Chapter 1 Aurora

I still couldn't believe I was doing this. What had happened in the last twenty minutes? I had just signed my life away to a total stranger and I didn't even stop to think about it. There must be something wrong with me.

"Okay, congratulations Mr and Mrs Kingsley. "

So I was now Mrs Kingsley? I was now married? Lily was going to kill me. I just knew it.

Great, just great. I had succeeded in turning my entire world upside down in just a few minutes.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. You have no idea how much this means to me. " he said, taking my hands in his.

"You're welcome..... I'm sorry I forgot to ask your name." I replied

"It's Alexander, Alexander Kingsley. Now it's time for you to meet my parents and let them know we're married."

"Now?" I asked

"Yes actually. Is there a problem?"

Yes, there were several problems. The biggest one being the fact that I just got married to a total stranger. The next one being that Lily was going to kill me as soon as she found out about this.

"I need to change my outfit if I am going to meet your parents. I don't know what they are like and I need them to have a good first impression of me." I replied, staring down at my outfit. I was dressed in a t-shirt and baggy jeans since I had only planned on going to the grocery store but somehow I had ended up at the courthouse, again.

What was wrong with me? I couldn't keep doing this. I needed to focus. First, I had to change my clothes and then hopefully survive meeting his parents.

"I'll just go home and change and meet you back here in about thirty minutes. " I said

"Where do you live?" he asked

"Not far actually. I live about two blocks away from here. I promise I won't waste your time."

"Is it okay if we drop you off at your house and wait for you?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked

"Sure, why not? "

"Alright then, let's go." I said and got up from my chair

You are definitely going to regret this, I said to myself.

We got to my apartment a few minutes later and I made him wait in the car while I went upstairs to my apartment to get ready.

Lily was sitting on the couch, reading a book when I walked in.

"Finally, you're back. Did you end up at the courthouse again? " she asked

I nodded

"I thought you were getting groceries. Why did you come back empty-handed? "

"Okay enough with the questions now. I have somewhere to be right now so I can't talk much."

I left her in the living room and went inside my room. I began rummaging through my closet looking for a dress to wear. After about five minutes of searching, I gave up and decided that I would borrow one of Lily's dresses instead.

"Hey Lily, can I borrow one of your dresses? " I asked

"What for?" she asked

"Look, I don't have time to explain but I really need a dress to wear right now. "I replied

"Are you going on a date?"

"Yes and no. It's complicated. "

"What do you mean by 'complicated '?"

"Like I said, I don't have time to explain right now but I promise I'll tell you everything when I get back. I just need a dress to wear right now." I pleaded

"Fine. I've got some dresses in my closet. I'm sure you'll find one that fits." She replied

I thanked her and went inside her room. I found a dress I liked and tried it on. Fortunately, it was my size. I grabbed a pair of heels from her closet as well and hurriedly began applying my make-up. I was done in about twenty minutes. I checked myself out in the mirror before saying goodbye to Lily and climbing down the stairs.

My heart was pounding. I had no idea what I just signed up for. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before I got to the car. I entered the car and closed the door.

"Wow, you look amazing. " Alex complimented

"Thank you. We can leave now. "

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" he asked

I nodded. I couldn't say a word because I was trying to keep myself from crying so as not to ruin my make-up but it was getting harder each second.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm really sorry I forced you into this but I didn't have any other choice. I was already out of options and almost out of time."

"It's fine. I already agreed to help you. Besides it's too late to change anything. We are already married. Let's just go and see your parents. "

"I guess I should tell you a little bit about my family before you meet them. I have three siblings, two brothers and a sister. I'm the oldest so I am next in line to inherit everything and my father promised to donate his entire fortune to charity if I didn't find a wife in twenty four hours. I had only twenty minutes left and was about to give up when I noticed you."

"Wow, I didn't know that. So how's your family like?" I asked

He sighed before answering.

"Trust me you don't want to know but I have to tell you anyway since you will be meeting them in a few minutes. My dad is pretty chill or at least he was before he became ill. He really wanted to see at least one of his children get married because he only has a few days left to live. My mother on the other hand is really strict, mostly with me. She lets my younger siblings do as they please. My younger brothers, I don't like talking about them or to them because we don't really get along that much. I mostly only talk to my sister because she is the easiest person to talk to in my family. "

"What are your siblings' names? " I asked

"My immediate younger brother's name is Brad. My other brother's name is Daniel. My sister's name is Patricia but I love calling her Pat."

"And your parents?"

"My mum's name is Helen and my dad is Henry III."

"So why are you not Henry IV?"

"Well, that's because my mum threatened to divorce my dad if he tried to name any of us Henry. "

"Good for you."

"Now tell me a bit about yourself. I only know your name Aurora. "

"What exactly do you want to know?" I asked

"Anything you're willing to tell me. Your hobbies, your job, your family. "

"I'd rather not talk about my family. "

"Why not?"

"I don't talk to them anymore. They are dead to me."

"Okay, I won't ask about them then. But I do want to get to know you."

"Okay, so I live with my best friend Lily who is pretty much the only family I have left at this point. I work at a bakery not too far from my house. My dream is to have my own bakery one day. I love baking."

"So what do you when you are not baking?"

"When I'm not baking, I love listening to music and reading romance novels."

"What a coincidence, I enjoy reading romance novels as well."

"Do you have a favourite book?" I asked

"Yes, one of my all time favourites is Trampled Roses by Fiona Owens."

" I love that book as well. I actually love all her books. "

"That's good. At least we have something in common. "

"Yeah I guess. Are we at your parents house yet?" I asked

"Yes, we're already at the estate ma'am. " Dave replied

I had actually forgotten he was in the car with us because I was already so comfortable talking with Alexander. I tried to calm myself down as I was getting nervous again.

"It's okay. Everything will be fine. " Alex said and squeezed my hand.

Dave parked the car and got out to open the doors for Alexander and I. I was taken aback by how huge the estate was. There were several houses on the property and several cars as well.

Alexander came and took my hand in his and led me towards the main building on the property where the doors were already held open for us.

"Are you ready?" Alex asked

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied

We walked through a really long hallway before we got to the main living room in the house. I had never seen a house with these many rooms before.

"There you are. We have been waiting for you all day."

"Hey Pat, where's dad?" Alex asked

"He is still in his room. Mum is getting him ready for dinner. I'm so sorry, who are you?"

"Pat, this is my wife, Aurora. Aurora, this is my younger sister, Pat."

"Wait, you actually found someone to marry you? Wow, I'm shocked. Anyway, it's nice to meet you Aurora. My brother can be a bit of a handful at times."

I smiled and for the first time I was actually calm. That was until I met his parents. His mum brought his dad in a wheelchair to the dining area.

"It's to finally meet you...."

"Aurora, We meet again."

I froze.