chapter thirty
reveries
[anya rose steinburg-mendes]
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when people say that everything happens for a reason, i never used to believe them, but after hearing jasmine and shawns conversation, i genuinely do believe that this marriage between shawn and i is trying to tell me something.

whether that is that i'm supposed to stay with shawn, or move on, i don't really care. i guess i do to an extent, but at the end of the day, this marriage is telling me something. i just have to figure out what it is.

"are you ready?" shawn asks me with a small smile, stepping into the bedroom part of his hotel room.

"yeah, let's just get this over with," i sigh, not wanting to face my manager, and andrew, about this marriage which shawn and i stupidly did.

"i'm sure it won't be that bad, after all, both of them love how we got married all of a sudden," shawn jokes, trying to make light of the situation. i scoff, rolling my eyes, before slinging my camera around my neck, shawn agreeing to come out and take photos with me.

"shawn, i don't think you understand this, we're married," i say to him. "like, i'm your wife, you're my husband, legally too!" he bursts out into a fit of laughter, hunching over, as he continues to laugh. "stop laughing," i moan, pouting at him.

"well then," he chuckles, standing up straight. "ready, wife?"

"let's get married!" shawn suggests, as we pass a chapel, our drunk minds taking the better of us. "let's go get clothes, and rings, and cake, and condoms, and let's get married!"

"shawn, slow down," i giggle, swaying our joint hands.

"you said for us to do something crazy, so let's do it, let's get married!"

i snap back into reality, gasping softly, before slapping shawns arm. "you idiot!" i shout, as he chuckles.

"what did i do now?" he asks, sarcastically. "i swear to god, i'm gonna need to start wearing armour around you."

"you suggested it! you suggested for us to get married!" i burst.

"you went along with it, so," shawn shrugs, looking at me, a smile on his lips. "look, listen to me, after a year, this will all be over. just deal with me as your husband for a year, we'll then get a divorce, and you'll be free to do whatever again." i sigh gently at him, folding my arms, and nodding. "great, so now that we've agreed on something, let's go."

i can't help but to think back to the conversation shawn and jasmine had. does he really want to stay married to me? does he really still love me? after all these years?

"shawn, anya! come in, come in!" andrew greets, as shawn and i look at him confused, considering just this morning, he was yelling at us. "an interviewers here, stay calm," he whispers to shawn and i, before opening the main two doors to the hotel suite. shawn and i immediately look at andrew, glaring at him. "it was e! news, i couldn't say no."

"well i could've," shawn mutters, before plastering on one of the fakest smiles i've ever seen him pull off. i hold in a laugh, before andrew moves to one side, and shawn immediately goes to hold my hand. "hi there," shawn says to the blonde interviewer, as she smiles an even faker smile back.

"hey guys!" she chirps, her high pitched voice irritating to my ears. "how are you two after your wild night?" i catch sight of lucy, who's laughing to herself, andrew sniggering next to her. i mentally roll my eyes, before smiling at the interviewer.

"oh, we're great," i answer, nudging shawns side. "definitely great," shawn sits down on the armchair next to the blonde, leaving no seating space for myself. "shawn, move your fat ass!"

"chill darling, you can always sit here," he pats his lap, as i immediately scoff, but then realise the public think shawn and i are madly in love, and because of that, we got married. not because we were drunk. i hold in an irritated sigh, before carefully sitting down on shawns lap. his arms find their way around my waist, and i hold in another sigh, knowing that shawns probably enjoying getting on my nerves.

"so when did you two decide to get married?" the interviewer asks, as shawn and i let out breathy chuckles.

"to be completely honest, i saw her a couple week ago, and realised how much i missed out on, and that i was a complete dick, so we decided to go to vegas and get hitched," he laughs. "i know it's not the wedding anya and i anticipated to ever happen, but i'm glad we were able to do it this way, although we did miss out on a first dance."

"oh shut up, you can't dance, so i don't know why you're talking about our first dance," i chuckle, as shawn gasps sarcastically. i hold in a laugh, rolling my eyes.

"i'll have you know that barcelona 2017 showed differently," he chuckles, as i smile, remembering the memory of the first proper kiss shawn and i both shared.

"hmm, if you call standing around and bouncing good dancing, then okay," i chuckle, as shawn scoffs again, before chuckling.

"so, you guys dated a few years ago, and then broke up, and all of a sudden you're married? shawn, what made you want to marry anya?"

"well, we dated two years ago," shawn begins. "if i'm honest, i never fell out of love with her. i was always in love, and i was just too blind to see that," i look down at my lap, smiling gently, and my cheeks holding a pink flush. "you may have read the book i, well we, came out with shortly after the breakup. anya and i wrote it, having a sudden surge in energy and writing, and i still wanted to publish is, so i did. the main protagonist, sam, is obsessed with alyssa for a good reason. i was in the exact same situation with anya, it's really weird, and definitely psychologically exhausting, but it's worth it."

"your book, now that you two are back together, are you planning a book tour?"

"i mean," i start, looking at lucy and andrew who are eagerly nodding. "why not? it'll be great to travel around and promote the book as a married couple."

"so why vegas? why not a big wedding somewhere else?"

"well vegas was fast," shawn chuckles. "weddings take planning, and the vegas one, we literally got rings, a dress and a tux, her flowers, and got married."

"so that's definitely fast pace," she comments, making shawn and i laugh awkwardly. "it's obvious that you two have lots of chemistry, anya, when did you realise that you love shawn?"

"that's a deep question," i chuckle, hiding my embarrassment. i take a small breath, trying to avoid my feelings that are suddenly rushing back to me. "he was there for me when no one else was, and still stuck up with my ignorant and annoying self," i say, as shawn scoffs, before listening intently. "someone told me that when you love someone, you can't stop thinking about them. i realised that i couldn't stop thinking about shawn." i look down at shawn, seeing a small smile toying at the corners of his lips.

"i love you too," shawn chuckles, making my heart leap.

this year was going to be interesting, to say so the least.
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sorry for the short chapter, this was more of a filler than anything