2 Two

Ariel took in short and deep breaths as she thought of her wedding, President Kim, and how the rest of her life would be. That was not a very good thing to do as she started hyperventilating again. It seemed like her brand new husband had noticed her unease as he turned to look at her, annoyance in his eyes. The last thing Ariel wanted to do was to annoy him, but his annoyance raised hers. She had the right to freak out, to hyper ventilate, her life was changing after all, and there was not much that she could do about it.

Ariel was married to a man that was practically a stranger simply because her father thought it was time for her to get married, and President Kim was the right candidate. He was rich and very successful, she was lucky that he was not fifty years old and that he would have her. She had no reason to complain, she was being ungrateful, that was what they told her.

Ariel nervous, frustrated and angry. She did not want to get married to President Kim. It did not matter that she had a crush on him from the moment that she met him, it did not also matter that he was the hottest man alive. Girls were allowed to have crushes without being basically forced to marry him,

It was just for five years, she tried to reassure herself, it didn't help though. Ariel was wasting five years of her life for a man. She was putting her life on hold for five years, and it was obvious that no one considered that a sacrifice. Culinary school would have to be put on hold, she may be able to practice her art in her new home though. Ariel shivered a bit at the fact that she had a new home.

"We are the reception, wife," President Kim said bringing her out of her reverie. He called the word wife as though he was pronouncing vermin. He was clearly angry that they were married. Well, that made two of them.

Ariel wanted to reply, Thank you, husband, in an equally venomous tone, but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of knowing that she was angry. She smiled at him demurely. The smile seemed to do it's job and annoy him as he cussed under his breath and exited the car, closing the door with a bang. Ariel smiled to herself as President Kim opened the door for her to come out. He looked like he had been forced to let her out.

"Thank you," she said out of habit, and stepped out of the car. Gratitude seemed to annoy President Kim, Ariel couldn't care less though, that was his problem.

The moment their presence was noticed, people started r flock around them, camera lights were flashing here and there. Ariel tried to calm herself and remind herself that it was the exact type of attention she would demand for the next five years and even more. The paparazzi would want to know more about her now, they would dig hard and deep to find stories about her, anything juicey.

Ariel expected that they would go as far as when she back in Japan, she imagined that they would say something about her parents divorce and it was caused by infidelity on her mother's part, she imagined that they would link her mother's infidelity to her, that was what the paps were good for anyway.

Ariel's smile faltered as President Kim's hand touched her waist. It was not the first time as they had posed for the camera in front of the church, but it seemed like she could not get used to it easily.

It felt like her heart was beating in her throat, just like it felt when he placed his lips on hers, when he kissed her. Ariel closed her eyes as the vision of the kiss came back to her. President Kim had taken her by surprise. Ariel did not expect that he would kiss her on the lips. After all, she had heard that he vehemently fought against the marriage. That alone showed that he wasn't interested in her. Ariel played the wedding over and over in her head before the D-day, she did not kiss President Kim in any of her imaginations, she did not ever expect that he would kiss her in real life.

The kiss had been very brief, so brief that it was almost like she imagined it, but there was no way she could have imagined the sensations that rushed through her skin at that simple kiss.

"Let's go," President Kim whispered into her, and her stomach tied into knots.

Be strong, Ariel. She chided herself, as she let President Kim lead her into the hall.

"Smile, Ariel," her mother said, helping her to fix her makeup.

Ariel promptly faked a smile. Caroline Winchester was the opposite of Ariel in many ways. For one, Ariel's mother was exceptionally beautiful. She had the type of bold beauty that drew men like flies. Even as she was in her late forties, and it was her daughter's wedding, she still dressed to kill. She was wearing red dress with a dangerously high slit that was not in way fit for the mother of the bride, but Caroline had never been one to stick to convention. She declared it an absolute bore.

For as long as Ariel could remember, Caroline considered herself too beautiful, too classy to be a chef's wife. Ariel used to wonder why they got married in the first place, that was until she realized they got married because of her existence.

From when she was a teenager, Caroline had been cheating on her father, and he had been condoning it, he basically worshipped Caroline. It was quite a relief for Ariel when they got a divorce, Her mother was not a bad person, but they were not good for each other, that much was clear.

"You finally married and to the heir to a mass of fortune. Use your opportunity well," her mother said, and she frowned at her.

If Ariel was being truthful, she would have not been surprised if it was her mother that forced an arranged marriage on her. It seemed more like her style. Her father on the other hand, he was very different. She did not know what to think about what he said, that he wanted her to be settled and married, Ariel did not have much of a choice but to believe him.

"I will use my opportunity as I want, it is mine anyway," Ariel said, and turned to look for President Kim, he had stepped away from her as she started to talk to her mother.

She sighted him, he was already seated at the new couple table. Ariel took in a deep breath, trying to avoid the looks of people around her, and walked to the table. She smiled at President Kim and took a deep breath.

Immediately she sat, the master of ceremony started to introduce the couple, telling a few jokes. Ariel zoned out a bit as she studied the lovely design of the hall. Ariel felt out of place in the fairytale wedding. The lights in the hall were blue and green, the hall was decorated with beautiful glass deigns, with a touch of nature, the cake looked like it was bigger than here, it had a castle theme. It was all so over the top, it felt like she was a guest at someone else's wedding, rather than in hers. It felt like a wedding for her mother instead, which was not very surprising since she planned the wedding herself.

"It's time for the couple's first dance," the MC said, drawing her attention. Ariel's heart started beating fast again, she started to pinch her hands. It was one thing to walk in front of people, another thing to dance in front of people, what if she fell?

"Mr and Mrs Jang Kim can you please come up the stage?" The MC asked, smiling at them, Ariel wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. He was a young, fresh faced with a quick tongue. Ariel knew he had to be good if he was the MC at her wedding.

"Come on, let's go," President Kim said, standing up and reaching for her hand. Ariel wiped her sweaty palms on her dress before letting him hold them.

Ariel struggled to walk to the stage. She was hyperventilating again.

"Relax, you will be okay," President Kim said. The words sounded forced, it was almost as though he was ordering her to relax. Annoyance boiled within her at that moment. Later she would realize that the annoyance had made her forget her fear.

The DJ started playing, A Thousand Years by Christiana Perri, and Ariel sighed. President's Kim hands went around her waist and her hands found their way to his shoulders automatically. He pulled her close and they both started swaying to the music. Her heart was back in her throat because she was in such a close proximity with President Kim.

"Relax," he whispered into her ear, he sounded sincere this time. Ariel all but melted in his arms as they both swayed to the sound of the music. For a moment as she listened to the music, it felt like she was a real bride, having a real wedding, in the arms of her real husband, one that she actually loved. Sometimes it was just nice to pretend.