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SACRIFICE
Chapter 6
Sahara Lilium
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"Marriage license?" Serena stared at Darien as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head which was spouting rubbish.
In reality he might not have grown an extra head but he was certainly spouting rubbish.
He calmly looked back at her as if there was nothing with what he'd said. "Yes. We need a marriage license to get married."
"Yes but..." She trailed off uncertainly.
Serena grimaced as she thought about the fact that she didn't know what to say. What Darien was saying made sense but so soon? Why couldn't he wait for oh say, two or three or even four years before they got married? There were things like really long engagements.
"Why are we getting married so early?"
Why did they have to get married at all? The question spun in Serena's mind and she answered it as she always did. Because she didn't have a choice. Oh people said that you always had a choice, but Serena didn't. Not in this case. If she wanted to loose Diana, then she had a choice. But otherwise... no.
Darien looked at her and watched the conflicting emotions flick across her face. Confusion, dismay and finally resignation.
Serena came to the decision she always came to when thinking about this topic and she sighed wearily. "Do you know where we can get a marriage license from?"
Darien looked at her disbelievingly. "I'm not in the habit of blindly heading for places, when I don't know where they are."
"You did rush off from the café, rather impulsively I thought. So you might have..." Serena stopped and bit her lip.
Darien finished the sentence for her. "Made an excuse? Lied? To get you alone?" When Serena didn't say anything, Darien took her silence for an assent. "Come now Serena. You presume too much."
Hot colour flooded her cheeks at Darien's mocking tone, and Serena silently cursed her tongue. Now Darien would have the impression- a totally wrong impression- that Serena thought that everything he did was to do with her. He must think she was very arrogant.
Trying to ignore Darien's amused gaze, Serena tried to distract him. "Can we get a marriage license just now? I mean, aren't we supposed to have blood tests done?"
"You don't worry about that. I've handled it."
"You have?" Serena stared at him blankly. "But where did you get my blood from?"
Darien lifted a brow. "I told you. I've handled it."
"Yes but..." Serena lifted one of her hands in an appealing gesture. She knew that she would have to marry Darien so why was she trying to find excuses and reasons in an attempt to delay what she was now beginning to think of as inevitable? Shouldn't she just do it and get it over with? But no.
She had always thought that she would marry for love, like the love that her parents had had for each other. Even though that love had killed them in the end, they'd had a happy life which had been full of happiness and laughter, and she wanted a life like that, a love like that. But how could she have that with Darien?
Some people said that love could grow, if you nurtured it like a delicate flower, but shouldn't there at least be a modicum of respect and liking for a marriage to succeed? Serena didn't like Darien, and she could never respect a man who judged people's worth by their 'bloodline' instead of by their character. She could never forget the pain Mina went through when she realised that Andrew had been 'exiled' as it were, from his family because of her.
So maybe that was the reason why she was trying to delay the marriage. She didn't want to make a mistake and jump into a marriage which might not bring any contentment or gratification.
"But- you have to make an appointment don't you? And you haven't. So how is it possible...?"
Darien looked at her for a few minutes and then nodded his dark head. "I have a friend who's a judge. I told him about us and he agreed to supply us with a marriage license."
Serena's eyes widened at the fact that he had contacts as high as a judge. Though why she was surprised she didn't know. He was rich, so of course he would have friends like judges and- and Prime Ministers and Presidents for all she knew. But the way he had said the sentence sank in, and her eyes narrowed as she regarded him with suspicion.
"You make it sound like he's doing you a favour."
Darien didn't say anything but continued to look at her out of expressionless cerulean eyes. The dark depths showed nothing of what he was feeling and Serena absentmindedly wished that she could do that. When she was feeling something, she could never hide it. Everybody was able to tell what her emotions were.
A flicker of... something appeared briefly in Darien's eyes. She frowned as she saw the small smile which slashed his hard sensual mouth, but it lasted only a second and was gone before she could see it properly. When she still received no answer, Serena turned to look out of the window, feeling a little disturbed though she didn't know why.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. Turning around to fully face Darien, she saw him raise his eyebrows at her panicked face. "We- we're not getting married now are we? I mean, straight after you get the marriage license?"
Darien looked coolly back at her. He didn't say anything immediately as if to see how much she really dreaded the marriage. He wasn't disappointed. As his silence continued, Serena's face got more and more alarmed and her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to think of some sort of reason why they couldn't get married at once.
As he watched the different emotions on her face all ranging from panic to alarm, Darien sighed a little and decided to put her out of her misery. "I'm not going to get the marriage license."
Serena frowned even as a wave of relief enveloped her senses. They weren't getting married. Darien wasn't even going to get the marriage license. But then why was she here? Was she missing a point in this conversation?
"You're not?" She enquired, puzzled.
He shook his head. "No. From now on, I won't do anything... alone. It will be both of us doing things together from now on. So we will get the marriage license. Not me, we."
Serena just looked at him. He was so determined to put them together, in one category. It was alarming when she thought about his persistence on them getting married and being bound by the law as soon as possible. She'd have thought that he would have tried to postpone the marriage for as long as he could. His determination was kind of strange considering the fact that Serena wasn't 'his favourite person', as he'd so eloquently put it once.
But then, he must want to secure Diana into his custody as fast as he could. He was probably afraid that Serena might do something that would take Diana away from him. If she was married to him and ran away with the baby, it would be no problem to get them back because Diana would be half Darien's. Legally anyway which was what seemed to matter a lot nowadays.
Serena sighed and came out of her reverie to the discovery that Darien had been watching her the whole time with a small smile on his face. She didn't know what the smile meant but it was as if his thoughts were giving him great satisfaction.
She bitterly thought that he had a reason to be satisfied. He was getting exactly what he wanted. Diana.
She made one last effort to try and postpone getting the licence. "Don't we need things for a marriage license? Passport, birth certificate?"
Darien lounged back in his seat and shrugged with one shoulder. "We have all we need to get a license, so you can stop finding excuses to delay the inevitable. We are getting married and the sooner the better in my opinion."
Serena let out a little sigh and turned her face towards the window, away from Darien before mumbling under her breath. "Your opinion isn't worth anything to us humans, anyway. It's way above the likes of us mere mortals."
She didn't know if her voice reached Darien but maybe it did because he chuckled a little as if her remark had amused him.
It probably had amused him and Serena scowled darkly at the thought. He didn't care about what others thought of him. That was probably what made him so successful... at everything. He did what needed to be done.
Wasn't that the truth! Look at the way he had introduced Serena as his fiancée. There were many people who were probably making fun of him. After all, being who he was, a multi-millionaire, Serena knew that he had been expected to marry someone with the same social standing as him, and even though Serena wasn't poor, she wouldn't be considered rich either. Which made her an 'unfitting' wife for Darien.
Maybe that was a good thing though. This way, she might not be expected to do what wives usually did with and for their husbands. Like having sex. Serena was lucky this was a marriage for convenience, because there was no way she was sleeping with Darien. No way. They weren't going to have a relationship like that. Theirs would be a hands off relationship. Nothing more, which was good... so why was Serena a little disappointed? As if she wanted a more intimate relationship?
But no, it couldn't be. She wasn't ready for that with Darien, and she never would be either.
"Let's go."
Serena sighed wearily as Darien grabbed her arm and propelled her along behind him. She was more mentally tired than physically. Who knew that getting a license would take so much effort? But then, maybe for lovers, it wasn't an experience like that. They obviously looked forward to being together, but not Serena. This license was the final nail in her coffin. Sure she wasn't married to Darien yet, but she was well on the way there. Well on the way to giving a man who she didn't like, total control of her life.
Of course he wasn't going to keep her like a slave. She wouldn't tolerate him acting chauvinistic with her. She would have her own life. Though in the eyes of the law, she was his wife, and as far as she knew, even today in the families of the rich and famous, husbands had more power over their wives than the wives had over their husbands.
Considering all that, maybe she should clear any misunderstanding. After all, they shouldn't begin their marriage with any confusion between them. Huh! What a laugh. Like their marriage was going to be perfect. As if they weren't going to face any problems. Most probably more so than the normal couple.
"Darien?"
He might not have heard her with the way he was hurrying towards the limo because he didn't answer her. Or maybe he chose to ignore her. Either way, Serena let herself be dragged behind him towards the limo. They'd have a chance to talk inside.
Slamming the door behind them, Darien leaned his head back against the seat and closing his eyes, let out a sigh of relief, which made Serena eye him curiously. He looked harassed, but what could have changed between the courthouse where they had gotton their license to the walk to the limo? Nobody had stopped to talk to them and as far as Serena knew, nothing drastic had changed. Except for the fact that they had gotton their license, nothing much had happened.
Yeah right! Maybe Darien was feeling the full incredulity of what had happened, but didn't that usually come after marriage? Or was it before? She certainly didn't know. She'd never been married before, or even been invited to a wedding which had been a marriage of convenience.
Darien exhaled again loudly and that drew Serena's attention to his face. His long column of throat. The bronze skin. The stubble on his cheeks and chin. In portrait, Darien was an incredibly handsome man, though nothing compared to when he was face-to-face. She had noticed that, of course she had but she'd chosen not to register that fact before. Darien wasn't used to being ignored, and it seemed as if his looks were in the same category. Always attracting attention. Maybe it would have been better if he was butt ugly.
"Darien?"
His head turned slowly towards her and she blinked at the pleased look she saw in his eyes. "Yes?"
"We have to talk."
He sat up in a fluid movement. "I know. But not now."
She was insistent. "Now Darien. We have to discuss things."
He raised his eyebrows. "Are you really so eager to marry me that whatever you have to say can't wait for later?"
Serena scowled as hot colour invaded her cheeks. Nobody could win an argument with Darien, that's why he was such a brilliant businessman. He tore everything to shreds, using that razor sharp mind of his.
Serena was jolted out of her thoughts when the limo stopped with a jerk. She focused on Darien and saw that he was staring at her.
Serena tried not to be distracted by the fact that her face was burning and she attempted to draw his attention to something else. The argument zone, a place where she felt comfortable. Well, more comfortable that being in the intimate zone, with Darien.
"We have to talk. This is serious okay? Nothing to joke about."
Darien huffed out a laugh. "I'm not joking. I'm taking this very seriously. But you don't seem to be in the state to carry out a conversation like the type that you are suggesting."
Serena sat forward in her seat. "And what state am I in?"
Darien shook his head slightly and turned to look out of the window. "It's obvious that you don't want this marriage. You're planning to take your anger out in the form of an argument, but be warned that I won't oblige you."
Serena sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. She then sighed and uncrossed them as she realised what a childish gesture that was. Looking outside at the passing traffic, she thought about where her life was going. A marriage with a man who thought that she always looked for a fight. A man who used everything for his own convenience. But she had to do it, for Diana. Her body slumped back in the seat as she realised that. She would have to forget her own needs, because Diana was the one who mattered now. No-one else, not even herself.
Serena jumped as she felt a hand on her arm. Turning her head around, she inhaled sharply and her eyes widened as she found that during her contemplation, Darien had moved closer to her, just inches away. Why hadn't she heard him move? Probably because she'd been daydreaming out the window. More like self pitying out the window.
"Darien?" Serena frowned up at him.
He smiled softly at her look of uncertainty. "Really. You've said my name so many times that I might begin to think that you can't stop yourself from saying it."
Serena blinked and then lowered her lashes to hide her eyes. Somehow, she wasn't exactly feeling shock at his statement. It was as if... as if she agreed with him, but of course not. It was a ridiculous thought.
She tossed her head slightly and answered him tartly. "I have to find some way to attract your attention, seeing the way in which you persist on ignoring me."
"Hell is it not? Being ignored. But if you want to attract my attention, I can think of many other ways to do it. Ways more enjoyable than speaking." He bared his teeth at her in the parody of a smile.
Serena stared at him for a while and when she understood what his remark meant, more colour infused her cheeks. God, couldn't the man say one sentence without sexual innuendo featuring in it?
"I don't think so." She waited for him to say something but when he didn't, she continued. "We do have to talk, about when the wedding is and what will happen afterwards."
Darien tilted his head to study her face with intent eyes. The amusement disappeared out of his face, leaving it expressionless, but his eyes weren't blank. Instead, they held an intent look as if he was really studying her to see what her reaction would be.
"The wedding is already arranged. It will be held next week."
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Sahara Lilium