Beauty And The Beast

Chapter 3

2 weeks later
"Welcome, welcome" Daphne yelled to overrule the band.
Father coughed beside me, giving me signals that it's time to go. I nodded and we went into the ballroom. I looked at my bouqet and had to smile.
James was looking at me. He was gorgeous. In a black tuxedo, crisp white shirt, black shoes. His hair was styled and sexy as always. His eyes didn't leave mine until I stood by his side. He took my forearm and leaned to my ear.
"You look like.. Magic" he whispered and I felt blush creeping up my neck.
The priest started the ceremony.
I was alone actually. I had no friends. It made me feel down. Lonely.
"We gathered here today to join this man and this woman into holy matrimony. What God unites man cannon separate.
Do you James Carter take this woman beside you to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love her, cherish her, respect her in good and bad, in sickness and in health until death do you part?"
James was looking down. As if he wanted to find a reason to say yes.
"Yes. Yes, I do" he said smiling lightly.
"Do you, Elena Douglas, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love him, cherish him and respect him in good and bad, in sickness and in health until death do you part?"
"I do" I said without hesitation.
"Exchange your rings please" he said calmly.
James took my hand in his and put the ring on. I did the same and he smiled.
"Great. If there is someone opposed to this marriage let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
He waited for a minute and proceed.
"By the powers vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Everyone cheered as James turned to face me and lightly pulled me closer. He lowered his lips on mine and gently kissed me.
The kiss lasted a second longer than it should for someone who isn't in love.
We turned around and everyone clapped.
Daphne and John approached us.
"Congratulations. I wish you all the happiness in the world" Daphne said, wiping the tears away.
I smiled at her.
My parents came too.
"We wish you all the best" dad said hugging us.
"Take care of her, she's a gem" he winked at James and he smiled.
We greeted other guests and recieved their congratulations.
Lunch was served shortly after that and I enjoyed it.
Everyone was dancing and having fun afterwards.
I sat in my chair and looked at my ring.
"Feels odd, doesn't it?" James asked, taking a seat next to me.
"It does" I said shortly.
"Come. I want you to meet someone" he said grabbing my hand.
There was a woman, a man and a little girl.
"Elena, this is my cousin Jane, this is her husband Aaron and this is Helen, the love of my life" he said knealing down.
The little girl ran to his arms immediately.
"This is Elena, my wife. She is.. Charlotte's sister" he said lifting the girl up.
"Nice to meet you" I said.
They both smiled.
"She better not be like Charlotte" Jane said looking at me intensly. She was trying to figure me out.
"Don't start" James said raising his index finger.
"Is she good uncle James?" Helen asked.
"She is, don't worry. Look, she's beautiful" he said smiling at me.
His perfect teeth made me blush.
"Hey little one. I'm Elena. You could come to our house sometimes and we could play together. What do you say?" I asked gently.
She nodded fiercly.
"You're pretty" she said.
I smiled.
"You are too."
James gave her to her father and took my hand.
We left back to the table when the door opened wide and a woman entered. No way.
Charlotte.
James turned around and stared at her.
"James" she whispered.
I felt sick. I felt the room spinning and an awful need to throw up.
"Charlotte" he said back.
And that's when he let go of my hand. My heart broke. He still loves her.
"Tell me you didn't marry her" she said desperately.
I watched in delirium as mother and father came by her side. Her hair was a perfect blonde bob, her make up was flawless as always and her dress was long and as dark as a stormy night. I felt bad for myself. Charlotte was always the perfect one, the beautiful one and I was the other one.
"I did" he said.
Her streaming tears and uncontrolled sobbs brought me back to reality.
"I'm your sister" I said clenching my fists.
"Stay out of this! This is between James and me! You had to steal him didn't you? He was mine, I loved him!" She yelled.
I shook my head.
"Fine. You are right, this is between you two. This is way too much for me" I said and left the ballroom.
I went to the terrace and inhaled sharply. Something kept choking me.
"Elena.." James said gently.
He didn't want to scare me obviously.
"Why are you here?" I asked bland.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked back.
"She's here, James. She's back! The woman you love so much is back! She loves you too, you heard her! God! I feel so sorry for myself. Here I am in this magnificient dress, styled to perfection and she manages to steal my day. So normal.." I yelled waving my hands.
"Elena" he said and approached me.
I felt tears in my eyes and I couldn't stop them.
James held my shoulders and pulled me to his chest. He actually hugged me.
"You're hugging the wrong sister" I whispered.
"No, I'm hugging the right one" he replied with a smile.
"Look at me" he said tilting my chin up.
"I don't love Charlotte anymore. I feel nothing for her. She had a chance to prove she loves me but she didn't. You're right. She did steal a few minutes of your day but not the whole one. Elena, you are gorgeous. You even left your hair down. I love that. Don't let her win. Let's go" he said wiping the tears away.
We went to the ballroom and dad approached us.
"This is a disaster, she's making a scene, she said she'll go to the press and tell them the truth about your marriage. She's losing it" he said in horror.
"She won't say a thing" James said secure.
"I believe it's time for me to dance with my wife. Right?" He asked and took my hand.
He spun me around and we danced. He smiled the whole song and when it ended he kissed my forehead.
"I'm here, don't worry. I got you."
I nodded and he left to the corner where Charlotte sat and cried.
Although I remembered his words I couldn't help the pain in my chest.
She said something and covered her face and he knelt down next to her. He was whispering and suddenly stood up and came back to me.
"What were you talking about?" I asked biting my lip.
"I told her to leave you and I alone. I told her to leave and if she open her mouth to the press I would destroy her" he said calmly.
I sighed and felt that pain in my chest again. Could you really stop loving someone so easily? I think he's doing this just to spare me the hummiliation of being the "other" woman in front of all these people.
I think Charlotte's hand was supposed to be in his right now, he was dreaming of kissing her when he kissed me and he said yes to Charlotte and not me.
"What are you thinking about?" James asked leaning over me.
"Oh.. Nothing. I'm a bit tired. This has been a stressfull day" I said biting my lip.
"Are you sure?" He asked knotting his eyebrows.
I nodded fearcly and he walked to his partners and they were talking for a long time.
Daphne approached me and sat next to me.
"Are you okay?" She asked staring at me.
I nodded and she shook her head.
"I know you're not. She just stole your day. Don't let her win. Don't give her the satisfaction to see you beaten. Raise your head high darling. You just won the lottery. James is the jackpot."
I smiled weakly. She is right. He is a jackpot. What he did for me..
"I wanted to give you something. My grandmother gave this to my mother when she was getting married and my mother gave it to me. I don't have my own daughter but since today you are my daughter and I want you to have it. Wear it and it will bring you luck in marriage" she said and handed me the black square box.
"Oh my God" I whispered.
It was a necklace with little emeralds and diamonds. Leaves were formed out of white gold and each leaf had a small gem at the center.
"Thank you so much" I whispered and hugged her tight.
She walked away and I stared at the bouqet on the table. It was beautiful.
"Ready to cut the cake?" James whispered into my ear.
I shivered. Feeling his scent so close is intoxicating.
I nodded and waitors brought out the cake. It was a white four storeys tall cake with small sugar lillies all over it. The guests clapped and I took the knife. James approached me and enveloped his hands around mine.
I stared at him.
"Making sure you don't stab me" he said amused.
We cut one piece and I let go of the knife.
James was supposed to feed me the cake but he smeared me with the filling.
"You devil" my mother laughed.
He continued and smeared me some more.
"Enough James" I said stricktly.
He took a napkin and came really close to me. He wiped my face carefully and I could count the sparks in his eyes, I could see his tongue peeking out and I knew this was fun for him.
Everyone looked at us and started clapping.
"Kiss! We want a kiss!" They yelled and I felt nervous in a second.
James put his palm on my cheek and his other hand was around my waist. His lips softly touched mine and it was an explosion. Of butterflies, fireworks. I found myself pulling him closer. I kissed him back.
After we pulled apart I noticed the surprise in his eyes.
I just smiled nervously and left. James tried to talk to me but I avoided him.
I was talking to Jane and Helen when he approached us. He had his hands in pockets.
"Ladies, I'm going to steal my wife for a dance" he said in his charming voice.
Oh God. I'm in trouble. He held me gently and we danced.
"Are you avoiding me?" He asked quietly.
I shook my head.
"Why would I avoid you?"
"Because you kissed me back. Why did you do that? No one saw you" he said, his voice sounding like an accusation.
"I don't want to talk about it" I said shortly and looked away.
He spun me around and I grabbed his arms tight.
"You will talk. Sooner or later. What's the big deal Elena?" He asked shaking his head.
"I don't want to talk about it!" I said and ripped myself from his hug. I went out and breathed heavily.
"Shit!" I cursed and swung my arms in the air.
"What is going on?" James asked leaning on the rail next to me.
"Nothing" I replied and stared at the sky.
"God! You're acting like a child! You stubborn little thing."
He turned away from me.
"Never mind, forget I asked."
"James.." I called him.
He faced me immediately.
"I don't want Charlotte to have you" I confessed, biting my lower lip.
"What?" He asked surprised.
"I don't want you to see her again, go back to her. I don't want to be the other woman" I said, my eyes filled with tears.
"You don't want me to cheat on you so you kissed me back?" He asked in disbelief.
I nodded. His smile grew bigger as he was approaching me.
"Don't worry. You will never be the other woman. And I'm sure as hell not going back to Charlotte" he said and touched my cheek with his index finger.
I tilted my head a bit and he got closer. One step.
"We need to go inside" I said quietly, backing away.
So selfish, Elena. You want him all to yourself and yet you use every chance you get to run away from him. What the hell is wrong with you?
He nodded and followed me inside.
People were leaving. It was late and they were tired. We said goodbye to all of them, thanking them for coming. When the last guest left James threw himself on the chair.
"I'm done. I need a bed and 24 hours of sleep" he said jawning
I just stood there, looking at the empty ballroom.
"What about you? You should take that dress off. It's pretty heavy."
I nodded.
"Let's go home" he said and took his suit jacket.
Home? His apartment? My things are still at my parents house. I can't sleep in this damn gown or I'll choke. Well, I sure as hell can't sleep in my underwear. Shit!
James stole a few glances at me during the drive. As we pulled over he took my hand in his.
"What's wrong? Are you nervous?" He asked gently.
I nodded.
"Don't be. I'll try and make everything as simple for you as I can" he said smiling.
We went to his apartment and he unlocked the door.
"This is your key. I don't have another bedroom but I don't think us sleeping in the same bed is going to be a problem, right?"
I nodded.
"Elena, don't be so quiet. What's wrong?" He asked going through his hair with his hand.
"I don't have anything to wear. My suitcase will arrive tommorow" I mumbled and looked away.
"Come with me" he motioned to the door and we entered his bedroom. It was painted white with a large king size bed with gray beddingg in the middle.
"Welcome" he smiled and opened the closet.
How many suits does this man have?
He picked through his shirts and pulled one out.
"Here, you can sleep in that and we'll figure something out tommorow."
He gave me a pair of his boxers and I went to take a shower.
After I was done I slowly exited the bathroom, trying hard not to draw attention.
He looked up and smiled.
"Suits you better than me" he mocked and went to the bathroom.
He was back ten minutes later, wearing nothing but black shorts.
We laid in bed and he turned off the lights.
"Good night Elena. If you need anything, just wake me up" he said quietly.
"Okay. Good night James" I replied and dozed off quickly.