Chapter 7
Avidya
A week went by way too fast for my liking. Zachariah, although housebound, was on the phone in his office most of the passing days. He was busy answering emails and questions about the club. His club wasn’t the normal type of drinking and dancing club. Oh no. His club was strictly towards the BDSM lifestyle. One that I was not looking forward to visiting again anytime soon. The one time was more than enough.
He once explained to me that BDSM was practiced more often these days and too many people took advantage of the terms to cause physical and mental harm to trusted partners. With his club, people who were intrigued got to see firsthand what it was like before trying it out. There was one class a month that members were able to take to learn and explore the lifestyle in a safe, comfortable place, at a level for beginners.
The BDSM lifestyle went beyond the bedroom. There’s just so much more about the whole lifestyle than what met the eye. So much more. Even I didn’t know half of what went on in this lifestyle. But I was learning.
Just because I was willing to have this type of lifestyle with Zachariah, it didn’t mean I wanted to witness others doing it firsthand. I was good where I was, learning at the pace that he set out for me. I was perfectly comfortable being here, letting Zachariah take the reins to bring me into his world, one step at a time.
Zachariah had promised that he wouldn’t take it further than what I was capable of; that we’d go at my pace. He knew me better than I knew myself. He knew just how far to push me to get the desired results.
His way of life was not abusive, as many people think. BDSM is a lifestyle, one in which I was willing to let him take care of the worries and stress. A way of life where I still had complete say over what I wanted, but respected his concerns for my own health and life. It’s not about letting him tell me what to wear or what to do. But, allowing him to advise me on matters, which I will take into consideration constantly.
It’s just like having a normal relationship. There would always be give and take, no matter what. There would be communication, trust, and love. Everything any relationship would have. It was just a step up.
Today, Zachariah made sure he was free to take me to the doctor’s office to get this dang cast off, and then to the courthouse. I was excited and nervous at the same time.
No one but Travis and Jonas knew of our plans since they would both be coming along for safety reasons. Zachariah wasn’t going to let anyone get an upper hand on either of us if he could help it. It wasn’t often that Zachariah left the house without one or two of his men anyway.
Yes, I was a bit nervous to leave the house with him, knowing what had happened the last time we were in a car together. My heart anxiously beat in my chest. Of course, Zachariah was able to calm my fears, like always.
“They won’t try it again, at least not the same way,” he said as he ushered me out of the house and towards the car that was parked in the garage. Not that the way his words were spoken put me at ease. I knew that whoever wanted us dead would try again sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.
There were at least five cars parked perfectly in the huge garage. One would think he loved his cars more than his family. But I knew otherwise. He loved his family so much, he’d die for them.
He’d die for me.
Today, I was wearing simple black leggings and a long shirt that fit my form. It was one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing I had. I had a long white sweater over the top to ward off the chill that was in the air since it was late September. I felt ready for what the day would offer, excited even. My hair was down, and I even wore just a touch of makeup to make my eyes pop more than normal. I wanted this day to be memorable, even with us eloping.
The storm that would come afterward was not one I was looking forward to but would have to face sooner or later. Many people didn’t like the Melendez family, and Zachariah had many enemies. Not only would his parents be upset about our impromptu plans, but so would everyone that hated this man I was about to marry.
Today, I would be marrying Zachariah, my one true love. Today, I would become his wife once and for all.
Nothing would stand in our way.
Once we were both in the car, we were on our way to the doctor’s office. Zachariah made sure to drive slightly more carefully. He watched every car that passed us with hawk-like eyes. He didn’t trust anyone, and I felt the same way. I assumed he was used to not trusting just anyone.
I couldn’t help but jump as a horn honked from somewhere behind us. My heart was in my chest, beating way too fast.
“We can’t always be in separate cars,” Zachariah said once we finally pulled into a parking space, almost like he was relieved we made it. “I know it’s not logical, but that was one of the most stressful drives ever.”
“Next time, how about we just try to not think about it. Let life take its course?” I asked out. I glanced over at him. Every time I looked at him, my heart filled with love. He was dressed in blue jeans and dark blue button up shirt, which was left untucked.
“We can try,” he agreed, shooting me a smile. “Now let's get that cast off.”
After getting out of the car, Zachariah took hold of my hand and led the way into the doctor’s office. There wasn’t a very long wait to get in and see the doctor, who didn’t seem all that impressed I was a week early.
“I may have pulled some strings,” Zachariah whispered to me as I was called back by Kenna, the same girl that Travis was currently dating. I had learned just a month ago that Kenna was a Domme, the female version of a Dom, and Travis adored her. Not that he’d say anything about it, mind you.
“Hello, Avidya,” she greeted me with a smile. Her skin was slightly tanner than my own. Her brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, showcasing her green eyes.
“You shouldn’t be driving yet,” Kenna stated with a hard look Zachariah’s way.
“Haven’t had any headaches for five days,” Zachariah said, squaring his shoulders. “I see no reason why I can’t leave my house in my own car.”
Kenna didn’t fight anymore, knowing it was useless. She also wouldn’t put up with being told what to do. Two strong willed people in one room always tested some sort of invisible boundary.
I simply gave her a small smile, hoping to just hurry this up and get it over with.
Kenna, sensing that we were in a hurry, was able to get everything needed to take off the dirty, faded, white cast that was on my arm. It was a bit noisy as she got the saw, and began to cut through the cast. When it was finally off, my skin was wrinkly, but yet it felt so much better. It was like my arm could breathe in new, fresh air.
“You have to be careful,” she warned. She cut her eyes to Zachariah as she spoke. “Do not put too much pressure on it, since another week would have been better. If it wasn’t for this man here, it would have been on even longer, most likely.”
I could hear the unsaid words about taking our bedroom activities too far to cause my arm more damage. Little did she know that we hadn’t done anything of that sort—yet. I was ready for that step. Ready to fully give myself to the man that I loved.
“It’s only half a week, by the way,” Zachariah pointed out. “And I’ll take care of her.”
“That I have no doubt about,” she said before taking herself out of the room and leaving the door open.
“Ready?” Zachariah asked, a pleased, excited smile on his lips.
“More than ever,” I returned his smile, glad that one thing was out of the way.
By the time we got to the courthouse and parked, it was just a little past noon. My palms began to sweat as we both got out of the car and met Jonas and Travis on the sidewalk.
“Ready for this to be over with?” Travis asked, shooting me his happy grin.
I had been shocked to find out that I had a half-brother, and now I couldn’t be happier. I wished that things were different, but I was happy with how things seemed to be working out.
“Yep,” I answered without a beat. I was ready to get this over with. I was ready to become Zachariah’s wife and be tied forever to him.
Ready to start becoming more.
I knew that there would be things that would be difficult for both of us to overcome, but that was all part of being married.
Somehow, Zachariah was able to get ahold of a bouquet of mixed roses tied with a simple dark blue ribbon.
“A bride should always have flowers on her wedding day,” he said, handing them to me before we began the walk up to the front doors.
Zachariah had made us an appointment, so there wasn’t much waiting time, luckily. We only had to wait about ten minutes before we were allowed into the small room that had four rows of seats on each side.
There was no walking down the aisle, no music or fancy decorations. It was just the judge, Travis, and Jonas as well as us two who would be married within minutes.
Simple.
Just like what I wanted from the start. This here, was more me than some fancy gathering that was overdone and overpriced.
Travis made us stop and took a few pictures of Zachariah and I together with a mumbled explanation that we may want pictures to look back on later. He seemed happy enough to not be a part of the actual picture taking.
I knew I should have felt the need to have my mother here, or even my best friend if she was still alive. But I didn’t. I didn’t need anyone but Zachariah beside me. Sure, maybe Zachariah’s parents would have enjoyed being here, but just the ones here today were more than enough.
There was no talk of why we’re here. Apparently, the Judge didn’t care as he got right down to business. I had a good guess that Zachariah had paid him off to keep this quiet and to get it done as fast as possible. I definitely wouldn’t put it past him.
Zachariah and I stood facing one another, hands clasped together, repeating our vows when prompted. There was a smile permanently plastered on my face as we stared at each other, mirroring how happy we both were.
When the judge spoke the words, “You may now kiss the bride,” Zachariah didn’t waste any time to crush his lips to mine, claiming me as his own.
He now officially had tied me to him forever.