Page 37 of Unhinged Obsession

He has no idea what’s in store for him.

And for the first time since the curtains opened, I feel a burst of confidence that everything is going to be okay. My mother finally makes eye contact with me and she’s glaring because she’s aware that this is not how things are supposed to go. She’s worried that my father will be disappointed, and I fight the urge to stick my tongue out at her like a child. She’s so worried about pleasing her husband that she never worried about whether her daughter was okay.

Before the whispers of those seated have a chance to swell into full conversations, one of the Elders steps away from the line with a look of unmistakable irritation. His polished shoes strike the stone floor hard enough that the sound echoes through the room.

He stands next to the Saint kneeling in front of me and asks, "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The Saint kneeling before me doesn't answer right away. Instead, he reaches up, hooks his fingers beneath the edge of the mask, and pulls it free from his face. Candlelight catches against the dark strands of his hair and the sharp lines of his jaw, but all I can focus on is the way he's looking at me, like every person in the Saints’ sanctuary has disappeared and we're the only two left in the world.

"I'm kneeling before my wife,” he finally says, without looking away from me.

The collective gasp that follows ripples through everyone seated in front of us. The other girls are looking around as if they’re confused. I knew this was the plan. I knew when I signed those papers that Caiden Grey handed off to us that I’d be Elijah’s wife in the legal sense. Still, my mouth falls open before I can stop it because it suddenly sounds and feels very real. This isn’t just a loophole to keep me from being traded off to some man I don’t know. Elijah didn't hesitate; he didn't look to the Elders for permission or soften the words to make them easier to accept. He simply said them with the same certainty he'd use if someone asked him his own name.

I’m kneeling before my wife.

Those two words settle somewhere deep inside me, warming places that have felt cold for so long. I thought tonight would feel like surrender somehow, a plea to just let us live in peace. Instead, somehow, standing beneath the watchful eyes of the Society, with every rule they've ever forced upon us hanging over our heads, I feel... safe.

"Care to explain yourself, Mr. Moretti?" another Elder demands, his carefully rehearsed composure slipping just enough for me to catch the anger beneath it.

Elijah doesn't so much as acknowledge him, and instead, he winks at me as if to say, ‘watch this, baby.”

The knot that's been twisting itself tighter inside my stomach all evening finally begins to loosen because I've trusted Elijah with my heart for years. Trusting him with my future somehow feels so easy now.

He rises to his feet with the same unhurried confidence he knelt before me, closing the last bit of distance between us until he's standing close to me. I can smell the cedar and bergamot of his cologne beneath the faint scent of candle smoke. Elijah uses his hand to slide down my bare back, feeling the soft skin there before he lets his hand slide over my hip and finally over my ass. He squeezes, and I realize that I’d been right when I first put this dress on that he was going to love it. He can’t help himself, and that almost makes me smile. My first inclination was going to be that we’d simply burn everything related to this stupid ceremony after it was all over.

Now? I think I might get some pushback on the dress. I suppose I can keep it, at least for tonight.

"I told you I wasn't going to let anything happen to you, little dove," he murmurs, his voice so quiet I'm certain no one else hears it. "I meant it."

His hand disappears beneath the front of his robe before returning with the papers Caiden gave us. He hands them to the closest Elder. “Go ahead, take your time reviewing them. It’s legally binding, and fits the requirements of the marriage loophole of the Black Crown Society. We were married well before the Choosing Ceremony.”

“You can’t be serious,” Elijah’s father snaps, grabbing the papers from the other elder and scanning through them.

“If you want to see how serious I am, father,” Elijah says, shifting closer to me, “why don’t you look at who witnessed our marriage?”

“You’re ruining every fucking thing,” Mr. Moretti snaps, but then completely shuts off his tirade when he presumably sees Caiden’s signature. He lifts his head to look at Elijah. “You brought Caiden Grey into this?” He sounds absolutely flabbergasted.

At the mention of Caiden Grey, Elijah's father's expression darkens so quickly it almost startles me. Several of the Elders exchange uneasy glances, their confidence wavering for the first time since I've known them, and I suddenly understand why Elijah has been so calm all evening.

“He was happy to bear witness to our lives being joined,” Elijah eggs his father on, and I don’t blame him. He did try to kill him earlier tonight. “He said if you, specifically, have any questions, feel free to give him a call, or he can pay you a visit next time he’s in town.” Elijah’s father’s entire body stiffens at the mere thought of an unwanted visit from Caiden.

“What are we going to do here?” The other Elder asks Mr. Moretti quietly, but it’s me who answers.

I feel Elijah shift beside me, like he’s surprised, but I know I have his support when I feel his hand cup the back of my head.

“I think you’ll be interested to know that Caiden Grey has in his possession a video of you, Mr. Moretti, attempting to stab Elijah in the chest earlier tonight.” There’s a gasp from the witnesses. “And of the other incidents that occurred that I’m almost certain you wouldn’t want to be public knowledge.”

Mr. Moretti stumbles over his words, but I cut him off. “It’s over, and you need to let it go.”

“We’re going to proceed with the ceremony, aren’t we, father?” Elijah looks at him expectantly until the older man reluctantly nods his head.

“Great, I was hoping you’d be agreeable,” Elijah says, waving his hand expectantly at the Saints who have not been called up to their Chosen Ones. I know exactly why Elijah wants the ceremony to commence. Somewhere in the bylaws that Ben found, it stated that even in legal marriage, a Saint must still be bound to a Chosen One via the Black Crown ceremony. He doesn’t want to leave any room for his father to find a way to undo anything that we’ve worked so hard for.

When all of the Saints are in place, the Elder reads something in Latin that I don’t understand. I don’t know what I’m agreeing to when I repeat it, but I only do so with Elijah’s encouragement.

The Saints move in sync, taking off their masks, and then turning the gold chains around their necks to retrieve the diamond rings meant for their Chosen Ones. "I switched them to make sure it would fit," he says softly, and I can’t help but snicker because, of course, he made some other guy give him the ring that would fit me. "Perfect," and by the way he’s looking at me, I don’t think he’s talking about the ring.

The diamond slides effortlessly onto my finger, fitting so perfectly it feels as though it had been made for me all along, and I can't stop the tear that escapes when I realize how lucky I am that all of this worked, and that Elijah stuck by me through everything.