Marriage by Law

"Ring?" asked Darius as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Oh, catch up," snapped Adrian and then they started bickering while I just stared. Ivory Quartz. I almost forgot that that was Darius's last name. It made everything seem a lot more real and a lot weirder.

Ivory Quartz. Did even my name have to be weird?

"No, it's nasty," I said as I moved away from it when Adrian shoved it in my face.

"You're the one who lost it down the sink or it wouldn't have been nasty!"

"Well you found it, so finders keepers, yea?" I said, nodding fast and smiling.

"Fine, I will," he said, which surprised me.

"What?" both Darius and I said in unison as Adrian shoved the ring on his finger.

"Darius,” Adrian declared, “you and I are married now. Let's go on our honeymoon," and then he reached for Darius who stepped back. I would too if you could see blonde hairs around the ring and pieces of mould on his fingers.

"Yuck," I muttered, keeping my distance. That was disgusting. He could have washed it first.

"Go clean it up," Darius ordered as Adrian tried to wave it in his face. Adrian huffed and went to the bathroom. I relaxed and leaned against the bed post. I rubbed the tender spot on my head.

I should have called the hotel staff. At least she would have given me the ring once she cleaned it. But then there was this guy who goes and puts it on. I smiled, shaking my head. At least he helped me.

"You all right?" Darius looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"Yea, I'm fine." I replied, rubbing the back of my head and wincing. I just need some ice, that's all.

There was a loud cursing from the bathroom. I looked at Darius, who raised an eyebrow.

"Did you break the pipe?" he asked, sounding amused.

"No. The ring is stuck."

I groaned. I was surprised when it slipped on his finger easily. Surely his finger wasn’t as small as mine but the ring was probably still slippery when he put it on.

"Coming," I announced and walked over but Darius grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Where are you going?"

"To help him?" I said, confused as he started pulling me. "Wait, shouldn't we help him?" I asked as he pulled me toward the door. He turned around to look in the direction of the bathroom and smiled upon hearing Adrian's string of curses.

"Of course not." He looked at me as he said it and, quite unexpectedly, tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ear. He opened the door for me, making my stomach tumble.

"But the ring?" I said as he pulled me out.

"I'm hungry. Aren't you?"

"Well, yea," I said. We did skip breakfast and now it was probably lunch.

"But Darius, the ring," I said as we waited for the elevator. Darius looked at me and shrugged. When the elevator arrived, he pulled me in.

"It's Dairy, and I never liked that ring anyway."

CHAPTER THIRTYSEVEN

"Who are we waiting for?" I asked, hearing my stomach grumble in hunger. I just wanted to order already.

Darius's words in the elevator were still stuck in my head. So it was my mum who bought the ring. Well, I was not surprised. But the question is, they just let her? But then again, she was damn persistent on planning the whole thing.

"Yea, I'm fucking hungry."

Both Darius and I sent Adrian a sharp look. After complaining about the ring being stuck, we had left him in the bathroom but the guy had to take the stairs and beat us down here, sitting angrily at the table. Not to mention that he was probably in a lot of pain, or maybe he was just faking for attention. Either way his swearing was out of control.

"We are waiting for James, Adrian. Stop it," snapped Darius as Adrian started to tear another serviette up. James?

Darius made eye contact with me and I gave him an annoyed look. "I had to," he explained. The last thing I wanted was to have James sitting at the table.

Adrian drummed his fingers on the table and I bit back a laugh at his hand. It was purple. I was sure it needed medical attention, but he wanted to eat with us before going to the hospital or goldsmith to get it cut off.

"Your fingers are puny," Adrian told me.

"No one told you to wear it," I told him with a shake of my head. His finger was too fat for the ring that the area around it was turning purple. I just hope it didn’t cause too much damage that the finger has to be cut off.

"You should go now," I said, feeling concerned. But Adrian only shrugged. At least he had washed the damn ring or his hand. If I saw mould or hair on it, I would throw up in his face.

"I'm hungry," Adrian complained. I was, too.

"Are you hungry?" Darius asked us.

"I just said that, duh," snapped Adrian, annoyed.

"A bit," I said, shrugging. "I don't mind waiting."

I minded, a lot, only because I knew how James liked to take a decade to get ready and make a 'fashionably late entrance’. It isn't fashionable or late when you show up at the ending. It’s over, that's what it was.

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