Jace's Arranged Marriage

Izzy and Simon's Engagement

"I can't believe that Simon proposed to you! I am so happy for you Izzy. You do make a great couple. This is the best news ever."

"This is exciting. but I actually thought that you and Jace would be the ones to get engaged first. After he got you back from that miserable year that he lost you, I thought that you two would have gotten married right after that. It has been five years since then."

"We are just taking our time to enjoy life doing things we like to do together. Going out on dates with Jace has been wonderful, especially since our previous dates ended up in disasters. I am in no rush for him to propose. We are just enjoying each other."

The day of Izzy and Simon's engagement party has arrived. I made sure that everything was perfect and ran smoothly. With Magnus as my co- party planner, everything is perfect. Jace looked gorgeous in his black suit, with a white shirt and blue tie. He recently got a haircut and his hair was gelled up in place. I decided to wear a blue long dress that had a slit running on one side up to my thigh. My hair was up in a messy bun with a curl hanging on each side of my face. I went with the dark, smoky eye look with heavy eyeliner to bring out the green of my eyes. The best thing about my new dress was to see Jace's mouth drop open when I came out of the bathroom. He walked up with Nephilim speed and took me in his arms and kissed me lightly on the lips so that he would not mess up my lipstick which was red, his favorite color on me.

"Clary, you have left me breathless. So beautiful! Do we really have to go the the party? Can we just stay here and undress each other very slowly?"

"No, we can not. This is your sister's engagement party. Besides we are the ones hosting the party, that would be rude not to show up."

Jace offered his arm to me and we walked over to where we were hosting the party. After we toasted to the couple and everyone started to dance, Jace took my hand and started pulling me for me to follow him.

"Jace, where are we going? I thought we were going to dance?"

"To the greenhouse."

"Why are you taking me there? If this is an excuse to get me out of this dress, is not going to work, Jace Herondale!"

"Please Clary, just come with me. I promise we are not going to take long. I just need to talk to you in private."

We arrived at the greenhouse and he had a little table set for two. There was a bottle of champagne sitting on ice with two flutes. There were red and black roses in a vase. My heart started beating so fast and I was praying that this did not turn out to be what I think it is. He pulled out a chair for me after he turned it in an angle, and asked me to sit. He then got down on one knee and my worst fear was about to become a reality.

"Clary, on the night of Alec and Magnus's wedding, I took you out to the dance floor to talk to you. It was the perfect romantic music and the perfect atmosphere for me to ask you to marry me. That is why I said the things I said to you and I was going to give you my family ring. You interrupted my speech with your own and then kissed me, making me forget for a second of what I had to say. Next thing you ran off to get air and I found your note explaining why you left the way you did. That year that I had to watch you from afar, wanting someone that I could not have nearly killed me. Here we are five years later, and I have not gotten the courage to do it. I love you Clary, until the day I die and after that. We belong together bound by our angelic blood and by the fact that we are soulmates. Would you do me the honor, Clary, and marry me. I want you to be my wife and finally carry the name you so well deserve, Herondale."

There were tears running down my cheeks and a lump in my throat. I felt like I could not breathe. My heart was screaming YES, but my mind was saying no. I cannot marry Jace knowing that my death is coming at any time. There was so much emotion in his eyes and in his voice. He was holding his Herondale ring in a small velvet box. I knew the answer because I was not going to put Jace through the pain of seeing me die. I just couldn't get the answer out. Jace just looked at me with a worried look.