The Marriage Contest

Chapter 10: Stay

Song for the chapter: "Make you stay" - by The girl and the dreamcatcher.

A/N: I am so so so sorry for taking so long to update. Life has been hectic with my sisters wedding in less than two months. I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully I can update another one soon.

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It was still the dark side of the morning, the gentle blue of the twilight peeking through their bedroom curtains. Vanessa stirred in her sleep before rolling over to face away from the impending burn of the morning sun. She lay on her side, suddenly feeling warmer than she had moments earlier. She sighed and snuggled further into the cool sheets and closer to the warmth in front of her.

Her eyes were still closed when she had felt something move in front of her. She stiffened for a moment before pulling her eyes open with difficulty. When her eyes had finally opened to see the pale skin she knew belonged to her husband, she gasped quietly.

She couldn't move. Despite how jumbled her emotions were when it came to Jonah, she couldn't look away. He was asleep, his ginger hair falling casually against his forehead while his eyelashes fluttered every few seconds with the movement of his eyelids. He looked to be dreaming.

Jonah's head was resting on his left arm while his right lay in front of him, in between them. She could see his gold band squish against his cheek and she muffled a chuckle at the thought of the mark he would probably have on his face.

Vanessa allowed herself the chance to admire Jonah without interruption. She hoped staring at his tranquil state long enough would convince her to stop acting like a child in their marriage. She was not new to love and romance, nor was she a stranger to intimacy and yet, since walking down the aisle a week before, she had acted as a virgin in every sense of the word. It was humiliating.

Vanessa stared at Jonah, noticing how his sharp nose was pudgy at the end and only slightly off center, leaning more to the right. She wondered if he had ever broken his nose in his youth. She moved her eyes from his nose down to his chin that was round before sharpening into his jaw line. His neck was slender but covered with a variety of freckles and beauty spots that upon further examination weren't hideous. She found it gave him character.

Vanessa quickly groaned at her thoughts before lifting her left hand to pat against her forehead in exasperation. How could she have been such a fool? How had she not realized how much she wanted to know her husband, how much she found is odd and unusual appearance to be partly endearing and unique? She had been running away from connecting with Jonah ever since she had met him and now, as she stared at him with nothing but slight fondness, she couldn't understand why.

Jonah groaned in front of her before opening his eyes with slow carefulness. When his eyes were open and focused on Vanessa who was lying staring at him, he smiled.

Vanessa grimaced in returned before closing her eyes as she took in a deep and calming breath. When she opened her eyes, she looked towards Jonah full of sincerity and whispered, "I'm sorry."

He smiled softly at her while moving his right hand to wrap around her left. His fingers played with her ring while his eyes never left hers. "You don't need to apologize for anything," he whispered back.

She shook her head, "I do. I was mean to you and I acted irrationally. I'm sorry if I keep confusing you. I know I'm the one who initiated the kiss and it was wrong for me to get upset about it and ignore you. We should have just talked about it."

"So let's talk now."

"What?" She stammered.

"Tell me why you reacted the way you did."