Normally whenever Ariel had the time( and money) to eat at a fancy restaurant. Her focus was always on the food.
But for that evening, she barely registered what she was eating. Nor was she busy making silent judgement as to whether or not the food was well executed. Instead her mind was whirling.
The new information that she had just gotten was almost enough to make her come apart at the seams. There would be no prenuptial agreement to sign. Tristan did not want her to sign one. And the reason for that was simple. Once they were married, it would be for life. No divorce, no annulment. Those had been his exact words. And Ariel was having a hard time wrapping her mind around it. This was permanent.
It was not just those random marriages on TV shows where the couple kept up appearances for six months to a year. Then broke up once everyone was no longer paying attention, this was meant to last. The moment she wore the ring of the man across from her, and signed her name next to his. There would be no getting out. The two of them would be tied together for life.
It was a jarring thought, one so intense that it whirled around in Ariel's head for a few long moments. Making her forget every single thing around her. But then Tristan asked her if there was more she wanted to add and after pushing back her shock at learning that this was a one-way street. Ariel forced her mind to think clearly, and she pulled on something that had been nagging at her since their agreement to marry.
"What are we going to tell people?" She asked, staring at her still half full plate. Looking up she found Tristan giving her a look like he was trying to figure out her level of intelligence. It made Ariel mad. She had received that look several times in her life from people who thought that she was a bit dim. It had always given her great pleasure to prove them wrong. But that did not mean being looked at like she was an idiot did not rankle.
Especially when it came from Tristan Asher for some reason. "This is a personal matter, Ariel. Why should anyone need to be told about us? We will be Mr and Mrs Asher, and that will be all that the world needs to know," Ariel could not help but give Tristan a look, and she saw the moment he realized that she too was wondering how many brain cells he had because he instantly tensed.
Deciding not to be abrasive and make him defensive. Ariel spoke up, making sure to keep her voice even and not at all sounding as though she were gloating. "The reason that you do not wish for me to sign a pre-nup is because you want people to believe that this is a marriage that comes from love, right?" Tristan nodded.
"The same way that you do not want to sign a pre-nup, is the same reason that we need a story. People love a good romantic story. If somebody were to ask, and all that we have is we were so in love, I did not have to sign a prenup. All that those people will be thinking is that either I'm a gold digger, you are very stupid. Or the two of us are liars. We need an actual story. Otherwise, we will be caught out much sooner than either of us can afford. Seeing as we can never afford to be caught, we need to take this seriously," Having said what she wanted to say, Ariel stayed quiet. Letting the information that she had shared with him sink in.
Rather than dismissing her straight away. Tristan took his time chewing slowly. The look of concentration in his blue eyes clear to see. That helped Ariel relax minutely. When she had voiced a reason for them needing a story. She had not really expected Tristan to give her the time of day, but he was at least considering it. And that was more than enough. If he had dismissed her suggestion simply because it had come from her, and not from him.
Ariel would have known to be more alert. After all, a person who could not take advice or guidance was someone who was very difficult to reason with. But luckily, despite what all of the articles about the Ice Prince had said. Tristan was proving that he was at least willing to listen in some regards. That he was not just this unfeeling robot. Not wanting to rush him as he clearly took the matter into serious consideration. Ariel turned her attention back to her food. She had made a very sizable dent in the dish before Tristan cleared his throat, gaining her attention once more.