By the time all of the decorations for the wedding arrived 2 months had passed by. There were rugs and drapes imported from India, food brought in from all around the world and more that 200 invitations had been sent out. Needless to say I was feeling the weight of everything. Even after all this time here I never had learned to enjoy being the center of attention. Every time I thought about the hundreds of people there it made my brain and heart both work into overdrive. What if I tripped. The dress arrived yesterday after being measured and fitted to my body.

Tiffany came and helped me with some of the stuff she could. She was five now. She picked a strawberry cake and pink frosting to match. I overruled the frosting and decided to go with white and little pick decorations to appease her. Joseph left all of the decoration and flowers to me and said that he would take care of all of the invitations and the seating seeing as how everyone coming were people he knew.

Now there were only 3 days left. Three days until I would be Mrs. Copland. I was only recently turned 19. I had no experience in love. Love was a curious thing. It's like you don't realize you have it until it's gone.

"Jessica?" Joseph waved his arm in front of my face. "What are you doing here?" He asked me and sat on the bench next to me. The men he previously walked with left us in privacy. We were in the garden that I had escaped to with Cameron in my first couple of days here. The beauty of the place was incomparable.

"I just remembered how beautiful this place is. Do you remember the first time you found me here with.." I trailed off. I had vowed to myself that I would never say his name out loud again.

Joseph quickly filled the silence. "Yes I remember quite well." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Though I try to forget. I am so sorry that I ever hurt you." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his embrace.

"I know you are. It's been almost a year since we met. Since that happened. I think that we have both grown up since then." I said as I stared into his deep green eyes. He ran his thumb along the line of my jaw.

"No you have changed me. I don't know where I would be without you. Before you came along Jessica people called me a cold hearted tyrant. Now they say I'm becoming soft, but I can't bring myself to care as long as I have you to come home to every night." Some how he always knew what I needed to hear. I was worried that we were rushing into this whole marriage but his confidence in our love restored mine.

"Joseph what is this place? I know that there's a secret door at the back. What's behind it?" I asked not able to hold in my curiosity any longer. Whatever it was it must be important because it was kept locked at all times, and I had a good idea that the key Joseph wore on his belt everyday was what opened it.

"Well I suppose that if we are to be married you have a right to know. I don't trust banks. So I keep this place to keep everything important to me safe." He pulled me up and lead me to the door slightly hidden in the vines climbing the walls. If you didn't know it was there you wouldn't see it. He pushed the key into the door and it swung open. We stepped into a small room that was all grey shiny steel. It was hardly big enough to hold the 2 of us. I was about to ask Joseph what this was but he shushed me.

"Welcome. Please step up to the retina scanner." A voice came over the speaker installed in the ceiling. Joseph put his eye up to the small opening in the wall and a red laser ran around his eye.Just like in the movies. Next he put his hand on the little finger print scanner. This was crazy. I watched with my eyebrows raised.

"What?" He asked when he glanced back at me. He laughed a little and turned his head forward again. "These are my most prized possessions and a great bulk of my fortune. I have to take every precaution." I nodded it was understandable I just felt like I was about to enter a secret headquarters for some government project.

"Welcome Joseph Copland." The voice said again. The wall in front of us slowly slid up into the ceiling revealing a room larger than seemed could be possible. The house did not look this big from the outside.

"Impressive isn't it." Joseph said from behind me wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. "I'll have you added into the system soon. Besides Matthias you'll be the only person to have their own access in here, and one of the few that even know of this places existence. I trust you."

"Thank you Joseph. That means a lot you know." We moved forward into the walkway that was strategically placed like a snake through all of the tables. The room reminded me of the cave in Aladdin except instead of large piles of gold there were long white table with stacks of bills piled high on every available space, and instead of a dirty cave the room was well lit and impeccably clean. There were even jewels and treasures. There actually were some gold coins and bars laying around. "This is crazy! Who keeps their all of their billions of dollars in their house?" I asked turning around to face him.

He shrugged as if it was a normal thing to do. "Well I don't keep it all here if it makes you feel better. I leave a couple million in the bank. Just enough to keep up appearances but not enough to actually matter if something happened to the bank." I gaped at him. He wouldn't mind loosing a couple million? Just what was I marrying into.

"Good grief! A couple million just to keep up appearances? I hope you know that that's so crazy." I laughed at his logic. "Just how much do you keep in here?"

He looked around and rubbed his chin. "Well I don't really feel like counting." He turned and smiled at me. "There's enough to keep you and our children happy for the rest of our lives."

I scoffed " Yeah and the rest of the country."

He laughed at my side comment. " Come on baby lets get out of here." He grabbed my hand and lead me back into the small metal room. To get out all he had to do was unlock the door.

We strolled through the indoor garden hand in hand. "Joseph." I murmured breaking the comfortable silence. He hummed in response. "I don't think that I want my finger print and stuff to be on there." I said glancing up at him.

"Why ever not?" He stopped in front of me and tipped my chin up to look at him.

"I don't ever want somebody to be able to use me to take everything that you've worked for. If I need something from in there I can ask you. I know you'll make time. I really shouldn't ever have a need to get anything from there." I responded. I really hadn't meant for that to sound as selfless as it did. It was more a thought for self preservation than anything. I was safer if people couldn't use me to become a couple billion richer.

"There is no doubt in my mind that you are an angel sent straight from heaven itself." Said smiling. He did that more often in the last 2 months than I had ever seen. That genuinely happy smile was what my heart beat for. "There is no one else that I would ever want to be my wife. I don't think I could ever love someone else like I love you." He kissed me after that. I felt like I should be able to give him heart warming speeches to profess my love to him like he did to me every time he got the chance but I couldn't put words to what I felt like he could.

"I will be the happiest person on earth as your wife Joseph Copland." I said as we pulled away. That was the best I could come up with. It was nothing close to all that I felt but I honestly couldn't put it all into words.

The next day I hung out with Ruben in the entertainment room. I still remembered that one time almost a year ago now too when Joseph pulled the trigger of his gun and sent a bullet into the brain of the man in front of him. The blood had long since been cleaned up but I still glanced at the spot that the blood would have been every time I entered the room. It reminded me of the life I had signed up for and although I would never change my decision it was always a bit of a wake up call of the danger.

The men knew by now who I was and to behave around me. They watched their language and the women even seemed to dial it down when I was around. They quickly moved off men's laps to sit in their own seat and kept their hands to themselves for the most part. There were always the few that didn't care who was around and chose to carry on with their actions. I couldn't say that I enjoyed watching or listening to them but I didn't enjoy how everything fun stopped when I came in the room. I guess this is how Joseph must feel. I was only 19. 19 year old's are supposed to be party animals and yet here I was cramping these 30 year old men's style. I could never stand to be around them for long. I could tell they relaxed when I was gone. Everyone except Ruben. He always seemed to be himself around me.

"Are you excited for your wedding? Man that sounds weird." Ruben ran a hand through his hair as we walked down the hall. "I remember when you first got here and you were cursing Josephs name." He laughed out loud. "You were terrified of him and now look at you, about to be married."

"I'm a little scared to be honest. All of those people are going to be there watching me. What if I do something stupid and make a fool of myself? What if Joseph gets tired of me. I love him with all of my heart and I couldn't imagine a life without him, but what if he wants to find someone prettier than me?" I hadn't yet expressed these concerns out loud.

"Prettier than you?!" Ruben laughed and shook his head and draped his arm around my shoulders like any brother would do to a younger sister. "I'm am sure that such a person doesn't exist. And as for all of the people coming... Just remember that you're the most graceful person I have ever met. Don't sweat it kid everyone will love you." He rubbed the hair on top of my head.

"Hey!" I yelled as he scampered away having to perform his duties. "And I'm not a kid." I mumbled to myself more to him.