AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"We are working to get more information on the death of my father. You can be assured that we will be seeking revenge. There will be war and the Romanos’ have agreed to stand at our side once Aria and I are married. For now, it is business as usual and no one is to even give a cross look to the Ricci family until this marriage has taken place. Have I made myself clear?"
Not a word is spoken, but every head in the yard nods.
Dismissing the meeting, I go up to my room. My assistant joins me to give me my daily report on Aria.
"It seems her father is not letting her leave the house. They had wedding dresses brought to her to try on and she met with a few caterers," my assistant says. He doesn’t even wait for me to ask.
It's been a month, and he knows the drill by now. I don't care about anything else until I know she is okay.
"Thank you. We should prepare for her to be here. No doubt she will be redecorating this place to her taste. Also, let's find out what some of her favorite foods are and what she needs to be comfortable with and have them here for when she arrives. We’ll need to get the nursery ready, so have it cleared out, cleaned, and set up with some basic furniture."
"What color wood would you like, Sir?"
"I know nothing about babies," I tell him, and he understands.
"Let's go with a black wood. It can be used for either a boy or a girl. We'll get a crib that can transition as the baby grows. I’ll make sure there are a rocking chair, dressers, and a changing table. I guess we’ll need the works. Once we know what she's having, we can work on décor, painting, clothes and all the personalized items," he says tapping at his tablet.
"Aldrich?" I say, getting his attention, and he looks up at me.
"Thank you. I know the transition from working for my father to me hasn't been easy, but thank you."
His eyes soften for just a moment, and he nods before sealing his emotions away again and getting back to work. There's been a lot of change in the few months since my father's death, and there's a lot more still to come.
Chapter 6
Aria
I think every girl as a kid pictures their wedding day. Maybe it's after seeing their parent's wedding album, or maybe it's after watching a beautiful wedding day on TV.
For me, it was after I watched my aunt and uncle get married. They, too, had an arranged marriage. I did not realize it at the time, but they looked happy. And I thought her wedding dress was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was over the top and sparkled in the sun.
After that, I asked my mom to see her wedding day pictures. And she showed me. From then on, I began to imagine what my wedding would be like.
There is never a face of the groom, but I imagined everything from the dress, to the flowers, to the colors and the themes. I even pictured who would be there, what type of pictures I wanted, and where I thought I'd go on my honeymoon.
I made it no secret with my parents that I wanted a Christmas wedding. I thought that using the Christmas decorations paired with wedding decorations would make it one of the most beautiful weddings I could ever imagine. The red and green and silver paired with all the sparkling of snow would make it enchanting.
My dad went above and beyond to give me my dream Christmas wedding. And here I am, getting ready to be married a week before Christmas. Only I still have no idea what face to put to the groom and I'm not marrying for love. I'm marrying out of duty.
The thought that my soon-to-be husband could possibly be worse than Eric makes my stomach roll. Or maybe it's the morning sickness because I've thrown up six times, and it's only lunchtime.
I got to do all the traditional things. We picked out my gorgeous wedding dress, which sparkles and makes me look like a princess. I chose the wedding theme and had a cake tasting. I even got a partial say in the wedding party. Well, at least I got to name Bella my maid of honor.
Instead of having an all-out bachelorette party, Bella came over and stayed the night. We watched movies, pigged out on junk food, and had a good old-fashioned sleepover.
Today, Bella and my mom are here helping me get ready. Mom thought she put on a smile, but she just looked sad. Which is bringing down the whole mood in the room. What does she know that I don't?
Thankfully, I found the perfect dress, and with a few key alterations, the little weight that I have put on during the pregnancy, does not make or break the dress. Bella zips me right on in.
The next little bit is a blur. Guards are everywhere and people are in and out. There are a few photos taken, but it's not your traditional happy wedding.
People I don't know come in to see me before the wedding. Then I'm escorted downstairs towards the entryway of my parents’ house where the actual ceremony will take a place.
The area has been transformed, making it look like it snowed inside. While it's not a huge wedding, there are about fifty people packed in here from both sides of the family. To make sure that the union goes down properly, there are key members of each organization.
Each of the families has more security than you could probably imagine. Because all it takes is one person to come in and wipe out two families in one sitting. For a few days now, the entire estate has been locked down.
Finally, it’s time. My father joins me at the top of the stairs ready for the walk down the aisle. Every girl dreams of their daddy walking them down the aisle. They dream of the groom's first look at them in their dress and the pure love on his face.
