Chapter 6: Selfish (Alexander's POV)

"Marry him, and you don't," my mother shrugged. 

Aria opened her mouth to retort but she snapped it shut. "Huh," she mumbled more to herself. 

No, no, no, no, no. She can't say yes. She can't agree to this. Once she agrees, I won't have a choice anymore. I'll have to marry her. It's like peer pressure but with family. Once she agrees, they'll all agree and then they'll make me agree. It would be something I'd just have to do for the name of my family. And while I understand how important that is for my family, it is not suitable for me. 

My eyes met Aria's and I knew she was about to agree. How she was doing it so impulsively, I have no idea. "Don't-" I started. 

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll marry him." 

I sighed, running a frustrated hand through my hair. "How the hell can you agree to that so impulsively? Don't you realize that-" 

"She knows what she's doing," my dad cut in. "She's made her decision, don't influence it, please," he sighed. If somebody sighs one more time, I swear to god. 

I walked over to her but she backed away from me. I groaned, keeping my composure the best I could. "Why the hell are you agreeing to this? You just said you don't want to marry me upstairs," I said through gritted teeth. 

She shrugged, "As the king said, I get a better life living here than the one I have now. And even safety." 

"Safety?" my mom questioned. 

She cleared her throat, "Let's just say I've stolen from some people I shouldn't have stolen from." 

"All right, stop," I said. "Stop, stop, stop. I will not marry her, no. This has absolutely no logic behind it, I cannot marry her! I don't even know her!" 

"Give us a minute," my dad said to Aria. 

"Well, where do I...?" she trailed off questioningly. 

"Mr. Harry," my father nodded. Mr. Harry then guided her out into the backyard and kept her company there while my parents both turned to me. 

"I can't-" 

"Alexander, just think about it," my mom said quickly. "Just think about it and take your time. Weigh the pros and cons." 

"This isn't about the pros and cons! You're asking me to marry a thief that I caught on the street that I know nothing about!" 

"She's more than just a thief, Alexander, get that thought out of your head," my dad sighed. "She's a human being too. She's been a thief for years in our kingdom but nobody reports her, there must be a reason for that, right? She must have her reasons, try to understand her. Try to know her," he explained. 

"But I don't want to know her. I have no desire to." 

"Then build the desire to," my mom shrugged. 

"Are you serious?" I scoffed. 

"Alexander... She is loved by everyone in the kingdom. Even though she robs people. You understand how absurd that is, don't you? And because people love her in Azura, you could get yourself and our family in a lot of trouble for the harm you've caused her. It's too risky. Just make a compromise for your family's sake." 

"This compromise will last me my entire life, you realize that, right?" I asked. 

"You may actually end up liking her," my mother shrugged. "She seems like a nice person. I'm sure she's been through her share of trouble which has made her the person she is. Just think about it, please? And if it really doesn't work, if you can't tolerate her presence, we'll have the marriage annulled." 

"She agreed as well," my dad stated. 

"Because she's selfish. She's marrying me for the perks that she receives, no other reason." 

"She is right in her place. She has nobody to think of other than herself. You do. You have your entire family's name to think of. She's doing what she's doing for the one person in her life, herself. You have many more to think of. Think about this logically." 

"She was selfish about it, why can't I be the same?" 

"Because she has nobody but herself," my mom said. "You can get it annulled if it doesn't work. But at least for the time being, to stop the accusations and questions, just marry her. You're saving her too, you realize that, right?" 

I frowned in confusion. 

"She has nobody, Alexander. Just be there for her, we all can be there for her. Even if it's just temporary. She's an orphan," my mother's voice went down to a whisper. "Have some sympathy." 

I sat down, putting my head in my hands and thinking about this. Really thinking about this. "I can't tolerate her," I shook my head. 

"You don't have to be with her every moment, she can get her own room," my mom suggested. 

"No," my dad interrupted. "That won't be possible." 

"Why not?" my mom and I asked in sync. 

"The housemaids, the guards, everybody talks to others in this kingdom. It's too risky. They could reveal the truth to anybody and then the situation will just grow further out of hand." 

"Why are you both taking this so technically? Is it really such a huge deal?" I groaned. 

My mother smacked me upside the head. "You hurt her!" 

"She stole from me!" 

"That doesn't matter, Alexander!" she said through gritted teeth. "You never touch a woman like that, I taught you that from a young age. I know you've had a temper since..." she trailed off, knowing better than to mention the past. "But get it together. It's been two years." 

I took my bottom lip between my teeth, falling deep into thought. 

"Plus, I'm sure it'll be good for the kingdom to lose such a good thief. She's too good at it," my dad sighed, sitting down. "I wonder how she does it..." 

"Yeah, how do you think she..." My mother stopped herself, realizing that they were genuinely just interested in Aria.

Everybody in this goddamn kingdom wants to understand and know Aria. Because she makes no sense. She isn't from here, as I just found out. She knows every corner of this town, she can steal anything from anybody, but she only does it when she wants to. What kind of thief is she? 

"You're asking me to compromise," I stated. 

"It may only be temporary," my dad shrugged. 

"And you promise that if I want the marriage annulled, it will be annulled?" 

They nodded together. 

"Fine," I mumbled, standing up with a huff. "Fine, I'll marry her." They both looked at me, extremely surprised. "What? Don't make me change my mind." 

"No, no, no. You agreed, that's a good thing. We'll start preparing. The wedding needs to happen by this weekend. We'll prepare everything, don't worry. Go check on her," my dad said quickly. 

I sighed, turning around and going to check on her like I was asked to. When I got to the backyard, I saw her standing there, talking to Mr. Harry. He was smiling and nodding. "Do you have a penny, Mr. Harry?" He fished one out of his pocket and handed it to her. She took it between her palms and then rubbed them together for a minute. "Countdown from three for me," she chuckled. 

And he did. The second he said, "One!" she pulled her hands away from each other. Empty hands. "My penny," Mr. Harry mumbled. 

She laughed, rubbing her hands together again. "Countdown from three for me." 

"Three... two... one..." he said slowly. 

She lifted one hand to his ear and snapped, bringing out the penny. "Your penny," she grinned. 

His face lit up while he took it, eyeing it carefully while grinning. She smiled to herself while looking around the field as Mr. Harry tucked the penny into his pocket. "You're a nice girl, sweetheart. Why steal?" he asked. 

"To survive, Mr. Harry," she sighed, rubbing her hands against her pants. "To survive." 

I walked over and Mr. Harry spotted me first. "Oh, Cher!" he mumbled. He's French. Fun fact. 

She chuckled, squinting under the bright sun. "Tu as français?" she laughed. 

"Oui," he said, extremely surprised that she knew French. So was I. 

She glanced at me before turning back to Mr. Harry. She pointed to me. "Connaît-il le français?" She just asked him if I know French. He glanced at me. "Parce que il c'est une bite." 

I rolled my eyes. "Je connais le français." I do know french. "And I don't appreciate you calling me a dick in French." 

"I can call you a dick in English if you'd like," she shrugged. 

Mr. Harry excused himself and left. 

"I need to talk to you," I nodded. 

"About?" she asked, tucking her hands into her back pocket which I now noticed had a stack of cash sitting in it. 

"Did you steal that?" I asked. 

"None of your business," she shrugged. "What do you want to talk about?" 

I walked over, standing in front of her. "We are getting married."

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Chapter 6

someone recommend good crime documentaries/movies to me, please

next chapter: police