CHAPTER SIX
THE WEDDING NIGHT
The wedding was finally over.
After hours of smiling, greeting people, taking pictures, and listening to congratulations from almost everyone in the kingdom, Mia was finally standing in the bedroom she was supposed to share with her husband.
Her husband.
Mia stared at the huge bedroom before slowly turning her head toward Nathan.
Nathan was standing near the window, looking just as uncomfortable as she felt.
Neither of them said a word.
The silence was becoming unbearable.
Mia looked at the bed.
Then at Nathan.
Then back at the bed.
Oh my God.
She was married.
And not just married.
She was married to her ex-best friend.
Mia nervously cleared her throat.
"So..."
Nathan looked at her.
"So?" he repeated.
Mia immediately looked away.
"Nothing."
Nathan almost smiled.
The awkward silence returned.
Mia's parents had already left the palace earlier, but Nathan's parents lived there too. Since this was their wedding night and everyone in the palace knew they were now husband and wife, there was absolutely no way they could simply ask for separate rooms without making the situation even more awkward.
Mia sighed.
Why couldn't they just give us two rooms?
She slowly sat on the edge of the bed, keeping as much distance from Nathan as possible.
Nathan noticed.
He walked closer, trying not to laugh.
"Mia."
"What?"
"Why are you sitting like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're afraid I'm going to attack you."
Mia's eyes widened.
"I'm not!"
Nathan chuckled.
"Then why are you so stiff?"
"I'm not stiff."
"You are."
"I'm perfectly fine."
Nathan folded his arms and smiled.
"It's not like we haven't slept in the same room before, so why are you so stiff?"
Mia immediately turned to him.
"That was then!"
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
"When we were kids," Mia continued. "And this is now! We're adults... and we're married."
She covered her face with both hands.
"Oh my God."
Nathan laughed softly.
Mia looked at him through her fingers.
"I married my ex-best friend."
She suddenly exclaimed it so loudly that Nathan actually paused.
For a moment, he just stared at her.
Then a smirk slowly appeared on his face.
Mia noticed.
"Don't you dare laugh!"
"I'm not laughing."
"You're smirking!"
"I can't help it."
"This isn't funny!"
"It is a little funny."
Mia groaned and fell backward onto the bed, covering her face with a pillow.
"I can't believe this."
Nathan sat on the other side of the bed.
"You've said that about five times already."
"Because I still can't believe it!"
Nathan smiled.
"Well, believe it."
Mia slowly lowered the pillow.
Nathan's teasing expression softened.
For the first time that night, neither of them joked.
They simply looked at each other.
There was something strange about seeing Nathan this way.
He wasn't the little boy she used to run around with.
He wasn't just her childhood friend anymore.
He was her husband.
And somehow, that thought made her heart beat faster.
Nathan noticed the change in her expression.
"You know," he said quietly, "you don't have to be nervous."
Mia looked at him.
"I'm not nervous."
He smiled.
"Right."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're still annoying."
"And you're still stubborn."
Mia couldn't help but smile.
For a few seconds, the awkwardness disappeared.
It felt almost like the old days.
Like Mia and Nathan were simply two childhood friends sitting together in their secret peaceful place.
Except this time, everything was different.
They were adults.
They were married.
And neither of them knew exactly what tomorrow would bring.
Nathan stood up and walked toward his side of the bed.
"Goodnight, Mia."
Mia blinked.
"That's it?"
He looked back at her with a teasing smile.
"What were you expecting?"
"Nothing!"
Nathan laughed.
"Goodnight, wife."
Mia's face immediately turned warm.
"Don't call me that!"
"Why?"
"Because it sounds weird."
He smirked.
"But it's true."
Mia pulled the blanket over herself.
"I already regret this marriage."
Nathan laughed as he turned off the lights.
But underneath Mia's embarrassment, a tiny smile remained on her face.
Maybe this marriage wasn't going to be as terrible as she had imagined.