Eric stood on the roof of the Erudite skyscraper, wearing a full tux, and trying not to focus on how hot it was. It was already November, and it shouldn't have been as warm as it was today. Usually, they saw snow by this time of the year, but it had been a brutal summer which made for a brutal Fall and a warm winter.

The sun sat heavy in the sky, changing the color of everything it touched to a soft golden-orange hue. He looked from the setting sun to the small crowd that sat before him. It was his wedding day, and he stood in front of a mass of strangers. There were faction leaders, some Dauntless officers, and a few witnesses from each faction. In the center of the first row was Jeanine.

'Of course.' Eric thought to himself.

She stared at Eric with a slight smirk on her stern face. Her intense gaze sent chills down his spine making him look away from her. He looked over to the door that opened to the rooftop stairwell and impatiently waited for his bride to come out. This was not how either of them had imagined this day going.

He began to wonder what Jeanine had put his girl through and how much longer was it going to be until she arrived. Eric started to think about how Jeanine had treated V. Ever since she had joined Dauntless, Jeanine took great pleasure in torturing the poor girl. Which made him start thinking about how it was her brother's fault, Four. Four had always been under Jeanine's review for speculation that he was Divergent. However, Jeanine could never prove it.

When V followed her brother's footsteps a year later, Jeanine watched the Eaton siblings extremely closely. However, V was not like her brother, in being Divergent. However, like her brother, V had scored so incredibly well in all her trainings that she moved up rank rather quickly within her first year. Jeanine was suspicious. When Eric had asked V to be with him, it made things a little easier. Still, Jeanine liked to make things difficult on them both.

Eric started thinking about the first time he met V, and it made him smile. He looked back out at the sun that had almost entirely dipped below the horizon. It was her very first day as a Divergent, and training started as soon as they left the ceremony. Their courage was to be tested, starting with jumping onto a moving train and ending with diving off a building wall, into the dark and unknown below.

V was the second to jump off that ledge, following right after Eric. She landed in the net next to him, practically falling on top of him. He remembered scrambling out of the net and cursing the recruit out until he saw her face. As soon as he looked into her eyes, he fell silent. After he helped her off the net she stood up against the wall, staring at him.

At first, he tried to act like he didn't notice her staring at him while he helped each recruit off the net. When the group was turning to leave, he caught a glimpse of her when she wasn't paying attention. He remembered thinking she was stunning, even in that oatmeal-colored Abnegation clothing.

He remembered still trying not to give into her. It lasted all of one month… Shortly after she was promoted to best officer in her group. That meant that she got to work beside Eric and his team, every day.

Eric snapped back to reality, still staring at the stairwell door. He was running out of patience and Jeanine could tell. Eric nervously turned back to look at the officiant, then the crowd, and finally back at the door. He nervously tucked his hands in his suit pant pockets and tried to ignore how uncomfortable his formal clothes were. The whole time he could feel Jeanine staring at him and it felt like something was constricting around his throat. He stuck a finger under his bowtie trying to get it off his skin for a moment. Finally, the door slammed open, and everyone froze.

He expected to see his wife step out but instead, two Dauntless officers walked out first. Peter was one of them and it made Eric's blood boil to see that punk. The stupid kid wanted nothing more than to be Eric's best friend and Eric found him rather irritating. More so, Eric didn't trust Peter to be alone with his wife. Not that V couldn't hold her own with him, but Eric knew he could be a real creep.

Finally, a skinny young woman in an all-black wedding dress followed behind them. Her face was covered with a black lace veil and Eric's heart skipped a beat. Inside he wanted to bolt to her, scoop her up in his arms, and run down the open staircase with her.

She was breathtaking. The strapless dress perfectly wrapped around her fit body, dragging a small train behind it. Her dark brunette hair was braided down her back, her veil sitting perfectly over her eyes. As she got closer, he could see her shaking hands grasping her red rose bouquet with white knuckles. She slowly moved in the pair of heels Jeanine forced her to wear, trying to focus on not tripping.

'It is part of the ensemble.' Jeanine's voice rang in V's head as she scuffed her left heel against the ground for the millionth time.

V worried with each step she took that she'd would fall, especially with no one walking beside her. She had already tripped up the stairs three times. Of course, none of the assholes with her had helped her, not even Peter who kissed Eric's ass. They just ushered her along, making her scrape her knees and tear the bottom of her dress. It had been a very stressful 32-hours for her.

As she got to the alter, Eric reached out his hand for her to take. She let one hand go from the bouquet, tightly grasping his open hand as he pulling herself up to the small alter. As they stood face to face, V stared straight into her husband's eyes through her veil. They could both feel Jeanine's cold eyes locked onto them and it made V want to throw up.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered in her ear, making her weakly smile. She was so anxious. Not because she was getting married, but because of the circumstances of their marriage. She had always imagined them being surrounded by friends and loved ones, not a gathering of political pawns.

"I love you, so much." She whispered to him, not letting his hand go.

"We are gathered here today—" The officiant began the ceremony how most traditional weddings did. He droned on through the short vows the couple had agreed to before officially marrying them. Eric and V chose to keep the ceremony as short as possible, knowing that their crowd would be a bunch of strangers that only cared about witnessing the marriage of Eric Coulter and V Eaton. They didn't care about how nice it was.

The rings were then presented, and at the instruction of the officiant the couple placed them on one another's hand. Eric admired his wife's new ring, smirking to himself at how well he had done. In the center was a very large and very real black diamond. Around the edges were blue and white sapphires, embedded into the metal ring. It promised to turn heads, no doubt. It had also cost Eric almost everything he had... Most of his savings had been blown on the ring, but worth every cent in his mind.

V stared at the ring speechless. It was her first time seeing it and she had never seen something so beautiful. She never thought she would be deserving of something so expensive. She instantly burst into tears looking up from the ring and at Eric.

"Do you like it?" He asked her, holding back his own emotions. She nodded quickly, wiping away her tears, further smudging her makeup.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." The officiant concluded as everyone else stood up and clapped. Eric pulled his bride's veil back and gave her a small but passionate kiss, holding her shaking body in his arms. As soon as he pulled away, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face deep into his chest, sobbing. Eric held her tight, feeling his bride's ribcage quiver with each pathetic sob.

He carefully helped her down off the stage and over to the side as people filed off the rooftop and through the door. V looked up at him, wiping the running makeup away from her under eyes. Eric knew the wedding hadn't been ideal for either of them, but he didn't like seeing her this upset on their big day.

"Are you sorry we did it at all?" He asked her and she violently shook her head 'no.'

"Of course not!" She whimpered. "I have just never had anything as good as you." Eric was quiet, thinking about what she had said. He never thought anyone would say something like that about him. "I'm sorry, I'm being so emotional. I didn't sleep at all last night." She sniffled.

"What did she do to you, V?" He whispered, just as they heard Jeanine walking up behind them. They turned around to see Jeanine, her lawyer, and her assistant standing behind them. The lawyer had their marriage license on a clipboard in his left hand and a pen in his right. Jeanine was ready for them to sign their lives to her. It was giving V anxiety while Eric developed another knot in his throat.

"Mr. & Mrs. Coulter, we are all witnesses here today as you legitimize your marriage." The lawyer extended his clipboard out and Eric took it without hesitation. The whole time Jeanine was staring at V who was still obviously upset but no longer crying.

Eric firmly pressed the pen into the paper, carving his signature into the document before handing it over to his new bride. V's shaking hand wrote a little less firmly, but she got it signed. She handed it back to Jeanine's lawyer who clicked the pen closed, smiled, and walked away.

"Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Coulter!" Jeanine clapped, watching Eric wrap an arm around V. Eric knew he had just signed the rest of their lives away to Jeanine, but he didn't care anymore. She already owned him for the most part. Besides, he knew he wouldn't have to put up with it for much longer. He had a plan, that only he and Four knew about. A plan to leave. A plan no one would expect.

"You have five days. You may go where you'd like and do what you please. Your car is parked by the curb and your dog is waiting inside. I will see you Wednesday morning, in the archery hall. Don't be late!" She ordered them, as she turned around and left the couple alone on the roof. The stairwell door slammed shut and they both let out a heavy breath. They were finally alone.

"It's gonna be okay, Doll." Eric whispered as they leaned against each other, watching the sky turn black. A warm breeze blew over them and V could already feel herself falling asleep. She couldn't wait to change out of these clothes and take a nap in their car. After a moment Eric turned to her and looked back at the door. "Shall we?" He asked as he extended out a hand to her and she took it.

They quietly made their way off the rooftop and down two flights of stairs before exiting out into an elevator lobby. Eric pressed the down button, and they waited ten seconds before one of the elevators chimed open. They made their way into the mirrored car and rode down to the lobby as V looked at her face in the mirror to wipe off her smudged makeup. The car came to a gentle stop and opened its doors to a massive marble lobby. As they stepped out their black clothing instantly attracted the attention of everyone inside. V gripped Eric's upper arm with both of her hands as she limped alongside him as fast as she could. As they passed through, she grew more and more tense hearing everyone softly muttering their names. Eric dragged them into the massive revolving door and V felt like she was running out of air. They emerged outside and she took a deep breath in, looking around to see their car parked on the curb.

V reached down and snatched off her scuffed up heels, shrinking a couple of inches beside her new husband. He looked down at her and then back at the car. One of Jeanine's minions stood beside the vehicle, holding a freakishly large bottle of champagne. It was obnoxiously large and adorned with a dramatic blue bow. Sticking his head out the backseat passenger side window was a beautiful Belgian Malinois, anxious panting as he waited for his humans.

"Yarp! Yarp! Yarp!"

He let out a few anxious barks at the sight of his humans, very excited to see V again in two days. He was joined at the hip to V, hardly ever being apart from her. V broke free from Eric's side and rushed to the dog, wrapping her hands around his head and scratching behind his ears.

"Chicago!" She smiled as the dog happily licked her face. She kissed the top of her dog's head before quickly climbing into the back of the car with the dog. She wanted to get her dress off as soon as possible.

Eric greeted the scrawny kid standing beside the car who was wearing a neatly pressed blue suit. In his hands was what Eric assumed to be their wedding present. Eric had seen this kid with Jeanine before, having picked up that he was one of her apprentices. The young boy nervously smiled at Eric, timidly holding out a large champagne bottle. Eric snatched the bottle from the kids' hands, making him jump, and Eric devilishly smiled. When he was angry, he got cruel, and the sight of this kid holding an offensively expensive bottle of alcohol outside of his car set him off.

"A gift from Jeanine?" Eric snarled, looking over the bottle in his hands. The kid nervously nodded, and Eric softly chuckled out loud to himself. "How kind of her." He sneered. "Tell Jeanine," Eric leaned down in the kid's ear, twisting his lips into a cruel smile. "That I said, thank you." He stood back up and looked down at the young apprentice who was obviously uncomfortable but trying to keep his ground.

Eric scoffed turning away from the kid and looking at Chicago, who still had his head hanging out the open car window. He walked up to the dog, rubbing him behind the ears, and walking around to get in the driver's seat.

When he opened the door and stepped up into the cab, he saw V had already changed. Eric rolled his eyes as he took pieces of the tux off, dropping them in the street. She was wearing his favorite hoodie, as usual, and she was taking her hair out of the braid. She rolled her window down and stuffed her torn dress out the passenger window of the car just as he stepped in.

"Thanks for asking." He teased her, getting into the car and starting the engine. She bit her bottom lip, gleaming back at him.

"I figured you wouldn't mind." She smiled, snuggling herself into the oversized hoodie. She was adorable, but it always drove him crazy when she stole his clothes. Deep down he didn't really care that much. It was only inconvenient when he wanted to wear a particular shirt or hoodie…

"Jeanine gave us this." Eric flatly said, handing V the massive champagne bottle.

"Nice" She held up the giant bottle, examining it over before tossing it into the backseat and crushing the bow. V looked around in the car as Eric pulled away from the curb, and she wondered where they were going. She sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, her arm reached across the center console with her hand on his right thigh.

It didn't take Eric long to get them out of the city, and as soon as he did, he pulled out a joint from the sunglasses holder mounted in his headliner. He quickly found a lighter in his center console and sparked the white paper roll up. After a few puffs he handed it to V who took two small drags before sending herself into a coughing fit. Eric laughed watching her flop around in her seat, rolling the window down for more fresh air. He took the joint back and took another long pull off it as she dug around for her water bottle.

"Where are we going?" She shakily asked, still trying to get herself under control and taking some sips of water. Her whole face started running and she sounded like she was crying. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her sleeve, looking at the GPS coordinates her husband set. It was just numbers.

"You'll see. It's a good surprise." He smiled at her as they turned down an even more rugged road and the car began to bump along the rocky pathway. He was excited to show her his private cabin, that he shared with one other top officer.

Built for two at most, the cabin was off grid making it a survivalist's dream. In the last few months Eric had made a lot of secret trips to and from it, timing himself and checking for trackers every time. In the last month he had been three times, and this was his fourth trip. More interestingly he realized that a secret entrance to the underground society existed only a few hundred yards from the cabin itself. Something Four had told him about.

As they continued driving down the road the sky began to darken and Eric quietly worried about it raining on them. They were ten minutes from the tiny lodge when the sky opened, and it started pouring. A white sheet of rain fell over the car and the surrounding area. Immediately the muddy road began flash flooding and the car's windshield wipers went into overdrive.

"I wonder how heavy this will get." V asked, as they continued through the storm. Eric had driven these roads so often, that he had no issue pushing his SUV through the torrential rains. V looked out the window at the flooded landscape and wondered if they would come across any of the rumored commune camps, made up of factionless individuals. Some were even suspicious that there were a couple camps near a break in the walls, helping people escape the factions. V found that hard to believe, considering how tight they patrolled the walls.

Eric looked over at V who was deep in thought, snuggled up in her seat. He thought about how lucky he was to have her be entirely his. Before V, Eric didn't think he would ever fall in love with someone. Or even, that anyone could fall in love with him. Especially after considering how angry and cold he had become after Jeanine's brainwashing.

"I love you." He spoke quietly, extending his arm over the center console and placing his hand on the back of her neck. He moved his thumb up and down her neck and shoulders, making her feel calm and safe. The car turned down another dirt road that was surrounded with towering, lush trees. Eric turned on his car's headlights, illuminating the dark road ahead. They continued along the uneven dirt road in the darkness, rain steadily dripping from the wet canopy of trees above. Eric slowed the car down and they pulled up a slight incline, the tiny cabin sitting on top of the small hill.

"Wow." V let out an airy gasp, impressed by the tiny cabin. Eric turned off the car, its headlights still illuminating the front face of the structure. She looked from the scenic cabin to her new husband, who was looking at her with admiration. "How did you find this?" She asked, still in disbelief.

"I built it." He smiled, going to open his car door.

"You built this?" She was even more in disbelief. This didn't feel real.

"You ready to make a run for it?" He asked, just as the first flash of lightning filled the sky followed by growling thunder. She nodded, pushing open her door at the same time as him. They stepped out of the car and onto the muddy ground as Chicago leapt out behind V and they all made a run for it. They dashed towards the front door that Eric quickly unlocked with a house key, V had never seen before. She wondered how he had managed to keep this place quiet for so long.

Eric pushed the creaking door open to the small dim cabin, stepping inside first. He walked over to a fixture on the wall and slowly lifted the glass shell up with one hand. With his other hand he dug around in his pocket for the lighter, carefully lighting it. The cabin filled with warm dim light from the flame attached to the wall and V could see around the room.

On the right side of the small lodge was the kitchenette and to the left was a tiny sitting space with a thin black furnace. Above everything was a small loft with a mattress big enough to fit two people comfortably. Against the back wall was the toilet room complete with a small glass shower. Eric placed his hand on his wife's shoulder as she turned back to look at him, still in awe.

"I'll unpack the car, you wait here." He whispered, pulling her into his arms and kissing her on the lips. She pulled into him harder, reaching up to run her fingers through his short hair and trying to tug at the ends. She let him go after a moment and smiled. The candlelight danced against the left side of his face, and it made him look sexy and mysterious.

"I had a better idea." She whispered, smiled temptingly, and rushed up the ladder to the loft bed. Eric made sure he locked the door behind him before chasing up after her. Chicago sat down at the base of the ladder, gazing upwards at the spot where his humans had disappeard. He let out a single whine before lying down on the floor and closing his eyes.