Chapter 3 Three.

Ethan's car screeched to a stop in front of City Hall. "We're here," he announced to Ava who sat quietly on the passenger seat.

It was near evening so the sun was not as scorching as it was earlier.

The two remained mute as if waiting for the other to stop both of them from getting this marriage license.

A medium-sized truck carrying Ava's stuff, rode behind them, and stopped at the entrance of City Hall too.

Sensing that Ava was probably waiting for him to make the first move, Ethan pushed open the car door, and stepped down.

He walked ahead of Ava, and only turned around when he noticed that she didn't get down too.

"Having second thoughts?" Ethan asked loudly.

Ava pushed open the car door, got down, and relaxed her shoulders, "No, Mr. Atticus. I'm all good."

She followed behind Ethan and the two strode into the building.

The formalities, and documents they needed to get their marriage license were few, but Ethan had nothing on him.

Ava had hers in one of the bags in the truck outside, but Ethan had to call Liam to swing by his mansion in Crescentside, and help bring the necessary documents he needed to marry Ava.

Of course he excused himself from Ava's presence before making the call.

"You're getting married to Ava?!" Liam was beyond delighted by the news!

Ethan's life was already becoming less of a boring eyesore.

Liam showed up at City Hall with Ethan's documents after some time. He remained with the two until they both signed the document and it was sealed.

Ethan folded, and stuffed the marriage license into his pocket. He took large strides ahead of his new wife and Liam, and headed towards the car.

"Ava, I knew you both would eventually get to this stage, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast," Liam teased Ava as they walked behind Ethan.

"Well, he proposed, and seeing that I really don't have anywhere else to go, why don't I just agree to marry him?" Ava shrugged.

Deep down, Ava knew that this marriage would eventually crumble. Couples who dated for many years before they got married, divorced after a few years, what more of she and Ethan who were basically strangers to each other.

Ethan Atticus was just a nice man who thought of helping her, even though his way of helping seemed strange.

He also mentioned that he wouldn't force her to do anything that she didn't want to do. She believed that included warming his bed at night.

If they would get a divorce, Ava hoped that it would happen later. She had to revive Ava Bakies, and ensure that she never got into a financial crisis that would prompt her into accepting a stranger's marriage proposal in the future.

Liam kept mute about the real reason why Ethan immediately proposed.

The latter was obviously saving himself from the stress of going through two other blind dates. Ethan thought he was putting an end to Liam's entertainment, whereas he made it even more interesting!

"I believe you both will enjoy your marriage. I don't want to be a third wheel, so I'll get going now. Bye Ava. Bye Ethan."

Liam got into his car, and zoomed off.

Ava glanced at the towering figure standing next to his car, "Let's get going," Ethan faintly uttered.

She got in, and they started their journey to the house in Calonia Heights.

Ava's eyelids drooped, and her shoulders slumped as the humid air brushed her face. She was eager to be done with this day.

Moving around New Omicron with her luggages all day was not very convenient.

The pair arrived Calonia Heights, and stopped in front of a single-storey building. From the look of it, it probably had three or four bedrooms in it.

It had a huge front porch, and a balcony that would be beautiful to sit at every night.

Ava thought the building looked a little bit too expensive even for a high income salaryman like Ethan.

She had heard about Calonia Heights before, but she'd never been to the area. She only knew that the houses here were not put up for rentals. They were sold.

Stepping out of the car, Ava remarked, "Your place looks really amazing, but wasn't it too costly to purchase?"

"It wasn't. I saved up for many years so I could buy a house. I was tired of paying rent monthly, and I worked towards getting a house for myself." Ethan said as he slammed the car door shut.

When Ava thought about it, Ethan actually made a really smart move by buying the house. If she had treaded the same path, she would've put an end to her housing issues a long time ago.

Ava had no reason to doubt Ethan. She was honest about everything she told him concerning herself, so she believed he did the same too.

However, the bungalow in Calonia Heights, with its cozy porch and inviting balcony, was one of Ethan's small properties.

His mansion in Crescentside would swallow up this bungalow and many more.

"Jeff, help my wife move her things into the house," Ethan ordered the truck driver who leaned on the side of the truck with his legs and arms crossed.

"You know the truck driver?" Ava thought he had just met the truck driver when he came to pack her stuff from the restaurant.

"Yeah. He's a real handyman, and works for almost everyone in this area," Ethan lied, his countenance remained steady and unmoving. He made up these stories with so much ease.

Jeff was actually his chief bodyguard who had to disguise and show up as a truck driver today because his boss asked him to. He swung into action the moment Ethan gave the order.

Ava hummed, and thought that Ethan knew what things to prioritize and make his life easier as he grew.

"I'm going to take a look," Ava said as she walked behind Jeff to see what her new home looked like on the inside.

When the two were inside, Ethan took out the marriage certificate from his pocket, straightened it, and took a shot.

The picture was sent to his mother with the caption, "I have a wife now. A date for our family to come over and visit my wife and I should be fixed. She has no family so we're not expecting anyone from her family to show up. Inform dad."

Mrs Flora Atticus, who was getting her hair restyled at the Atticus residence, heard her phone beep.

Seeing that it was a message from Ethan, she tapped on it without hesitation, curious to know why her son texted her today.

Her eyes popped open, and her jaw dropped when she saw the picture of a marriage license. Her face contorted into a deep frown.

Seething with rage, Mrs Atticus read the caption attached to the photo her son sent.

Ethan always nursed the habit of doing whatever he pleased, but this time, Mrs Flora Atticus would not let him have his way!

She read Ava's name as seen on the certificate, over and over again, but the name did not ring a bell. It only meant one thing - Ava was a nobody!

What would other members of the upper crust think of the Atticus's? How could the Atticus's heir pick just anyone to be his wife? Tongues would wag, and they would be a laughingstock in their community!

She immediately dialed his number while sending her hair stylist out of the room.

The hair stylist scurried out of the room when she saw the scowl on Mrs Atticus's face.

"Ethan, what's the meaning of what you just sent?!" Mrs Atticus spat irritably the moment her son picked up the phone.

"I'm married, mom. Tell me congrats," Ethan said plainly.

In all honesty, there was nothing she could do about his marital status now.

"Ethan, answer my question. You're joking, right?! That marriage certificate is fake. Tell me it's fake!"

Ethan sighed, "It's real. I got married today, and my wife and I are in our new home in Calonia Heights."

"Your wife and you? Ethan, who is she? Where does she come from? Who are her parents, and why did you say she has no family?"

Getting married to a nobody was not part of Mrs Atticus's plans for her son.

"She's Ava Waverly. I just met her today, so I don't know much about her. I'll be able to answer all your questions when I know her better." Ethan needed his family's cooperation to help keep his identity a secret. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told them about this marriage.

Mrs Atticus's words caught in her throat, her face pale with shock.

"You met her today and got married to her today without doing a proper background check on her?

"Ethan, you know the marriages that happen in the Atticus family do not happen by chance! They are always deliberate, yet you went on to do something so ignorantly?

"I believe you were taught to make better decisions! If you wanted to get married to someone today, why didn't you tell us so we could arrange for you and Sophia Everett to tie the knot?!

"You know our families already agreed to your marriage with Sophia! How do you expect your dad and I to show our faces near the Everett's now?!"

Ethan lightly pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to his mother.

His intention was simple: to share the news of his marriage, but his mother's reaction was already spiraling out of control.

Ethan's voice dropped to a whisper, "I never agreed to get married to Sophia, mom. That was yours and dad's decision. You know I have no feelings for that girl."

Sophia Everett was the first daughter of Mr and Mrs Everett. The Everett's owned the best private schools in New Omicron, and they had other side businesses in and out of town.

While their wealth could not be compared to the Atticus's, they were a force to reckon with in New Omicron.

Sophia was a socialite, and greatly impressed Mrs Atticus, who was also a social butterfly in her younger years.

"But you have feelings for a woman you just met?! Ethan, can you just listen to yourself?"

Ethan could not bear to hear the bickering of his mother anymore.

For the sake of peace, he came clean about what truly happened, "Listen, mom. Liam and I had a bet, and I lost. He gave me a task for losing the bet, so that's what I'm simply doing.

"Ava Waverly does not know about this bet. She only agreed to get married to me because I offered her a place to call home.

"I also told Ava that I'm only a high income salaryman, so my true identity is hidden from her. I need you all, my family, to play along, and act like ordinary people when you visit us later.

"I don't want her knowing about who I really am for fear that she might refuse to leave when the bet is done.

"I'll also sign a contract with Ava tomorrow. We're getting divorced in six months, and our marriage remains a secret to everyone except our families."

Ethan heaved a huge sigh after explaining what happened to his mother. The story behind his sudden marriage should calm her nerves.

"That best friend of yours is a menace! What kind of task is this? Why did you agree to do it? Was a gun pointed at you?

"And now you've dragged all of us into this silly game of yours.

"I don't support this, and I won't pretend like I do, even when we meet her." Mrs Atticus would not take chances. Ethan and Ava could actually develop feelings just by living together in the same house.

Ethan may think that he's thick skinned, but his heart would melt when Ava started performing her duties to him as a wife.

"I have to get back to my hair appointment. We'll fix a date to come over and see your new...wife." Mrs Atticus almost choked as she called a stranger her son's wife.

Ethan would not be the end of her.

He was playing games with his best friend at thirty, whereas other men his age had their first child or more already.

She hung up, not wanting to hear anything else from Ethan.

Ethan had been outside the house longer than expected. Thankfully, Ava did not bother to look for him.

Jeff still had a few more luggages to take inside.

Ethan called, "Jeff."

Immediately dropping the bags in his hands, Jeff swiftly responded, "Yes boss," he took large strides towards Ethan.

Ethan shushed him immediately, "You don't call me boss when we're around her, am I clear?"

Not knowing how else to respond to his boss, Jeff simply nodded.

"I'll live here for the next six months now. Inform the other bodyguards.

"Wait for me outside the gate every morning. I'll drive this sedan out to the gate, and get into my main car outside. Am I clear?"

Jeff nodded in affirmation.

"Get back to work."

Jeff had only a few bags left to take into the house before he would be done.

Ethan strode into the house to see what Ava was up to inside.

To his surprise, he found her sleeping on the sofa.

The woman he tied the knot with most certainly did not care about first impressions! How could she be asleep after they just got here?

Didn't she say she wanted to check the house out? It was more like check to see if the couch was comfy enough for her to take a nap in.

Ethan stared at the sleeping woman on the sofa. A portion of her brown hair fell over her face.

Just then, Ava's phone rang. Ethan immediately turned around, and walked towards the opposite direction.

It would be more than awkward for her to wake up and find him staring at her.

"Hello?" Ava was woken by her ringtone plus the vibration, so she picked up the phone.

"Ava, are you still at the shop? I'm about to leave my parent's house just so you can sleep comfortably at my place. I'll buy you an early dinner."

It was Piper. Piper always came back to New Omicron the following day after she visited her parent's home, yet she was about to make a trip back just for Ava's sake.

"Piper, you don't need to come back today. I found a place to stay, so you just be with your mom till tomorrow like you always do,"

"You found a place to stay? Who is it? Is it your mother? Don't worry about my mom, Ava. She understands the situation at hand right now, and she has agreed for me to come back."

"I got married, Piper. I'm currently at my husband's house."