As soon as the words left her mouth, Clarissa instantly regretted it.
Had she lost her mind? How could she say something like that to Elian?
She opened her mouth, trying to backpedal, maybe throw in a "just kidding."
But then Elian's dark eyes fixed on her, a subtle smirk forming at the corner of his lips, and he said without missing a beat, "Sure."
Clarissa froze.
Then came Elian stepping closer, his tall figure casting a shadow over her. "But just to be clear, Clarissa-I'm not into fake marriages or those pretend arrangements. If we're doing this, then it's real. Real couple, all in, nothing less. You sure you've thought it through?"
Normally, she'd think that kind of talk was over-the-top. But right now, he was literally her only way out.
She met his gaze head-on and responded firmly, "Yeah. I've thought it through."
"I'll give you a week to get ready. After that... we'll become husband and wife in every sense of the word. Do you agree?"
"I do."
When they walked out of the Marriage Registration Center, the sunlight was a bit too bright.
Clarissa stared down at the thin red booklet in her hand, still in a haze.
In the photo, Elian looked calm and confident. Her own smile barely held up, and her eyes screamed confusion.
So this was it? Married? And to Elian, of all people?
"Give it," Elian said, casually holding his hand out.
Out of reflex, Clarissa handed over hers too.
Elian didn't stop; he took them both. She blinked in confusion as he waved the little red booklets a bit, that usual faint smirk on his lips. "I'll keep them. You're too forgetful, might end up losing yours."
Before she could say a word, he already had his phone out and snapped a pic of the two certificates side by side. His fingers tapped away quickly on the screen.
"What're you doing?" Clarissa suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Posting it on my feed." Elian didn't even look up. "We're married now. Gotta make it official, kill off any lingering hopes from others."
There was a clear undertone in his voice. He finished uploading the photo and turned his phone so she could see.
It was their red marriage booklets, front and center. Caption was simple: [Couldn't be luckier to call you mine, Mrs. Langley. @Clarissa Beckett]
That "Mrs. Langley" hit her like a shockwave, rushing through her limbs with a buzz. Her heart skipped a beat, and her face flushed uncontrollably.
Then Elian's arm casually wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her gently into his side.
Clarissa stiffened immediately, instinctively trying to pull away. The closeness was too much, too sudden-his scent, the pressure-it all messed with her heartbeat and scrambled her sense of direction.
Elian felt the resistance and tightened his arm slightly. "What are you dodging for? We've signed the papers, it's on the internet now-everyone knows you're my wife. What, getting cold feet already?"
He paused, his fingers lightly brushing her shoulder in a slow, deliberate motion that sent a shiver down her spine. "Even if you are, it's too late now."
"I'm not regretting it." Clarissa looked into his deep eyes-eyes so intense it felt like they were pulling her in. She took a breath, forcing herself to sound calm. "I'm just... not used to this yet."
"I'm not really someone who's good with that whole physical closeness thing. And besides, we were never exactly..."
"Guess it's because things between us haven't exactly been... smooth. So yeah, kinda hard to just jump into the whole married-couple thing right away." She paused for a second, like she was pushing herself to get real, then looked up at him with clear, steady eyes.
"I'll admit it-when I asked you to marry me, part of it was out of spite. I had this dumb urge to slap certain people in the face with it. That was immature, and I'm sorry. But I'm serious now. I'll try to get used to this... whatever normal married life is supposed to look like."
She meant every word.
From the moment they walked out of the Marriage Registration Center, whatever leftover feelings she had for Sebastian were completely gone.
She'd made a decision, and she wasn't about to look back.
Elian listened in silence. The stiff edge in his expression softened, replaced by the faintest trace of a smile.
"Good," he said, letting go of her arm-and just when Clarissa thought he was backing off, he reached down and casually laced his fingers with hers. His palm was warm, firm, and very, very real.
"Since my dear Mrs. Langley is all in now, how about we head home and pack up?"
With her hand still in his, Clarissa blinked. "Pack up? Why?"
"To move in together, of course! You're my wife now-how could we still be living apart?"
His matter-of-fact tone, his unshakeable confidence, it suddenly made Clarissa's heart clench in a weird, unfamiliar way-like something long missing had quietly filled a gap she didn't even realize was there.
During six years with Sebastian, she'd never once felt anything even close.
She'd wasted the best part of her youth on someone who never really saw her. Foolish didn't even begin to cover it.
She slid into the front passenger seat of Elian's black Bentley and gave him the address to her place.
Elian started the engine, merging smoothly into traffic. After a moment of silence, he spoke-eyes still on the road-and casually recited her full address. Right down to her unit number. And the door code.
Clarissa snapped her head toward him, completely stunned. "Wait-how do you know that?!"
Even her family didn't have that level of detail. No one did.
Elian's lips tugged up, that amused smirk of his dancing at the corners. When the red light ahead forced him to stop, he took his foot off the brake, unlatched his seatbelt, and leaned in toward her-close.
His scent hit her all at once, crisp and clean with a faint undertone of cedar, wrapping her up entirely.
His face was right there-so close she could count his lashes, trace the perfect line of his nose. She could feel his breath on her cheek, light but hot enough to burn.
Clarissa froze, pressing back against the leather seat, barely daring to breathe. Her pulse was thundering, her skin flushing fast-ears, neck, everything.
Elian clearly enjoyed the reaction. The look in his eyes turned downright mischievous, and he reached out to lightly tap her nose with his fingertip-like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Because I've had my eye on you for a while now, Mrs. Langley."
"Why else do you think I'd say yes to such a sudden proposal?"
The words hit her like a cannonball, shattering the calm surface of her heart with waves of chaos.
She stared at him, wide-eyed and trying to process.
He... He already liked her?
Since when?
How was that even possible?