7. The marriage bliss

" I'm sorry, I must have had my wires crossed somehow. What did you just say?" he asked in disbelief. Yes, she couldn't believe she said it herself, she couldn't believe something as insane would even cross her mind but, did she have a choice? It's not like she really wanted to stay married to him, but a marriage of convenience, she could handle it somehow, the only question was, could he? So she would have to try to explain it to him as clear as possible.

" Just for a year … We stay married for a year …"

" I knew the divorce had done you some mental damage but this … I have no words."

" Just, just hear me out. So we stay married for a year, and after that go our separate ways. We say we figured out we are better friends than lovers. There will be no cheating, no second parties included, and it will all be very nice and drama free. So neither of us will have to wear the title of "the victim". It will all be very Courtney Cox and David Arquette. Without the scandals, and without giving the media their daily bread."

" I see the smarty pants has everything already planned and figured out, but do tell me … Why on Earth would I agree to something like that? I mean, to stay married, you and me? Really?" he asked in disbelief, showing her it didn't even cross his mind, and she had to admit it did sting a bit. I mean of course this was Klaus, the guy who never wanted to marry, but why did the sound of marriage bliss with her sound so horrible? But whatever, she had to put all feelings aside, and be rational about it, as much as a woman can be rational in a situation like this.

"Look, I know this is not exactly the ideal plan, for either of us. But it would be only for a year … It's not like you have anything better to do with your life." she said before she had the time to think about it. Damn her and her mouth when she was around him. This is not the time to be throwing angry darts at him … So not the time …

"But to stay married? With each other?" he was apparently still wrapping his mind around it and the idea of it wasn't sinking in. So Caroline started panicking, this was not going as she was hoping it to. She remembered her father and how disappointed he was when Tyler left her. He always liked Tyler, and although he never said it out loud, she could feel he thought Tyler leaving was somehow her fault. And now she married the man he despised, while drunk and drugged. Just great … Just the perfect next move … No, she had to do something to make the best out of this horrible situation she got herself in. Although she was sometimes a push over Caroline Forbes was no quitter. So she decided to take out the last card that was in her sleeve.

" I'll pay you."

Now that got his attention alright. "Pay me?"

"Yes. I'll pay you a hundred thousand dollars for each month we spend as a happy married couple. That's over one million in case you can't count."

"I can count just fine thank you." was the only thing he said, so she wasn't sure if he was considering her proposal or not. But there was one reaction she wasn't counting on. Anger.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? It's one of your twisted little plans. After Stefan said no you found another victim, me …"

" Oh please, even you can't believe in that, no matter how much your brain is ruined by drugs. I hate you; listen very carefully when I tell you there isn't a bone in my body that doesn't despise your very existence. But this happened, and I care more about my … my career.. than how much I want to slice you up in pieces and feed you to the sharks."

" You care about your career or your image?"

" You know very well it's the same thing in this town. That's way you can't get a decent job to save your life, nobody trusts you. But they trust me, despite of this thing with Tyler, they still trust me, I'm still Hollywood A list girl." she was speaking fast; her brain was working on over-drive.

" I honestly can't believe you have to even think about it. You have nothing to lose by going along with this. People might even start thinking you've reformed and start giving you a chance." she was sure this meant nothing to Klaus, and she'd pick the wrong argument, but she was wrong. This finally caught his attention and for the first time it seemed like he was really considering this little deal of their.

"Six months … I'll go along with it for six months, and not a day more. Also, you have agree to every one of my conditions."

" And those are?" she thought and she had to admit her head was filled with not so innocent pictures of two of them.

" I'll let you know when the times comes."

He was being a pompous jerk as always, and she already regretted even asking this of him.

"No deal." she tried to bluff but it didn't work on a bluffer like him.

" Ok, fine, no deal then. It was your stupid idea to begin with, not mine."

" You are being completely unreasonable and you know it."

"Whatever sweetheart, either we do this by my rules, or we don't do it at all."

Did she think about it? Well I guess she did but she also knew she had no choice, as much as it pained her it was hopeless, she was trapped, and so the only thing she could say was: "Fine. I'm sure you'll be as fair in your demands as always."

"Right …" he said and she was hoping she'll catch the usual glimpse of sadism in his eyes and there was nothing there. This wasn't the Klaus she knew, he was dead serious about all of this, he wasn't making jokes anymore, and this really was just a business transaction to him.

"The first thing we're going to do is call Ron Stine and make him take the exclusive pictures of the happy married couple. It's better to do that right away then to wait for them to dig it out." he was all business, and she was still in shock, since Klaus never gave a damn about business before. Who was this man in front of her? Who did she just agree to spend six months of her life with? Even if they were wake six months, it was still a bit unnerving … But she snapped out of it and focused …

"I'll call Matt right away and tell him to arrange everything."

"Who's Matt?"

" Matt Donovan, my personal assistant."

" You have a personal assistant? How very royal of you …" they started their little game again and she saw their life together would be misery for the upcoming six months.

" Don't look so surprised. Every celebrity has one. Well, every celebrity with decent jobs." She wasn't backing down either. He might be calling the shots from now on, but he won't see her beg him for anything else anytime soon.

" Fine, call this Matt person. I'll call my lawyer to make an agreement."

"You do that, because my lawyer would very much like to see it before I sign." was the last thing she said before closing herself into the bathroom again and dialling Matt's number.

"Hey Matt. Hope I didn't wake you."

" Are you crazy? It's noon already."

" I know, but it's one of your rare days off and hate to bother you but … I have a request …"

" What's up boss? Wait, where are you? I thought you should be on a plane back to LA by now? Did something happen? Is every ok?" she hated to hear the worry in Matt's voice. In the last two years he had been working for her, he had become more than her assistant, he had become her friend. And she knew it was only a matter of time one of his little projects got picked up by Apple of IBM and he would be out of her life … All the good ones are, she thought, and signed.

"No, relax, nothing happened. I just decided to stay in Vegas a while longer, I'll book a later flight. Anyways, I promise I'll explain everything when I get back, but for now I just really need you to do something for me, and no questions asked."

" Ok …" Matt said still not sure what the hell was going on.

" I need you to call Ron Stine and …"

" Wait, who? You mean the sleaziest reporter in Vegas? Care you hate him … You hate him every since he took that shot of Tyler leaving the casino with his ex-girlfriend when he was celebrating his birthday and you were filming in Africa."

"Yes I know, but never mind that now. I need you to call him and tell him to come to this address in, I don't know, an hour or so … That he'll get a big exclusive out of me."

" Caroline I really don't know what's going on but …"

" Matt, just do it … Bye." She hated being so firm and bossy with him, it was so not like her, but she had no choice. Yes, she was a horrible coward, but she'd rather all her friends found out about the wretched marriage via internet and paper than her actually having to utter it.

It took only a few minutes for Matt to text her.

"Done, he'll be up in an hour and a half."

Not that she had any doubts about it. Every media in the country was fighting and calling all of her publicists to get an exclusive out of her. But even Ron Stine had no idea what kind of an exclusive he would be getting.

She stepped outside and saw Klaus wearing the same outfit as yesterday. I mean of course he did, he didn't have any clothes here, and this was her hotel room. The hotel room where they had sex last night, probably, damn, if only she remembered at least something. She hated the thought of sleeping with him, but even more the part where she didn't remember anything.

" He'll be here in an hour and a half. Could you go get change?" she spoke to him in firm yet calm tone. She wanted to show that although she agreed to obey his every whim she was still herself, and that she still despised him. Very much so …

"Anything in particular you want me to wear honey? I mean we are married now, so, should we start matching?"

" Just don't turn up naked and I'll be fine with that."

" Are you sure you don't want just the opposite? I mean you were taking my clothes off pretty heartily last night."

" I was probably just looking for some signs you truly are a Satan's offspring."

" Really? Because I don't think it was his name you were crying out in bed last night …It was …"

"Ok, fine, I get it … Enough with the bed jokes. We should come up with a story. You know how we fell in love, why we decided to marry and stuff like that."

" Let's just improvise it."

" No … We won't improvise it. I hate improvising."

" Because you are bad at it. I on the other hand I am brilliant at it, so all you have to do is watch the master at work."

" No."

" No is not an option buttercup. You do what I say, remember? Now put something sexy on, my wife has to look like million bucks."

She took another pillow and threw his way. " Oh just go fuck yourself."

" I see the honeymoon period had officially begun." he said and left her hotel room while whistling Frank Sinatra's "Love and marriage". God, could he be more annoying?

But Caroline did want to look presentable, not just presentable; she really did want to look like million bucks. She had to pull every ounce of actress she had in her, but she had to look and act like a woman madly in love with her new husband. She put on a light summer lavender dress, luckily she didn't pack light this time, curled her hair as quickly as she could, making it look like she hadn't bothered too much, like she was too busy having blissful marital sex, and put on little make-up but hopefully enough to hide her horrible hangover. She looked ok, now she just had to fix a fake smile on her face and they would be good to go, and she could only hope her dear husband wouldn't screw everything up. He appeared in her room just a few minutes before Ron came in with all the lights and cameras. And she had to admit he looked gorgeous, the hangover part didn't leave a mark on him, of course not, she thought bitterly, he's been drunk more times than Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr. combined. He wore tight black jeans and a dirty white t-shirt, with a few necklaces around his neck, and she still wondered how so little look could like so much, so much sexiness and hotness.

" Are you ready for this Scoot? You look nice btw; but … Too clean …"

He came up to her and tousled her hair a bit.

" Hey, it took me half an hour to do that."

" But now you look like you just got out of bed. Smile for the nice photographers Caroline." he said in his nicest dimples smile, the one that made millions of teenage girl scream a decade ago, and opened the door to the media circus.

She had to admit it was actually fun seeing Ron's ugly mousy eyes almost pop out of their socked when they told them the reason why they invited him into Caroline's suite.

"So you two are actually married? Did I get that right? This isn't some media trick?"

" How could it be a trick, falling for such an amazing woman like Caroline?" he said and looked in her eyes acting like a love sick puppy. She almost forgot how much potential he once had as an actor and how could he truly was when he put his mind to it.

" But you too hated each other. Couldn't stand to be in the same room with one another." Ron wasn't backing down.

"You know what they say Ron, the line between hate and love is very thin. I think we just never wanted to admit how we truly felt for one another, and then she got divorced, and she was free at last, I just couldn't hide it anymore, I had to risk it … Because you know how they say Ron old boy if you don't risk everything you risk nothing at all." Klaus was full of wisdom all of a sudden, coming out of his ass of course; Caroline had to pinch herself not to barf. Had to pinch herself real hard.

"Caroline, what do you have to say to that?"

Ok, so now it was her turn to play the role of the woman crazy in love with her amazing husband.

"When I was younger I was too scared to give us an honest chance, too afraid of my own feelings. But now I see Klaus has always been the guy I loved, and him returning into my life has been such a blessing. I … We couldn't hide it anymore and …"

"Are you pregnant? Is that reason for this hasty marriage?"

There they go with the baby again; she hated those questions so much, but she couldn't show how much it hurt her she wasn't a mother yet, nor would she ever be with her dear hubby standing next to her. Yet another fail in her life in that department …

" No, I'm sorry to disappoint you but that is not the reason of our marriage. We were just so happy to find each other again; we didn't see a reason to wait. When you love someone, you want your life together to start right now, no moments lost … Because when you are truly in love every moment together, no matter how silly or small, is simply perfect." she said and she felt pain rush through her heart, because she actually did believe in all this nonsense she was saying. She did, but she didn't find anyone who would share those beliefs with her, and she sure as hell won't find it in the man standing next to her.

"Ok, let's take some shots on the balcony. The lighting is perfect there … "

So they stepped on the balcony and did their typical couple in love shots. Klaus holding her hand, Klaus wrapping her hands around her waist while she looked at him with a look only a woman in love could give to her new husband, him touching her cheek lightly … It all seemed so surreal, like she was playing a role, or like she was just a bystander watching this beautiful couple in love. It was almost like a fairytale, it seemed so real she almost bought it. Until Ron's voice brought her back to reality. Okay, just one more shot for the headline and we are good to go. How about a kiss?"

" I think that's the perfect idea. Don't you sweetheart?" Klaus was teasing her, knowing very well she couldn't say no. So she just nodded her head, and waited for the inevitable.

Klaus's lips closed over hers and she tried to remember how it felt kissing him before, when he was playing Skip all those years ago. It was horrible actually, he was a good kisser, but she could always taste the alcohol and cigarettes in his breath. But this time, it was different … The only thing she could taste was the softness of his lips, no cigarettes and no alcohol. She didn't like that, she wanted Klaus to be Klaus, the Klaus she could handle, the Klaus she could hate and despise. Not this Klaus that was kissing her with such gentleness and softness. She knew it was all just an act, but it felt good, and it felt real, too real for comfort. She waited for him to do something low, like stick a tongue down her throat, but he didn't do such a thing. The kiss was innocent, like a husband kissing his wife with love and respect. He lifted her up a bit, and kissed her once more with so much passion it took her breath away. It lasted only a second but she knew it was the best "innocent" kiss in her life. He put her down and nibbled on her lower lip before releasing her.

"Welcome to married life Mrs. Mikaelson." he said gently, but with his other hand, hidden from the eyes of the camera, he pinched her bottom. She smiled in relief; Klaus was finally acting as his old self. The one she could go back hating.

"Welcome to my heart …" she said and jabbed him in the ribs beneath his shirt as hard as he could. Oh yes, the marriage bliss was in motion …

Ok, so first of all, WOW, I have no words, no words whatsoever to describe how overblown I've been with the reactions and support to the last chapter. You guys are so sweet and amazing and I just love you all to death. I haven't been writing the last few days as much, since I had some things to sort out in my life, but BECAUSE OF YOU, I couldn't wait to start writing again ;). So thank you once more, you are the best thing that could happen to a girl :)

Second, since I didn't have time to answer your review one by one, I'll address a certain issue a lot of you have mentioned here. I'm really sorry if I'll disappoint some of you, but I'll be honest, although the idea of a baby Klaus/ Caroline would be very cool, not in this situation ... I mean her getting pregnant after a drugged sex? Do you really want that for our girl and her relationship with Klaus? That way she'd always wonder if she was good enough or if he stuck around because of the baby ... No, Caroline, and Klaus, deserve better than that ... Maybe there will be a baby in their way, eventually, but at this point they have plenty to handle with just being themselves, and don't worry you guys, I'll try really hard not to disappoint ;)

SO PLEASE KEEP ON REVIEWING, AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR MARRIAGE BLISS ;) ... This is just the beginning ...:p

P.S. A small spoiler alert, a very important character will be introduced in the next chapter, and I'm veeery looking forward to that :)