ARIELLA'S POV

THE reality of me being married to a total stranger finally sank into my brain. I was ready to be Steve's wife cause I knew him or at least I thought I did. However, I was married to this stranger who I just met last night. I was not the kind of person that made rash decisions but in less than a day I had broken two major rules.

First, I might have killed my ex.

Second, I married a total stranger.

Fuck. Who is this new Ariella? Cause I'm not sure it's me anymore. I used to always be in control but right now, I had no control over what was to come and I hated not being in control of my future. What on earth had I done?

We were heading to Sylaq's home. We're both in silence on the way to his house, wherever that was. I just hoped that Sylaq's hometown was adventurous, exciting, and beautiful. Dobana was just a boring and small city, there weren't many fun things to do there but maybe now I'd get to experience a whole different world. Ugh, Ho could I be so selfish thinking of my new world when I ended someone's world yesterday? Not just anyone, my ex. I really cared deeply for Steve but I feel the need to block his memories from my life. Perhaps, he didn't even die. I held on to that uncertainty deeply.

"Do you regret it?" Sylaq asked out of the blue, forcing me out of my thoughts.

"Hopefully, I don't," I responded frantically. I was sure he was asking about our sudden marriage. To be honest, I didn't regret it totally but I didn't know why I was feeling unprepared for what was to come. Maybe it's become I was unaware of what this new life would be like.

"MRS. Steel, I promise you won't. We will reach our home in a while," he reassured, flashing one of his dazzling smiles. He also seemed to be in deep thoughts but he wouldn't share with me. I just hoped that my choice wouldn't put me in trouble.

"Why did you propose to me? Why did you marry me? Why did you decide to spend your life with a stranger?" I threw those questions at once eagerly waiting for my answers but he didn't answer me.

"I have the right to get the answers to my questions," I pressed, not sounding desperate but clear.

"Maybe one day, I'll explain it all to you but not now," he answered with an unreadable expression.

Why was he being so mysterious?

Okay, I'm kind of regretting that I married him. I didn't want to be in any complicated relationship. This was supposed to be a fresh start for me even though I didn't deserve it. Why did I let my vulnerable self make life choices for me?

The rest of the drive was spent in pure silence. Sylaq made a few turns and entered a very big city. The city was filled with a lot of people mostly dressed in black but they looked beautiful. Something was odd though, the energy in this city just seemed so different. I couldn't quite explain it. It didn't feel as though I traveled to a city rather it felt as though I was transported to a different universe entirely. Oh shit, where the hell am I?

"MRS. Steel, we're here," Sylaq grinned, stopping in front of a very huge palace. I bit my tongue, killing the ridiculous thought.

I didn't know that we had palaces or even practiced royalty in this part of the world. The palace was grand and exotic, and massive power was reflected all over the great walls. The palace stood taller than any other building that I'd ever seen.

Okay, I hadn't seen many buildings but there was no doubt that this palace was no ordinary building.

Diamond and gold were the colors that qualified the building. A huge group of security guards was seen at the entrance. They were dressed in black uniforms with gold badges pinned to their shirts. They looked very strong, perhaps they weren't guards but soldiers. Well, they were definitely good-looking and possessed this sort of glow. Sylaq also had this glow that just seemed more than ordinary.

So if Sylaq lived here, it meant that he could be a royal member but I didn't see a crown on his head. I was feeling dumb to know about this fact after marriage. It's unwise, stupid, and super creepy to marry a stranger even though he saved your life and I never pictured myself as someone that would make that mistake but I did.

"You live here?" I finally asked, uncertainty obvious in my voice.

"Yep! This is Mount Evie, my house, my palace, my home sorry I mean this is our home now," Sylaq said with a wider grin and I was like wow but couldn't you have at least told me this earlier? Still, I was kind of excited to be moving in here. The entire outlook was just adorably beautiful and I could take pictures with my camera. Right, I would have to get a new camera and a new phone but I'm not sure about the phone part yet. I bet this town's gonna be worth exploring.

We both got out of the car while the gate was opened by a security officer. The officers were sending me judgmental gazes as if they weren't expecting to see me.

Well, even I wasn't expecting me to be here.

One of the officers greeted, "my
Prince, welcome back."

Holy fuck, I got married to a real-life prince. It's exciting to be a princess as long as I still get to be a photographer slash explorer.

"MRS. Ariella Steel, welcome to Mount Evie, our home," my husband said softly while planting a sweet kiss on my lips. My eyes traveled down to my wedding ring, gauging the weight of my reality and at this point, I was overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. Sylaq was right about me labeling him as a regret.