Sixth One Shot:

Arranged Marriage

Clary POV:

Sometimes I wish that my life were normal. I wish my father wasn't the CEO of a major company, and I wish that I didn't live in a house the size of a castle and I wish that I was treated like every other 24 year old, instead of like a princess, but who said life was fair? I knew life could be unfair, but it wasn't until my father completely shattered my world that I figured out just how unfair life really was.

Flashback:

"Clarissa!" My dad shouted up the stairs.

"Yes father?"

"I need you to come down here. We need to speak." I groaned but got up and made my way downstairs. When I got into the living room, the Herondale's were sitting there, and I knew this probably wasn't going to end well. "Clarissa dear, you remember the Herondale's?"

"Yes. It's a pleasure to see you all again." I said, and I take my seat next to their son, Jace. He looked just as confused as I was, as to why we were there.

"I know you two are probably wondering why we asked you here today." Jace and I both nod. "Well, as you know we both own two of the biggest companies in the world, but we want more. We want to merge our companies."

"And that has something to do with us because?" Jace says.

"Mind your manners Jonathan." His father hissed.

"Anyway, we have been talking about this for a couple years and we feel like you two are old enough to know. In order for our companies to merge, we have to become a family." My eyes immediately widen. I take a look at Jace and I don't think it actually hit him yet. "You two will be married at the end of the year." My father says and it finally hit him, and he doesn't look happy.

"You're out of your god damn mind if you think I'm gonna to marry her." Jace yells and I couldn't help but scoff.

"Oh please, you'd be lucky to marry me. At least you know you won't get an STD from me, who knows how many diseases you carry." I said and he glared at me.

"Father, you can't expect me to marry her. I'm only 27. I didn't expect to get married until I was at least 35, if not ever." Jace says and it makes sense, he's the ultimate playboy. Always sleeping around, and getting into trouble, it's not wonder they arranged a marriage for him. Me on the other hand, I just haven't found someone who actually cared about me, and not my money.

"You will marry her Jonathan, and that's all I have to say. Now, you two better get ready, you move into your house tonight." His father said and I couldn't help but sigh and make my way up to my room and pack my life away.

End of Flashback

Which brings me to where I am now, siting in the living room in our penthouse, searching through the channels while Jace is nowhere to be found. He dropped off his stuff, mumble something along the lines of 'I'm going out, don't wait up' and he was gone. Now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't thrilled about the whole arranged marriage idea either, but Jace was acting like such a baby about it. I've known the guy for a couple years now, and he acts like he deserves the world. I mean, he's a hard worker, he put in his hours, and he dedicated his time to achieving his dream, but one thing doesn't go his way, and he acts out.

It's almost 2 am, and I finally decide to go to bed. Jace told me not to wait up, but I felt weird going to bed while he was out. But I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. When I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom I heard the door open. I walked back out to the living room to see three men, and they were holding Jace up.

"Who the hell are you?" The one asked and it took me by surprise.

"I'm his fiancé. What happened to him?" I ask, and as much as it was weird to say, calling myself his fiancé wasn't that hard. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to actually fall in love and get married to a man who wanted me, but that dream was out the window now.

"He called me from a club, he was completely trashed. I guess I know the reason now." He said as he looked at me. I shook my head, and realized that I wouldn't be sleeping in the bed tonight.

"The bedroom is the third door on the left." I said as I pointed down the hallway. The two men lugged Jace down the hallway and disappeared into the room. I searched the hall cabinet for an extra blanket, found one and made my way over to the couch. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep and dreaming about how different and challenging this year would be.

Time Jump-Three Months Later

Clary POV:

The past three months have been tense. Jace was working his ass off on his latest project, so we rarely saw each other but when we did, we didn't talk. We both were still resentful about the marriage, and he seemed to not want to talk about it, or try and find at least a happy medium for us to coexist in this house without having to walk on eggshells around each other.

Jace had told me this morning that he was going to be working late tonight. I was glad when he told me that he would be working late, it was something that he started doing when I made dinner for us one night, and he didn't come home until after midnight. Despite how pissed he still was, he felt bad about not giving me a heads up, and now he lets me know.

Since he wasn't going to be home until later, I decided just to have some left overs and binge watch some TV that I had missed during the week. It was around 9:30 when I heard the door open. At first I was confused, because I figured Jace wouldn't be home until after midnight, but sometimes he did come home earlier than that. I turned by attention back to the TV, but something didn't feel right. When I turned around, my heart instantly sank.

"Look what we have here Pangborn. What's a pretty little thing like you doing home all alone?" He said and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I didn't say anything as his partner made his way over to me.

"Grab her Blackwell, tie her up and gag her, than take whatever you can find." The one said and immediately I was being pulled off the couch in a death grip by the one man. He pulled me over a chair that was now sitting in the hallway and he strapped me too it.

"Take whatever you want, I'm not going to stop you." I said on the verge of crying before he slapped me across the face.

"Gag her Blackwell. And than search the place." The other one said and he gagged me and slapped me one more time, before he left me there.

After about an hour of them searching through the penthouse they both reappeared in front of me. I was hoping that after they robbed us, they would just leave, but apparently they had other ideas.

"Where's your boyfriend baby? I can't imagine leaving a pretty little thing like you here all alone. Something might happen." The taller one, Pangborn I think, said as he twirled a strand of my hair in his hand. He leaned down and started to place kisses along my neck. I started crying, but I didn't make much noise because of the gag. His friend did another quick search of the place while Pangborn kept placing kisses on my body. I felt completely and totally disgusting, and I was so glad when the other one came back.

"Come on, we have been here for too long already. He could come back at any moment." Blackwell said and Pangborn nodded in agreement and stopped touching me and I silently thanked the Angel. They walked away but before they left Pangborn turned around, hit me so hard that the chair tipped back and I fell and hit my head on the ground, I could hear them laughing when they were leaving. I was in and out of consciousness, just praying that Jace would come home soon.

Jace POV:

It had been another long day at the office, but I wasn't complaining. I liked being at worked for an entire day so that when I got home I could pass out and not have to talk to Clary. It's not that I hated her, but I still didn't want to marry her. I never even thought about marriage until I was being forced into one. I just wanted to live my life as a bachelor forever. It was fun. No strings attached and I didn't have to answer to anyone. I finally got to our building and got in the elevator. It felt like the longest ride of my life, I just wanted to shower and go to sleep. The elevator finally stopped and when I stepped out into the hallway something felt wrong. I looked down the hall and noticed that the door to the house was slightly opened. Clary wasn't the type to keep the door opened when she was home, if anything she was completely paranoid that someone would break in and checked it at least 6 times before she even went to bed.

I walked slowly over to the door and opened in even slower. When I took a look inside the penthouse, it was trashed. There was glass on the floor from where a vase was smashed, followed by the flowers that Clary picked up one day were scattered on the floor, and a painting that Clary did a couple months ago was slashed. I went farther into the living room and gasped. Clary was strapped to a chair, gagged and laying on the floor. I made my way over to her, and there was blood dripping out of her nose, down her cheek and on to the floor.

"Clary?" I said as I took the gag out of her mouth and she moaned. "Clary, are you alright? Can you hear me?" I asked as I began to untie her.

"Jace?" She said in a weak voice.

"Yea, I'm here. Come on, I'm going to take you to the bathroom." I said as I scooped her up in my arms, and I couldn't help but think how perfectly she fit in my arms. When I got us to the bathroom I sat her down on the counter and turned on the water. I grabbed a washcloth and wet it and started to clean the blood off her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was sitting on the couch watching TV and I heard the door open. I didn't realize it wasn't locked but I didn't think anything of it, I just thought it was you. When I heard two sets of footsteps I turned around and there were these two huge guys smiling at me. The one grabbed me, strapped me to the chair, hit me and than gagged me. They searched the whole house for an hour before they made their way back to me." She stopped herself so that she could collect her thoughts, she looked like she was about to cry but no tears were shed. "The one came over to me and started to play with my hair, and started kissing my neck while the other one took one last look through the house. After a couple minutes of him kissing me his partner came back at said that it was time to leave and before they left the one hit me so hard that I fell and slammed my head on the ground."

"How long were you tied up before I got home?" I asked and I couldn't help but feel so angry and the men who did this to Clary.

"I don't know, all I know is that it was 9:30 when they first stepped into the house."

"Clary, do you know what time it is?" She shook her head. "It's after midnight." She looked at me with her big green eyes, that were now extremely glossy and she broke down. I pulled her into my arms and she buried her head into my chest and just let everything out. After a couple minutes she started to calm down and she pulled back. I took a good look into those beautiful green eyes, and I couldn't help but want to look into them all the time. I wiped the tears off of her cheeks and she gave me a sad smile. "I think you should get some sleep Clare."

"Will you stay with me? I can't be alone right now." She asked in almost a whisper, and I couldn't help but feel happy that she asked me to stay.

"Of course. Why don't you go get ready, give me 5 minutes to shower, and I'll be right in." She nodded and hopped off the counter and made her way into the bedroom.

True to my word, I took a 5 minute shower and I made my way into the bedroom to see Clary curled up on the bed. I changed into some ball shorts and got in bed where she immediately curled into my side. After a couple minutes I could feel her breathing even out and I couldn't help but feel something when it came to Clary. Something changed when I saw her so helpless lying on the floor. And when she was telling me about that man kissing her I wanted to go find him and kill him. I had spent all this time resenting the fact that my father was forcing me to get married, that I didn't even get to know the woman that I was going to marry, and after tonight, I don't think I'll make that mistake again.

Clary POV:

I woke up the next day feeling extremely safe and comfortable. When I opened my eyes I saw Jace still sleeping, and his arms were wrapped protectively around me. I couldn't help but smile at how sweet he was being to me last night. It definitely showed a different side of him, a side that I like a lot more than the arrogant and miserable side I've been seeing the past couple months.

I slithered out of his arms and went to the bathroom to see the damage done. Nothing too bad, just a black eye and a swollen lip. Considering what could have happened, I got off easy. I fixed my hair and washed my face and made my way into the living room. When I got there I took a look at the damage that was done and I sighed. I started cleaning up the place because I didn't want to be reminded of what happened. After about 10 minutes I heard footsteps. I turned around to see Jace, and what I saw, I liked. He was standing there, shirtless, with shorts that were riding his hips extremely low.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a groggy voice, which was extremely sexy.

"I thought I'd clean, I didn't want to be reminded, and I just I don't know. I just didn't want to look at it." I said sounding completely unsure of myself. He walked over to me and put his hands on either side of my face.

"Don't worry about it. I have everything taken care of." He says as he plants a kiss on my forehead.

"What do you mean?"

"I asked my sister to come over and take you out for the day. Than I have a service coming in to clean the place up, and to change the locks and add a security system." He says as he leads me over to the couch. We sit down and he puts his arm around me, and I can't help but lean into him. "I am never allowing what happened last night to happen again."

"It wasn't your fault Jace."

"It was. I didn't have to work late last night, I chose too because, well because I still resented my dad for this whole thing. And it was easier to work all the time, get home really late, and pass out and not have to talk to you because it just made me so upset." He said and I couldn't help but feel a lot of pain when he spoke. "But I realized last night that it has nothing to do with you. I resent my father for this, but you aren't to blame, and instead of avoiding you I think we should get to know each other, since we will be married by the end of the year. Seeing you last night, made me so angry. If I wasn't so hell bent on staying at the office so late, I would have been home and I could have protected you."

"I understand Jace. Trust me, I resent my father for the same exact reasons you do, but what happened wasn't your fault."

"I still feel responsible. But after today, it won't happen again. I promise you." He says and he plants another kiss on my head. I leaned into his side and he pulled me closer. Maybe things would finally be different and we could start living as at least friends, and who knows, maybe something could come out of this, but for right now I was just glad to be in the arms of someone who was going to do everything in his power to protect me, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Time Jump-Six Months Later

Jace POV:

Since the whole incident happened back in March I decided that I would no longer work past 7 at night. I always made it a priority to make it home for dinner, and I didn't realize how nice it was to have someone to come home to at the end of the day. We were getting along really well, and I hate to admit it, but I think this whole arranged marriage was the best thing that my father ever did for me. Clary was an amazing girl, and I was surprised that she wasn't already married. She was funny, and witty, and sarcastic, and beautiful, and smart. She was the whole package and it felt great to know that I was going to marry her.

Clary's birthday had just passed and I was going to be taking her out to a club tonight. Isabelle, her boyfriend Simon, Alec and his boyfriend Magnus were all going to meet us there, and we were just going to have a great time. She deserved it after everything she went through, and she's been doing so well with selling her artwork that she deserved a night like tonight. I had walked out of the bathroom and saw her standing in front of the mirror. She was wearing a tight red dress, that stopped mid thigh, with black 5 inch heels, and her hair was curled to perfection. I sucked in a breath and she heard me and turned around.

"How do I look?" She asked with a hesitant look while biting on her lower lip, that was driving me insane.

"Amazing. I'm going to have to fight off every male in the club." She lets out a little laugh and a blush creeps across her cheeks.

"I highly doubt that, but thank you." She said as she walked out of the room. It took me a little to collect myself before I got dressed. I slipped on my tight black jeans, white tee shirt and my leather jacket before walking out in the living room.

"Ready?"

"Yup." She said and we walked out of the penthouse. When we got to the club, I was right, all of the guys we walked by were practically undressing her with their eyes, and I couldn't help but get jealous. I snaked my arm around her waist to show everyone that she was mine. We met up with everyone and let the night begin.

Time Jump-A Couple Hours Later

Jace POV:

We've been here for a couple hours and although I wasn't that drunk, Clary was a different story. She was having the time of her life and just knocking back drinks like it was nobody's business. We were dancing close all night and kissing and I couldn't get enough of her. When midnight rolled around we decided that we needed to get home. Clary and I grabbed a cab and got back to out place. When we walked inside she immediately ditched the heels.

"I've been waiting to take them off all night. My feet are killing me." She said as she stumbled a little.

"I could tell. Did you have fun?" I asked as I dropped my leather jacket on the back of the couch.

"I had a lot of fun, but I think I know how I can have even more fun." She said as she snaked her arms around my necks and brought my lips down to hers. As much as I wanted to keep going, we were both drunk and needed to sleep.

"Clary, you're drunk and you should probably get some sleep."

"I'm not that drunk." I raised one eyebrow and she laughed. "I was drunk earlier but I'm sobering up now, and trust me I want to do this." She said as she started kissing my neck. I had absolutely no will power and picked her up and her legs wrapped around my waist and I lead us to the bedroom. Nothing in the world felt as good as Clary felt kissing me, and rubbing up against me, and I never wanted it to end. Right now, everything was perfect.

Time Jump- A Week Later

Clary POV:

A week had gone by since Jace and I slept together and our interactions have been awkward. I didn't know if he felt uncomfortable that we had sex, I mean he seemed into it when it was happening but he's been distant lately, and I didn't like it, so at dinner I decided to bring it up. We were sitting at the table in silence and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Jace, it's been a week since we slept together, and I really can't take the distance anymore." I said and I think I shocked him because he dropped his fork.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, you've totally been avoiding me."

"Clary."

"No Jace, if you regret it, please just let me know."

"You think I regret it?" I shrug. "Clary, I don't regret it at all, I thought maybe you would."

"I'm pretty sure I initiated it Jace, I wouldn't have done that if I thought I was going to regret it." I said as I laughed.

"I didn't know if that was you, or drunk you initiated anything."

"I told you, I may have been drunk before, but I wasn't drunk when we got home. I knew what was happening. I remember everything. I remember feeling every kiss you placed on every inch of my body, and I remember the feeling of you inside me, and I remember how amazing it felt. I never wanted it to end."

"Are you serious?" He said with a shocked expression on his face, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm serious. Jace, I like you. I like you a lot. I like cooking dinner for you, and sitting on the couch cuddled up watching TV, and I like falling asleep next to you. Honestly Jace, I think I might be in love with you." I said and now I was standing up and pacing. "And this distance is killing me." I finally look at him and he looks shocked. "God, and now you don't feel the same way, and I'm a complete idiot." I start rambling and before I know it his lips on mine. I'm shocked but soon melt into the kiss, after a couple minutes he pulls apart.

"Clary, I've been in love with you for months." My jaw drops and his hands are still on the side of the face. "I just didn't know how to tell you, because I didn't know if you felt the same way."

"When did you know?" I ask because I just can't believe he feels the same way.

"The night that I came home and found you on the floor. After I cleaned you up, and I came out and joined you in bed and you curled up into me and laid your head on my chest. You fit perfectly, and I never wanted to let you go. I spent months avoiding you because I resented being told what to do by my father, but the minute I held you in my arms I realized that this arranged marriage might have been the best thing my father ever did for me." I didn't know what to say to that, I was speechless, I got on my tippy toes and pressed my lips against his. After a few more minutes we broke apart.

"I love you Jace." I said and he had the biggest smile on his face and it made me so happy to know that I was the one who gave him that smile.

"I love you too Clary." He said back and I threw my arms around his neck and he picked me up and spun me around and right in this moment I couldn't be happier.

Time Jump-Wedding Day

Clary POV:

I was sitting in the room looking at myself in the mirror and I couldn't believe that Jace and I were finally getting married today. It was a cold day, but what do you expect when you get married in December, but I couldn't be more excited to be marrying him. After we both confessed our love for each other everything just fell into place. When we went out we would hold hands, and he would hold me close when he felt like other guys were staring at me, and when we would dance he wasn't afraid to get a little handsy, and it was perfect. I loved every minute of our life together, and he made me laugh every single day.

Although nobody knew this was an arranged marriage, I knew it pleased our fathers that we had actually gotten along and actually fell in love. We both sat them down and told them about everything and I could see the relief in my fathers eyes when we told him, Jace's father on the other hand, he was unreadable. He didn't seem to care if we loved each other or if we wanted to kill each other. I was pulled out of my memories by Isabelle.

"Are you ready Clary? The ceremony starts in 15 minutes!" She said as she made her way over to me.

"I am more than ready. I can't wait to marry him."

"I'm so glad you two met. I thought he was doomed when it came to women." I laughed. In the last couple months I had gotten very close to Izzy, and I considered her one of my best friends.

"I don't know what I'd do without him honestly." I say and I can just tell how happy she was for us, and to see the happiness, and to have all the positive support really made me happy. "Alright, lets go. I need to marry him soon or I think I might burst!" She laughs and we make our way down to the room.

Everything was set up perfectly. Izzy decided that she wanted to plan our wedding, and she did an amazing job. When the doors opened and I got my first look at Jace and I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. He looked amazing and he wore a smile that just was the light in my life. I got up to him, and gave my bouquet to Izzy and Jace took my hands in his.

"Are you ready?" He asked and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm more than ready." I said and Jace just smiled. He squeezed my hands and we both listened to the pastor and took the plunge into married life more ready than ever to experience all of life's hardships and triumphs as husband and wife.

Time Jump- Ten Years Later

Clary POV:

"MOMMY!" I heard my daughter yell as she burst into our room and jumped on the bed. "Mommy, it's time to get up! It's Christmas mommy!"

"I'm up. I'm up." I look at the clock. "Anna, it's 6 in the morning, Christmas doesn't start until at least 9." I said and I could hear Jace laugh beside me.

"Daddy, make mommy wake up. It's Christmas time." She said and she made her way over to Jace. She knew exactly how to get Jace to do whatever he wanted.

"Why don't you go put on your Christmas pajamas, and wait for us by the tree." He said and she nodded and hoped off the bed and ran out of the room. I groaned and rolled over as much as I could while being 7 months pregnant. "How are you feeling babe?" He asked as he rubbed my belly.

"I'm okay. She kept me up all night, so I was not prepared for this wake up call." I said and at that moment she decided to kick the shit out of my stomach. "Ow." I said and Jace smiled.

"I'm sorry babe, why don't you take your time, while I start breakfast and get Anna distracted from Christmas."

"I think that makes you the husband of the year." I said and he just laughed.

"Just of the year?" He said.

"You're right, you've been the husband of the decade." He leaned down and kissed me before he went downstairs. I watched as he went, and I couldn't help but relive the last 10 years of our lives and I couldn't be more happy with how everything worked out. I hated the idea of an arranged marriage at first, but looking back on it now, it was the best thing my father ever did for me, and I couldn't help but smile at everything Jace and I have done together.

I got out of bed, and I made my way downstairs. I walked into the kitchen, and I saw Jace and Anna dancing around listening to Christmas music. It melted my heart to see him bonding with Anna the way he did. He was so nervous when she was born, he thought he was going to mess her up, or that he was going to be a horrible father. But Jace and Anna had the cutest relationship, and I couldn't wait to bring out second little girl into this world. Jace turned around and saw me standing in the door way and danced his way over to me.

"Mommy, dance with us!" Anna said and I couldn't help but laugh and join in. Jace twirled us both around the kitchen, and when he pulled me closer to him I couldn't help but pull him into a kiss. My life was perfect, and it was all because of an arranged marriage that I never wanted in the first place, but turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me.

Authors Note:

This one shot was requested by a guest, and whoever you are, I hope you see this and are satisfied with what I have created! I tried to get this done by tonight so that you all had something to read before you went to bed or when you woke up in the middle! Don't forget that you can leave a review or send me a message if you want me to write a story! I have to say some of you have been given me really good ideas and I'm really stoked to write them! Hopefully you all like this new story! Let me know what you think! :)