Chapter 3 You're My Wife

Lily let out a shaky breath once Chloe had disappeared. "Well, she seems...lovely".

"Don't worry about Chloe's threatens", James waved a dismissive hand. "She's all bark and no bite most of the time. Everything will be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

James and Lily turned to see a stylishly dressed man strolling into the living room, a bemused smirk on his face. He had an easy, laidback demeanor about him.

"Louis, my own very voice, what's up" James gave him a sardonic smile. "Coming from someone whose faith in me is staggering as always"

Louis clicked his tongue teasingly. "You know I've got your back, J. But you also know the Adams crew aren't to be underestimated."

He looked over at Lily with an appraising glance. "No offense to the newly wedded wifey, but getting drunk-married to some random bird has properly stuck a hornet's nest with that insufferable Chloe".

"Watch who you're calling a random bird, Mister," Lily arched an eyebrow. Even rumpled in James' borrowed robe, she tried to radiate confidence. She can't be insulted by anybody.

Louis held up his hands in mock surrender. "My humblest apologies, Mrs. Watson. I only wish to speak only with James' best interests at heart."

James chuckled, tapping his best friend and secretary on the shoulder. "Which is why I have kept you as both my secretary and keeper of my sanity. But have a little faith man, I know what I'm doing with this one... Trust me in this." he gave a pleading look.

He pulled Lily close against his side, that devilish gleam returning to his hazel eyes. "Marrying this fiery creature promises to be one hell of an adventure... But don't forget, I had a choice."

Lily felt her cheeks warm at his boldness, that dizzying chemistry quickly resurfacing between them. She couldn't deny the inexplicable thrill she got being so near James. Her heart beat against her chest, she somehow felt comfortable beside him.

Louis eyed them both skeptically. "If you're sure about taking on this level of drama, then. Just don't come crying to me when Chloe inevitably goes nuclear and remember you're not only going to face her alone"

"I know," James said dryly. "Now if you'll excuse us, I'd like to properly welcome my new wife to the family."

He looped his arm possessively around Lily's waist, steering her from the room with Louis shaking his head in amusement behind them. As they headed back upstairs, Lily couldn't fight the excited flutter in her stomach.

"Honestly, I feel pity for her. It feels I'm doing the same thing my ex did but in a different war" she gave a worried face.

"Don't worry, it's not the same... we weren't in love or anything, it was just a business deal... which I guess, I just broke."

She sighed.

This life with James was sure to be wild, scandalous, passionate...and she didn't want it any other way.

******

It was a sunny Monday morning. James had insisted that the driver take her to work even if she didn't want to.

Lily trudged through the lobby of her office building. It was definitely going to be another long day at her marketing job. She couldn't stop replaying the traumatic events of the weekend in her mind over and over.

Alison, her best friend and coworker, gasped audibly when Lily entered their modern glass-walled office space. "Lil? Oh my God, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Ducking her head, Lily tried to ignore all the stares from their confused colleagues as Alison ushered her into a private side room.

"It's...it's a really long story," Lily stammered as she hugged Alison before sinking into a chair. The complete upheaval in her life had finally caught up in a crushing way.

Alison's eyes went wide with concern. "Wait...did this have something to do with your meltdown after that scumbag Ryan cheated? Please don't tell me you did something crazy!"

"Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it, it's more" Lily muttered darkly. "I...I got married, Ally."

The words hung dead in the air between them. Finally, Alison released a nervous giggle. "Okay, very funny joke about hitting the sauce too hard and doing a drunken City thing! Seriously though, what's going on with you?"

When Lily didn't laugh or react at all beyond staring at the floor listlessly, Alison's jovial expression slowly drained into one of pale shock.

"Hold on, you're...you're not joking, are you?" she whispered. "Lily, what did you do?!"

"I don't know Alison... I..." Before Lily could answer, her phone started buzzing urgently in her jacket pocket. She blinked, puzzled, before reading the caller ID - it was her cousin Maggie.

"Oh god, I completely forgot about everything going on..." Lily gasped, quickly answering. "Mags? Is it Dad? Is he okay?"

Maggie's quavering voice came through the line sounding strained and frightened. "It's not good, Lil. You need to get down to the hospital right away. Dad had another heart attack, the doctors aren't sure if...come please"

Lily felt her stomach plummet to the floor as everything spun around her. Sweet, hardworking Mike Walker, her devoted single father, is clinging to life after suffering from chronic heart issues the past year. She had to go to him right away.

"I'll be right there," she choked out, ending the call and turning numbly back to a bewildered Alison. "Ally, I need you to cover for me. It's...it's an emergency."

Minutes later, Lily rushed through the hospital entrance, having swung through her apartment to change into fresh clothes.

Maggie spotted her and pulled her into a fierce hug. "Thank god you're here, sis. They've got him stabilized in the ICCU for now."

"I came as fast as I could," Lily sniffed, fresh tears stinging her eyes. The whirlwind of marital chaos with James and the Adams family was temporarily shoved aside by this crisis.

"Watch over him while I go get something" she hurriedly left.

Lily walked directly to the elevator and was about to press the button when she startled slightly as a hand came to rest protectively on the small of her back. Turning, she saw James beside her looking concerned.

"I'm so sorry about your father, darling," he murmured. "Louis informed me right away. Let's go be with him, hmm?"

"Did..." she paused. Lily could only nod, allowing James to steer and comfort her as they headed for the elevators. His solid, reassuring presence was so at odds with the upheaval surrounding their ill-conceived marriage.

At that moment, she was just grateful to have him anchoring her world, even if she didn't fully understand why yet. The battle with Chloe, the future of this outrageous marriage...it could all wait, she had got some more important things to deal with.

Right now, Lily needed to draw strength to face this personal crisis. And somewhere deep down, she had a feeling James would ensure she didn't have to go through it alone.

" Thanks" she said as they got into the elevator

"You're my wife, your happiness is my happiness and your worries are my worries", he gave a reassuring smile.