Page 128 of Shâhzâdeh

The grin she gave me was so wide it stretched across her entire face. With each breath, I could feel the emotions she had for me becoming deeper. We kissed and the resolve to love this woman with every part of me was only strengthened as I saluted my wife.

VANYA

THIS HAD TO be the most extravagant gathering I’d ever seen.

Which wasn’t saying much since the only nice function I’d ever been a part of was Francesca’s wedding last year. And even that was something out of a fairy tale to me.

But this was jaw dropping.

Maybe because it was ours. When we’d gotten together with the wedding planner, who was aided by Jada to ensure things happened the way they needed to with such short notice, I hadn’t envisioned all of this. Our safety and the security that being with Xerxes provided was enough. If the ceremony was like a dream, this was heaven. The large ballroom had been transformed into a golden palace. The elements of Persian and Creole cultures blended beautifully to create a warm but extravagant atmosphere. You could smell Babette’s influence in the air with the gooey cake and made to order beignet station Jada suggested instead of a traditional sweets table. Food from both cultures would be served family style for the guests, but the bridal party and family were being served by servers. With almost six hundred people here, there weren’t enough staff in the entire state that was trained enough to handle a serving event this size.

Jada’s words, not mine.

As it was, each family table was going to have one attendant for every two people. I had no clue who many of these people were, but I’d met many of the extended members of the Consortium and their elders. I’d spent time with Ori’s fiancée at the rehearsal dinner because I understood that she might feel like an outsider. Because she was good friends with Nevaeh, she wasn’t as uncomfortable as I probably would’ve been. It was easy to see why her sister was a model. Asha Avery was absolutely stunning. Despite how little she and Ori spoke to one another, I could see the attraction between them. I prayed they could work on their relationship because I genuinely liked both of them.

I glanced around at the ballroom not believing the details that had been on paper just a few weeks ago were now the gorgeous vision in front of me. The walls and ceiling were draped in the same rich 24kt gold colored fabric mixed with the French blue elements from the wedding. The light mauve added depth and femininity to an already elegant palate. The backgrounds of both cultures were luxury and excess so the styles blended together beautifully.

And I was walking around with a crown on my head like it was regular and a giant yellow diamond flower on my finger.

The set up at the altar had been a complete surprise. There were elements of today I didn’t want to micromanage. I considered myself something of a bougie hippie. I might have moved up in the world and liked nice things, but I didn’t need to be uptight about any of it. I still remembered the good parts of my roots, even if they were sown by evil people. I missed doing some things, and Xerxes gave me the confidence to feel secure enough to indulge in things without feeling like he was going to trap me.

“This is surreal.”

“I have to admit zhis is more zhan I could’ve imagined and I’ve seen extravagant weddings before. Even ozer royal weddings.” The grin on his face was reassurance that he really was impressed by everything but his words struck me.

My eyes bugged slightly because what he was saying was kinda true. He was royalty and if this crown on my head meant anything; I was too because of him. That started to make me jump but he immediately but an end to it.

“Azizam,nafs bakesh(My love, just breathe). Zhere is no reason for you to worry about zhis. We are just Xerxes and Vanya. Zhat is all. Zhe labels zhe world puts on us have no bearing on how we see ourselves or zhe moves we make in zhe world. Remember?” His arm was around my waist and I tried to believe him, but again, crown on my head.

Instead of faltering, I stood taller and rolled my shoulder back. His eyes darted to my barely revealed cleavage, forcing me to smile. “I remember. It was just a momentary lapse in confidence.”

“I have zhose too.”

I laughed because he was clearly full of shit. “I don’t believe you at all.”

“I do.”

“And what do you do when you have this momentary lapse?”

He smirked before pecking me quickly on the lips. “I remember zhat I am married to someone like you and suddenly my confidence is restored.”

“Xerxes.”

He squeezed me closer to him as though he didn’t want even a millimeter of space between the two of us.

“No, ziba. No requests of me to diminish my eloquence. Not on our wedding day. Today I will be even more effusive wiz zhe praise I provide because zhere is no better day for me to be.”

“So, like the jewelry and the tiara and the finery, I just need to accept it.”

He nodded with mock sadness before giving me a look of pity. “Yes. I’m afraid zhere is no other way you will ever be treated.”

I folded my lips to hide my smile while I playfully sighed. “A girl could get used to this.”

“Zhat’s the plan. Would you like to look around at what zhey created?” He waved around the room that we had only taken in the first few feet of as though he wanted me to pick a spot for us to explore.

“I thought we had to greet our guests.” I glanced at the closed doors behind me where Sho and Quentin were standing guard.

“They can wait. I want to marvel at this display. Look around at what has been created for us to celebrate our union. No one is going to rush this moment.”

---