follows him out of the house. He instantly lets go of her hand and takes three steps to the side, walking to the limo. "I told you not to drink any more alcohol."
The tension instantly changes and Ginny's heart starts beating in her chest. She can hear it drumming in her ears. "Gael-" she pauses, looking over at the guy. "I fucking told you, do you know what could've happened?"
"I fucking don't because you don't talk to me!" She raises her voice just the tiniest bit, but it's enough to send Gael over the edge. He grabs her wrist and pulls her down to the car, the girl stumbles over her heels and she grabs his arm to keep her balance. His other arm finds her waist and he keeps her up. He opens the door.
"Get in."
She does as he says and gets in the car. The man walks around the car and he gets in. "Never raise your voice at me again," he threatens, "When I tell you to stop drinking, you stop drinking." She looks at him, fears flaming in them. That means she's listening to him, which is the bare fucking minimum. "This is supposed to be as much of a benefit to me as it is for you," he hisses.
But it's never been a benefit for Genesis because her parents are moving across the country and she's stuck here with a man who doesn't even love her. She's cut off from everyone she loves and he just has to keep a girl around and make sure she's fed and filled with activities.
Home school doesn't provide a Ph.D. so a proper job is out of the question for her.
Ginny wisely keeps her mouth shut the entire ride home. Gael's mind is racing and he can't wait to get home, although home will be different having a girl running around the house the entire time.
The drive home is quiet. The guy that put his hand on her back and let her have a taste of his drink while asking her about her hobbies earlier is gone and Ginny knows that. The limo stops at the mansion and Gael's the first to get out. Genesis waits for him to open the door before she gets out and she can finally take in the enormous house standing tall in front of her.
She breathes in, taking in every single detail. It's getting dark outside, so she can't see every detail, but she can see enough to realize that her parents' house could fit in this one 3 times. Maybe even 5 times. "Will it suffice?" Gael asks and he crosses his arms, following her gaze to look at the house that's already a home to him.
"Do you want a tour or get some sleep first?" He can understand if she needs some sleep after the day she's had. "Sleep first," Ginny answers quietly and she bends down to take off her shoes. Gael watches her, the wrinkle between his eyebrows deepened at the sight. "I'm not going to ask you to offer an arm for support, so I'll just take off my shoes instead." Before she can overthink the consequences of her words.
"Attitude hm?" Gael asks and he offers her his arm. She walks towards the door, refusing his support. Gael can't help but smirk and he walks with her towards the door, his key dangling around his index finger. "Welcome to our humble estate," he jokes.
Genesis looks up at him. Did he just joke? She bites her lip and takes a deep breath. "Our-" she repeats after him but then falls quiet. The big door swings open and Gael walks in first, keeping the door open for his fresh wife to walk in.
The hallway is so big that with every step, she can hear the echoes. She stays quiet and her lips thin. "Follow me," he says, walking up the stairs.
Once upon a time, Evelyn told Ginny about the wedding night. She had told her how dad picked her up, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. He carried her inside their first home.
Gael didn't do that.
Upstairs seems to be even bigger. From up the stairs, Ginny has a view over the entire hall and her breathing hitches when she tries to take this all in. "You live here alone?" She speeds up a little to catch up with him.
"Not anymore," Gael answers. The sudden reminder that the clueless girl behind him now lives with him creeps back up and he takes a deep breath, the exhale sounds more like a sigh but when he glances at the girl, she doesn't seem to notice.
He reaches the door that leads to her bedroom.
He opens the door and reveals an enormous room. The walls, ceiling, and floor is white, there are three tall windows covered by white curtains, and the curtains aren't thick enough to block the light from coming in. There's a bed, but besides that -
- the room is empty.
"This is your room so you have all the space and time to decorate it however you like." His voice is deep and when Ginny looks up, she can see his throat bob just the tiniest bit. "My room?" She furrows her eyebrows together and follows his gaze back into the room. "So you can decorate it to your liking," he repeats himself.
"I thought that-" she pauses for a second and she bites the inside of her cheek, looking at the massive bed. It looks extremely comfortable, but at the same time, it's not what she thought their room would look like.
"You thought that that ring on your finger allows you to stay in my bed?"
She nods, and the anxiety of him becoming an asshole again rushes over her.
"It gives you a name. A status. Nothing else." His eyes land on her and Ginny can feel his stare burning on the crown of her head. If she looks now, she's going to cry.
She's seen the way his hazel eyes can be, she knows that if she looks now, she'll meet that intense gaze again. The gaze that stares into her soul.
"Isn't it our wedding night?" The words come out slowly, this way she has full control over her tone and she can make sure that her voice doesn't give away the emotion she's feeling right now.
Upset. Sadness. Anger. She can't even put the puzzle pieces together as to why he's acting like this.
"This isn't the 18th century, Ness. We don't have to fuck to make this marriage binding."
She nods. Maybe it would have created some sort of bond - this is what her mother always told her, and now he's pushing it off the table. Ginny's not entirely sure how the future is going to be if the first 24 hours don't even match up to what she's been told.
"I'll see you at breakfast?" She hesitates but then looks up to meet his gaze. "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
He places his hand on her waist for just a small moment. The touch sends shivers down her body, but not the butterfly ones.
She flinches away from him, into the room, and watches him walk through the hallway, to his own room. His door locking echoes through the hall and Ginny backs into her own room, shutting the door behind her.
Never has she felt this powerless in her life. And never has she felt this hopeless.