EMMA's POV :
"How'd it go with your mom?"
Ian walked back into the room after about an hour with his mom. I nodded to Sophie and Tristan and they got up and headed outside, giving us some room.
"Not great," Ian sighed in exasperation. "Did you talk to your folks?"
I shook my head in response. "Tiff and Carrie told me they're still mad. They're waiting for me to come out with my bags so they can take me back to Georgia. I'm not gonna talk to them until they're ready to actually talk,"
Ian pulled on his tie roughly and yanked it out of his collar. He threw the thing at the couch and slumped down, groaning angrily.
"Fucking hell!" he said through gritted teeth. His hands curled into fists and he punched the wooden coffee table in fury.
* SMACK! *
I flinched instinctively as the loud smacking sound filled the room. Ian realized that he was scaring me a little. His eyes softened and his breathing calmed. He got up and strode towards me.
"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm just... I don't know what to do,"
"I know," I replied. Looking up at him, I could see the stress in his eyes and his swollen nose. I reached for his face and he flinched a little. "Is your nose okay?"
"The bleeding stopped," he shrugged.
"We should get you some ice," I turned to the minibar and raided the fridge for some ice.
This was so not how I imagined my wedding day to be. Our parents were furious at us, threatening to call the police on my future husband. Annie, our wedding planner, had to go out and do some damage control explaining to all the guests why we couldn't have a wedding today. Meanwhile, me and my almost-husband sat in a hotel room putting ice on his broken nose.
Ian was silent for a while. He looked lost in his thoughts. I tried to read his expression, but I couldn't. His eyes were cold and flat. Maybe even hopeless.
"Hey," I said softly, reaching to rub the side of his face. "What's on your mind?"
He let out another long sigh before saying, "Just trying to think of... where do we go from here,"
That was a great question. Where do we go from here? We can't go on with the wedding. I can't go back to Georgia with my parents. Should we go back to New York and continue with our lives like nothing happened? Is that even possible? Or maybe...
"What if... we just go?" I said to him.
"Go where?"
"To Italy. Let's get an earlier flight and just go. Right now!" I jumped from my seat, radiating excitement.
It was the perfect answer. We were supposed to go to Italy in a couple of days anyway. Leaving all this drama behind sounded like the perfect escape plan. We could have a whole month to ourselves to just think and cool down for a bit. Maybe by then our parents wouldn't be so mad at us anymore?
"You're not serious are you?" Ian looked at me like I was crazy.
"They're gonna tear us apart if we stay here. Let's just go, right now. Just you and me," I said reassuringly, pausing for a moment to gauge his reaction, and I asked, "What do you think?"
"I'm down... but..." he narrowed his eyes at me and said, "Are you sure?"
"Ian, look at me," I gripped his face tightly and stared at him with the most serious look I could muster. "Let's go to Italy,"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Thanks for driving us," I said to Sophie and Tristan as the car pulled up in front of the JFK airport. "You two are a lifesaver,"
Ian and I didn't waste any time. We changed out of our bloody wedding attire, packed our things, and left the hotel. We were going to take a taxi, but Sophie and Tristan were kind enough to drive us. We sneaked past everyone, especially our parents, and we just dipped.
Crazy, I know. But hey, today was all about crazy.
"Don't worry about it," Tristan said as he parked the car at the drop off point.
Ian was quick to get out of the car. He was busily moving the bags out of the trunk and Tristan went to help him. Sophie came over to me as I got out and she offered a sad smile.
"Your parents are gonna go nuts when they find out," she said cautiously.
"They already are nuts," I scoffed.
"What do you want us to tell them?" she asked again.
"The truth," I said simply. "I'm ready to talk whenever they're ready to listen,"
"Last chance to change your mind," Ian said as he arrived in front of me with our bags. "We can still go back to New York?"
"Not a chance," I said to him and grabbed my carry on.
"Have a safe trip you two," Tristan said to both Ian and me. He looked a little worried, but like a good friend, he was always supportive.
"Everything's gonna be okay," Sophie said as she pulled me into a hug. She then whispered to my ear, "You two are still my favorite couple. You'll make it through this,"
"Thanks, guys," I smiled at the two siblings. "I don't know what I'll do without you, seriously,"
Our families weren't accepting of our relationship, but thankfully my friends made up for it. I guess it's true what they say, there are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.
"I'll see you guys when we get back," I said as I hugged Sophie and Tristan for the last time.
"Good luck with everything," Tristan replied.
"Text me when you land!" Sophie exclaimed.
Ian and nodded at the both of them, waved goodbye, and walked into the airport.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After fighting with the airline clerk for half an hour, we managed to get on the next flight out to Italy. At first, she said that there were no more seats available, but I wasn't giving up so easily. The poor girl had to listen to my ranting about our crazy wedding disaster. She finally felt bad for us, so she got us on the next flight out to Paris, which will connect to a flight leaving for Florence.
Our flight wasn't for another hour, so we had some time to kill after we passed airport security. We decided to go to the best restaurant in the airport to get some dinner. Yes, we were having dinner at a Shake Shack.
I got the cheeseburger meal and Ian got the shake stack. We also got some frozen custard to share. If the circumstances were different, I would say that this was a cute little date night.
"Some wedding dinner we're having," Ian scoffed as if he could read my mind.
"It's alright," I let out a dry laugh.
Yeah, we were supposed to have salmon or a rack of lamb for our wedding menu. But no, instead I got fries and a burger. Honestly, it wasn't so bad though.
"You're not regretting this are you?" he asked cautiously, studying my face intently.
"Regretting what?"
"Saying yes to me,"
"Not in a million years,"
Ian didn't look convinced. For some reason, he thought that I was upset about my decision to marry him. No, that wasn't why I was upset. I was upset because everybody else kept on doubting my decision.
"You sure you still wanna do this?" he asked again.
I gave him a bored stare and rolled my eyes dramatically. Putting my burger down, I grabbed his face with both my hands and leaned across the table, kissing him in front of all these Chinese tourists sitting next to us.
"How's that for an answer?" I asked him as I pulled away.
He smiled at me, finally. Reaching his hand across the table, he laced our fingers together and squeezed my hand gently. I let out a soft sigh as I stared at our hands clasped together.
Honestly, it broke my heart to think that Ian thought I was regretting my decision to marry him. I would never regret marrying him. I would never regret our relationship together. I knew full well what I was getting into when I decided to be with him that night.
Sadly, the whole world seems to think differently.
* RING * RING * RING *
Suddenly, the loud ringing from my phone pulled me away from my daydreaming. I flinched back and checked the screen. I gulped instinctively as I read the word 'Mom' on it. Ian peered into my screen and he looked taken aback as well. With shaky hands, I tapped the answer button and put the phone next to my ear.
"Mom...?" I croaked.
"Don't get on that plane, Emma!" she shouted at me. "I swear to God, if you get on that plane-"
"Or what? You're gonna report Ian to the police? You're gonna tie me up and take me back to Georgia?" I cut her off, feeding on her emotional threats. "I know you're very angry at me right now, but please... just let me be happy, mom,"
She was silent. Maybe my screaming at her caught her by surprise. I was shocked too. Tears ran down my face involuntarily and Ian just stared at me with a look I couldn't decipher.
"Regardless of what you may think, Ian and I love each other and we're gonna be together no matter what. So, I'm sorry, but you just have to deal with it," I said again.
"Emma..." mom spoke after a while of silence. Her voice was coarse as if she had been crying for a while. "If you go... you're not my daughter anymore,"
My heart felt a pang at her words. She was willing to go as far as disowning me... all because I fell in love with the wrong guy...
With my lips quivering and my eyes glistening, I said to her, "If I stay, I'm not your daughter either," and I turned off the call.
Putting the phone down, I quickly turned it off entirely. I tried to hold back the tears, but the dam had burst. I was full on sobbing, and the group of Chinese tourists next to me was staring at me like I was some crazy tourist.
Ian moved to the chair by my side and pulled me into a hug.
"Emma?" he tilted my face up to his. He looked sad and defeated too. It must suck for him to see me like this. "Baby girl, are you okay?"
"Why is the whole world so against us?" I croaked in between sobs. "Why is it so hard just to be with you?"
Ian pulled me tighter into his arms. He leaned his forehead onto mine and whispered, "Fúck the world. Fúck them all. They don't know us,"
Our eyes met and Ian's gaze was filled with a raging fire. He was tired of this. He was tired everyone kept getting in the way. He was willing to fight them all just to be with me.
"Ian... are we gonna be okay?" I asked him cautiously.
"We're gonna be okay, baby girl. I promise," he replied.
I nodded my head and let out another sigh. Ian still held onto me tightly, as if to say that he would protect me from everyone that was standing in our way.
There comes a time in life when you'll have to leave everything behind and start something new. Maybe I was naïve to think that everyone would be so accepting of my decisions. Some people do, some people don't. They're entitled to their own opinions, but I'll never forget the ones who stood by my side, especially the ones who never gave up on me.
And with that thought in my mind, Ian and I went flying... far, far away from here, to a place of something new.
- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -