THE CONSORTIUM SYSTEM

REJECTED ON HIS WEDDING DAY

Bianca chuckled. "I'm just messing around. Of course, we're not going to kill him. But maybe someone else can so we don’t stain our hands."

Ashley went for the door. "Mom, I think you had too much wine today, just go to bed and I'll go talk to Xaden and accept his proposal, okay? Nobody's killing anybody and besides, Uncle Trevor seems to fancy him alot."

Bianca rolled her eyes. Your Uncle hates him as much as I do. He’s just pretending so Xaden will trust him.”

Ashley suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. "Instead of killing him, we'll look for a way to kick him out of our lives by divorce. We can accuse him of something and then kick him out."

“That’s a great idea. Now go talk to him and tell him you’ve agreed to it.”

Minutes later, Ashley returned and asked to speak to Xaden privately. He was shocked that she made that request when she had made it clear that she despised his presence.He took her to his room so they could talk and as she entered the room, he subtly inspected his room with his eyes to make sure it was still clean. 

"I won't take long. I can't stand your room." She said as she eyed the old room with disdain.

"Sure, sure." He nodded. 

"About today, I apologize for what I said earlier. You're not trash and I should have treated you better."

Xaden was shocked. Was he dreaming? Ashley was really apologizing to him? He never saw that coming. 

"No, I understand why you were upset. I just showed up at your doorstep, seeking for your hand in marriage. I totally understand. It’s a bit sudden. We should have had time to get to know each other."

“Anyway, I've accepted your proposal. I'll marry you."

Xaden thought he didn't hear her correctly until she repeated herself again. 

"You're going to marry me? That's great. That's amazing. We should tell…"

Ashley interrupted him. "Mom already knows of this and she must have told the others too. But for this marriage thing to work, there are some certain things you must do for me."

Xaden folded his arms. Hopefully, it should be something he could do. 

"Okay, go ahead. "

"Any form of intimacy will be avoided. No kissing, hugging or holding hands. Not even sex. Definitely no sex."

Xaden was stunned. "Then, what's the use? Why are we getting married? We’ll need to have children eventually."

"Are you doing this or not?" Ashley rushed in. She didn't want to explain why she was marrying him or else she would blow her cover. She knew Xaden would come to an agreement with her terms and conditions. She noticed the way he looked at her earlier. He definitely liked her so it would be easy for her to manipulate him.

"Alright, fine. I won't touch you or do anything of that sort. But can you at least tell me why? "

Ashley almost laughed at how easily he agreed to it. She didn't want to say mean things to him so as not to get him to change his mind. 

"I'll tell you once I get more comfortable with you. That's all I have to say. Maybe later we can negotiate. The wedding's in a week. Goodnight Xaden."

Before she turned to go, Xaden held her arm. 

"What about dating, you know getting to know each other better before the whole marriage? We must not be in a hurry. I know we got off on the wrong foot but I’m willing to be patient so we can get to know ourselves better."

Ashley turned to him with an irritated look on her face and slapped his hand away. "I'm not interested. I don't have the time for that." 

As she said this, she walked out of his room, leaving Xaden with a shocked look on his face. He expected her to be nicer now that she had accepted to marry him but she still acted like she wanted nothing to do with him.

Even the servants mistreated him. Was he really less than the servant here? He was already regretful. It wasn't even up to a full day. The only reason he remained here was because of the promise he made to his grandfather.

A week later……

The wedding was a small one. Nobody invited anybody because they were ashamed that Ashley was getting married to Xaden. It was just Millers and Jay's girlfriend, Kassie. As they all waited for Ashley to come out, Catherine performed as the swan princess to show off her ballet skills and everyone was stunned. Xaden applauded her. She rarely talked to him and mostly spent her time in her room, practicing. Soon it was time for the bride to come forth so everyone stood up. 

There she was. The most beautiful person Xaden had set his eyes on. She wore a white flowing gown with a veil over her face. She looked so ethereal and it hurt Xaden so much that he wouldn't be able to touch her or even kiss her. But he was satisfied with this for now. He knew that with time she would change her mind once they got to know each other. Soon she was in front of him and they both said their vows. 

It was time to lift her veil and kiss her. Xaden didn't know what to do. Was her rule only after the wedding or did the ‘no kiss’ rule still apply here? But he went for it regardless. As soon as he lifted up her veil, she took a step back and turned to her mother who stood next to her. 

"There's no way I'm going to kiss him, Mom." She whispered. 

Xaden couldn't hear what she was saying so he waited quietly and patiently but the officiating minister wasn't patient.

With a loud voice, he repeated." You may now kiss your Bride." 

Xaden sighed heavily and took a step closer to Ashley. Before he could even do anything, Ashley walked away and Xaden was left alone in humiliation. How awful to be rejected even on his wedding day. And it only got worse.