Not Quite Paradise- 1
Gia slowly put her diamond and satin covered foot in front of the other as she made her way down the aisle. So many people were watching, but only few really knew what was going on. She looked out at the familiar faces and saw her mother, tears streaming down her face as she held onto her new boyfriend she met at GH. Her brother, smiling with joy, with Hannah beside him. Elizabeth, holding Jason's hand, both smiling. Emily, clinging onto Zander, her eyes wide and his full of happiness. So many couples, so happy. She had been happy once too. But that ended in tragedy, and had been replaced by tears of sorrow. Yet she put on a smiling face and acted as if she were ecstatic with the way things were, but inside she was drowning in a river of choices, commitments, and false pretenses. She looked up from the lush red carpet she walked upon and saw her soon to be husband standing at the altar. He was handsome, no doubt about that. He had the whole tall, dark and handsome thing going on, but he was still the last thing she needed, or wanted. The warmth of his eyes was iced over the second he was out of the eye of the public, and he was cruel and bitter. Most women would be falling all over him, and they did. He could have a woman in his bed with the snap of a finger, but Gia just didn't have a soft spot for him. She knew this would never be a happy marriage, and every inch of her body was against it, but it had to happen. To protect her, to protect Jamie. Her son meant everything to her and she knew that this marriage would ensure his safety and his future. She took several more steps until she was standing beside her fiancee and he took her hands in his. His touch was cold and it made her shiver, but she kept a smiling face, despite the urge she had to run away and cry.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."
The priest droned on and on, and Gia hated it. She closed her eyes and tried to block out his sentimental words. She knew that she was going against everything she ever believed in the second she said 'I do', so she tried not to hear the priest, tried to convince herself that if she didn't listen to him, she wouldn't be promising something she couldn't give.
The ceremony ended, and they had accepted each other as husband and wife, but they both knew that all those words were meaningless in the long run. They made their way to the limousine, and once inside he whipped out the marriage certificates and all the other paperwork that had to be dealt with.
"Nikolas, do we really have to do this now?" Gia asked, avoiding eye contact.
"No, I suppose not." Nik replied, placing the papers back in a briefcase and replacing it on the seat. He looked at her and saw her eyes were red and wet. "Gia, you and I both know this marriage is a sham. I only married you because it was Lucky's dying wish for me to marry and take care of you and his son. So I can tell those are not happy tears."
"Of course they're not happy tears, how could they be?" Gia snapped at him, facing him with red eyes, and anger rising through her body.
"Listen Gia, I'm not to thrilled about this either, okay? But I loved Lucky and he made me promise to marry you and keep you and Jamie safe, and so I will. Neither of us have to happy. Hell, we don't even have to see each other!" Nik said, his voice rising. "I have always been able to find women to satisfy me, and I doubt that will stop now. I will be discreet of course, as I expect you to do the same."
Gia looked at him with disgust. "How dare you even suggest that I will be seeing other men! I love Lucky, and I will never love another man."
"Say what you will Gia, but the time will come when you will meet some guy and fall head over heels in love with him, and all I ask is that when you do, you be discreet about when and where you meet him, that's all." Nik justified himself, with his hands swinging all over the place. "I have no need, or want to be involved or even know about your personal life, as you have no right to mine. The only thing I need to be involved in is your and Jamie's financial status. I just need to be sure you both have money."
Gia wanted to slap him, but she refrained herself from doing so and simply nodded. If she had opened her mouth at that time she knew she couldn't control it from running wild and getting her in trouble.
"Good. You will be living at Wyndemere of course. You and Jamie will have your own wing of the house. You will stay in my wing for the first month or so until you get used to it an know your way around, and at that time, you will move into your wing of the house."
Once again Gia nodded. By this time, it was taking everything she had inside of her to keep her mouth shut. "Can we just go to Wyndemere now? I'm tired and I want to go to bed. And I have to check on Jamie, make sure he finished his homework."
"Speaking of which, he doesn't need to attend school anymore. We have private tutors that will teach him." Nik said.
"He doesn't need private tutors Nikolas, he needs to go to school. He needs to be free, to interact with other children...he needs to be normal." Gia said. She may have been able to compromise the living situation, but her son's education was one subject she was not budging on.
"If you insist Gia, but just remember, I offered." Nik said, pointing a finger in her face.
"I will." she said, closing her eyes and knocking his hand away from her face.
They pulled up in front of Wyndemere 20 minutes later and the driver got out of the car and helped Gia out. She stalked through the door and ran upstairs to Jamie's room, only to find him asleep in his bed, with his plush teddy bear by his side. Lucky had given him that teddy bear before he dyed, and Jamie never slept without it. Gia made her way to his bed, dodging his toys which were scattered all over the floor. She sat down beside him and stroked his hair.
"Oh, my baby. Don't you worry. Mama's going to keep you safe, I promise." she kissed him on the forehead and continued to talk. "I swear to you, I will always be there, and I will always be able to give you whatever you need. Even if it means staying married to Uncle Nikolas." she looked down at him, and saw that his eyes were closed and he was in a peaceful sleep. "Oh, I miss your daddy. He shouldn't have dyed, not now, not like that. Do you miss him too? I'm sure you do. And I want you to know that he's watching both of us right now. He's making sure we're safe and happy. I love you baby." she kissed him again and left his room. Closing the door, but leaving it slightly ajar. She leaned her head back on the wall and sighed. "Oh, if your daddy is trying to make sure we're happy, he's doing a lousy job on my part."
Please e-mail any feedback by clicking on the mailbox below :)
