#alektowrites

As much as Joohyun loves her job, she hates waking up ridiculously early in the morning to fix a scandal caused by one of her father's staff in the company. You feel the bed shift, stirring you awake as you hear begrudging growls reverberating in Joohyun's chest as she carefully gets up.

You turn to her side; your eyelids are heavy, your voice rich with sleep. "Hyun, where are you going?"

Your spouse quickly snaps her head in your direction. Her scowl morphs into adoration and fondness as she leans down to kiss your forehead. An apologetic tone coats her voice. "Sorry darling, duty calls." Like yours, her voice is thick with sleep but pleasant to hear. You hummed, "What's it about?" You query.

"I'll tell you later," The older woman sighs, "For now, I need to fix this. Quick."

"Alright," You let out a jaw-breaking yawn as you instinctively cup her cheek. Joohyun melts in your touch as she cups your hand. "Call me when you need someone to vent to." You mumble with a small smile; the latter's doe-like eyes crinkle to crescents. "I will, darling. I'll go now."

You nod in reply and instinctively snatch her pillow and wrap your arms around it, blessing you with her soft scent as your wife gets up, takes a bath, and gets dressed. Before leaving, she spares you a look before closing the door gently and checking up on your two-year-old daughter sleeping peacefully in her room next to your shared bedroom.

Irene smiles lovingly as she quietly enters Hanna's room, quickly kisses her forehead, tucks her with a blanket, and leaves her quarters to take care of a headache that forced her out of bed with her wife and daughter.

True to her word, your wife called to vent while you were fixing your daughter's hair.

An excited smile creeps on your lips as you unhurriedly answer her call.

Joohyun's camera opens; her expression is peaceful. From the neck down you see her wearing a navy blue double-breasted jumpsuit, her hair neatly combed and slid back, allowing you to see her simple gold earrings. She looks amazing.

"Hey," She greets with a loving smile as your daughter wiggles out of your lap; you let her as you sit comfortably against the cream-colored couch. "Hey," You return with a beaming grin that makes Irene's cheek tinged pink. "How's work?" You query as your wife leans against her swiveling chair and releases a loud sigh. "Hectic."

"Doesn't look like it," You quipped, "You don't have a single hair out of place."

Her chest rumbles with a secret laugh that only you and your friends can hear. "So you're here to vent?" You suggest and she hums before her expression softens as the clouds clear, allowing her camera to capture her glowing skin and those eyes that you love so much turn to a lighter shade of brown.

"I changed my mind." She admits, "I wanted to see you and hear your voice."

It was your turn to blush as you ducked your head to hide an aching grin that was inevitably forming on your lips. You didn't need to look back at the screen of your phone to see her grinning. "Can I see Hanna?" Your daughter.

"Sure," You eagerly recovered before locking eyes with your daughter playing with her toys before she perked her head upon hearing her other mother's voice. With your free hand, you beckoned her; she obeyed as she hastily dropped the doll and waddled toward you the ends of the baby pink dress flowed with her movements as she adorably climbed the couch and crawled toward your lap before sitting comfortably against you as you lower the phone to let her see Bae Hanna.

"There she is," The older woman cooes and your child babbles happily. You watch them interact; your heart swells between their exchange as you study Joohyun's features and compare them to your daughter's.

Bae Hanna looks so much like her mother, fair skin, tall nose, and obsidian eyes that turn to a light shade of brown whenever the light kisses her eyes are framed by doe-like lids.

Beautiful, just like her mother.

"I will curse them for this," You snap out of your trance as you hear her heave a sigh, "Why?" You mused. Irene grunts. "They robbed me of spending time with you."

"You will once you go home," You remind with a small smile. She seems reassured as you continue: "We aren't going anywhere."

"I know," She whispers before you hear a faint knock somewhere in her office. Her soft expression morphs into a blank countenance but she doesn't put down the phone. "What is it?" She inquires as she takes the folder with a free hand. You hear the familiar voice of her COO; Kang Seulgi.

"Sorry to disturb you, but the board is ready for you, Chairwoman Bae." Seulgi enunciates softly, "Hi, Y/N!"

"Hi Seul," You greet with a grin as you peer down, "Say 'hi' to your aunt Hanna." Irene catches on and turns the phone to Seulgi and your daughter shyly waves at the older woman, Seulgi giggles. "Hi, sweetie. We'll borrow your mom for a while, yeah?"

"Go ahead," You affirm as Irene returns to the camera with an apologetic expression dancing in her resplendent countenance. "I have to go now. Take care; I love you. Hanna be good to your mother okay?"

"I love you too, Hyun."

She fondly smiled before she ended the call. Hanna babbles: "Mama," Before turning to look at you with confusion. You giggled and gently caressed the back of her head, "Mom's going back to work." You then press a soft kiss against her temple and an idea pops into your mind as your child plays with the hem of your pastel blue sweater.

"How about we pay her a visit, Hannie?" You cooed as the infant babbled incoherently. You took it as her approval. "Okay, we'll visit mommy."

Her staff bows upon seeing you and your daughter as you approach the tall glass doors that lead to the lobby of your wife's company and you return their gesture with an acknowledging nod as you walk past them with Hanna's small hand interlaced with yours.

The child looks around with big, curious, black eyes as she surveys her surroundings.

"Okay sweetheart," You lift her by the armpits and carry her as you walk to the elevator, "Easy does it." You smiled at one of her employees as he ask: "What floor, Mrs. Bae?"

"Fifteen, thank you."

Your footsteps echo throughout the white, cold halls with your child waddling beside you with her bunny bonnet to protect her from the chill. You locked eyes with her secretary; Yoo Jimin who's stationed outside Joohyun's office. "Mrs. Bae," She greets as she immediately stands up and bows, "Secretary Yoo, is she busy?"

"She's with Manager Son and COO Kang." She informs you and presses the intercom before you can even react. "I'll inform her of your presence."

"Wai-"

"Good afternoon, Chairwoman Bae. Your wife and daughter are here."

A pause before the intercom beeps with her voice: "Bring them in, please."

Jimin smiles politely, "With me, Mrs. Bae."

Her secretary pushes the tall white doors open to reveal your wife sitting comfortably in her seat with Wendy and Seulgi sitting next to each other. "Y/N," Wendy greets with an excited grin as she stands up to approach your daughter followed by Seulgi who seemed rather pleased seeing her niece.

You let her aunts play with her as Irene locks eyes with you. Her eyes soften as she gracefully stands from her seat, presses both palms on top of her table, and garners the attention of her friends. "Leaves us," The brunette obeys with a nod and comes to you with Hanna in her arms, Joohyun carries your firstborn as her aunts leave, "We'll lock the door and tell them that your office is off limits!" She quips, "Thank you, Wendy." She guffaws softly before closing the door, and the lock clicks.

Now that it's just the three of you, Joohyun peppered kisses all over Hanna and hugged the child closer to her. Hanna giggles at the touch of her mother while you watch them with fondness swimming in your eyes. "Oh, how I missed you." The Chairwoman sighs as her daughter rests her head on the crook of her neck. Irene looks at you with nothing but yearning and love. "I missed you too, darling, one moment." She circles her desk approaches the cashmere-colored lounging couches and gently puts down your daughter before sitting down and patting on her lap; opting for you to straddle her while Hanna plays on the other side of the couch with a stack of small plushies to keep her occupied.

You complied

Joohyun's arms immediately locked around your waist and flushed your body against hers, hiding her head in the crook of your neck as she inhaled your scent and relaxed against you.

You instinctively wrap your arms around her neck, the smell of mulberry, top notes of black peony followed by middle notes of jasmine, tuberose with hints of black musk and vetiver base; the very perfume that suits her, and you bought it during your anniversary while you were pregnant with Hanna.

She lets out a relieved sigh as your hands massage her scalp. "That bad huh," You bemused as she opened her eyes. "I could just throw the investigation fire him and burn the copies of our product that he shared with a rival company."

Your brows furrowed, "Why would he do that?"

"I'd rather not know," She murmured against your lips as her eyes glazed before closing the gap between you two. Her lips capture yours as your hands move to grasp her jaw. Just as you pull away, the older woman chases your lips and effectively pushes you down the couch, deft hands caging your sides as she hovers above you while not breaking away from the kiss, your hands immediately latched onto her back, nails digging shamelessly against the fabric of her Armani suit before you begrudgingly pull away with a pant as your eyes land on the back of your occupied daughter.

"Hyun-" She cuts you off by grasping your cheek, forcing you to look back at her; you gulp.

"Not who I am right now," She rasped and leaned down, peppering soft kisses against your exposed collar.

"Hanna," You whined, "Your daughter's here."

"Oh," She mumbles and leans back to see if your daughter was watching before sighing, her ears turning red as she flushed against you, hiding her head inside the crook of your neck.

"I got too excited," She whispered and instinctively wrapped her arms around you as your daughter got up from her spot and waddles toward the feet of the couch where you lay with Joohyun. The older woman gets up to leave room for the two-year-old, while you sit up straight as Hanna straddles you and rests her head against your chest, allowing her to hear your steady heartbeat while you embrace the tiny human. Irene guffaws softly, eyes shining with love at the sight of you embracing her child as she drapes her arm around your shoulder and leans close to your side as the three of you sit comfortably.

Despite being in her office, it felt like you were in the comforts of your home.

Cheers erupt in the classroom as soon as the champions for the spirit week enter. A proud grin graces your lips as you hold up your camera and take pictures of the entire team who are still wearing their jerseys with their varsity jackets, medals ranging from gold, silver, and bronze hanging from their necks, and a trophy being held by their captain.

You immediately focused on the captain, Kang Seulgi. Her eyes crinkle to crescents, making her round face look soft with pride for the team unable to resist, you immediately take a photo for the school paper before moving out of the crowded space where your peers crowded the room to congratulate and talk to the team. Spirit Week's over it's time for all of your colleagues to rest for the week and for you to cooperate with your club by sending them the photos to work on for next week.

Before packing your camera, you check the photos of the team one by one, making sure you have them in one frame; the women's volleyball team.

"Hey Y/N," You whip your head as soon as you hear a deep, feminine voice that belongs to Moonbyul. She approaches you with a grin as you raise your hand to meet her high-five, "Hey Byul, congrats by the way." The older girl nods in acknowledgment, "Are you coming to the party tonight?"

Your brows furrowed, "Party?"

"Park Sooyoung is hosting it," The latter clicks her tongue, "The entire student council will be there in honor of their victory or whatever Wendy told me."

Wendy the vice president.

Moonbyul then points at your camera bag, "And I think you should go. You need a better photo of the team anyway."

You pursed your lips as you played with the keychain of your bag, "So, are you coming to the party?"

"Where?"

"Sooyoung's house, just two blocks from the campus." She placed her hands inside the pockets of her windbreaker jacket, "So? Please go. I'll tell capt. About the photo for the school paper, the team needs to attend, and I'm only going if you're going." She pleads with a pout and leans close, and you cringed.

"Alright," You give in with a grin, "Alright, I'll go, I'll go - sheesh." She lets out a victorious huff as you push her to give you space. Another voice intervenes, and Lisa's head peeks through the door. "Hey Byul!" The black-haired girl whips her head in Lisa's direction. "What?"  

"Seul's looking for you!"

Your friend dismissively waves her, "I'll be there in a sec," She returns to you, "I'll be at your door around 10, yeah?"

"Sounds good. Now go; your captain's looking for you." Before she reaches for the door, you call her attention, your friend snaps her head as she waits for you to continue, "Don't forget about the photo of the team."

Your friend grins before walking back to the classroom while you walk to the darkroom of your club to develop the photos while keeping in mind what to do once you get there.

True to her word, Moonbyul arrived at your door by ten, walked you to the party, and told Seulgi about your requirement to which she heartily agreed and called the entire team while the music blared through the speakers of Sooyoung's three-story house.

"Alright," You hold up your camera, "In three, two, one." The camera flashes, "Thank you for your time," You grin as Moonbyul winks at you and mouths 'See?' while the team disperses to join the rest of the students. Your friend, on the other hand, comes up to you, "Can I see?"

"Sure," You lean next to her, and the latter whistles, "It's better than the ones you took back in the classroom." She agrees as she drapes her arm around your shoulder, "Now that you have your photos, how about we join the others on the dance floor?"

"Nah," You shake your head sideways, "I can't leave my camera lying around."

"Right," She hums, "I'll just chill with you, then."

"I'll probably take candid photos of whatever rich and aesthetically pleasing stuff Sooyoung has." You quip with a shrug, "Or get myself a drink."

"Alright," She pats your back, "Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yeah,"

"Good, call me if you need anything. I'll get going now. Don't get too drunk, yeah?"

"I won't," you reassured before she smiles and parts with you, blending into the sea of partygoers.

And true to your word, you did take photos of whatever took your attention, flowers, paintings, candid photos of students having a great time as the strobe lights shifted from red to blue to violet.

You shift your line of sight to the island bar counter and set your eyes on the drinks the bartender's handing your colleagues. Shit, Sooyoung even provided a bartender? Damn. You internally commend with a smile as you approach the counter. Just as you're about to order a drink, she has already slid a Negroni in your direction.

"I didn't even order anything yet," You furrowed your brows as you looked down at your drink. "Yeah," She agrees and leans close; she subtly gestures for you to do the same. "But she did."

Confusion and surprise danced on your face, "Who?"

The bartender grins and leans away as she mouths: 'The one with a black denim jacket.'

You blinked and craned your neck to look around. Denim jacket?

The person sitting next to you vacates their seat; allowing you to see a fair-skinned woman with her back facing the counter. She sat comfortably, one leg over the other, her elbow placed on top of the counter while her other hand was holding the same drink as yours; Negroni sbagliato.

The fine lady wore a black denim jacket, a white, sleeveless crop top, matching black jeans, and converse. Her luscious black hair is freely cascading down her shoulders, beautiful. Fuck, is she the one who ordered your drink? She's drop-dead gorgeous. Just as she moved, you snapped your head back, eyes locked on your drink as you held the glass.

Her shadow moved and you felt a presence beside you. Your back straightened as her voice filled your ears, and you immediately drowned out the music.

"You don't like it?"

You whip your head to your right and locked eyes with the alluring woman, her doe-like eyes swim with enigma, leaving you entranced as you sputter, "What? - No, no, it's just that..."

A wry smile curls on her lip. "You think it's spiked?"

You snort, "No, no, it's just no one orders a drink for me, a stranger, no less - a beautiful stranger." You resisted the urge to facepalm when you blurted it out. The woman chuckles with mirth as she takes a sip. You copy her example; it's strong, and your eyes widen as the liquid burns your throat.

"It's strong," You mused, "Not a drink for the weak." She notes with a coy smile, "I thought ordering this would give off a little sophistication to my approach." She looks at you, "Did it work?"

"Yes," You mumbled, the woman inclined her head as if she didn't hear it and leaned close, and your cheeks warmed as you smell her scent. "Pardon?"

"Yeah, it did." You sputter and she hums and swirls her glass. The drink sloshes. "You're a photojournalist, yes? For the school paper?"

You gawk at her, "How did you know?"

She points to the camera hanging on your shoulder, "That, and the whole ruckus of taking a photo of the women's basketball team for spirit week."

"Woah,"

"And I saw you take a lot of photos during the program," She adds, "You and the rest of the journalism club."

"But I didn't see you," You note, "It would be impossible for me to forget a face like that."

The raven-haired beauty giggles, "Senior,"

"What?"

"Seniors are on the second floor of the bleachers," She informs, "That's how I saw you."

"Oh," You trailed off as you grasp your camera bag, "That explains it." You awkwardly mumble and a chuckle reverberates from her chest. "Can I see the photos?"

Your ears perk up and you fish for your camera, "Sure," The latter grins and leans close, your breath hitched. Calm down, you're just showing this insanely hot woman the photos you've taken. It's not like you have nudes or anything-

"These are good shots," She comments as she looks at you, "How did you do it?"

Your face lits up, "Well, I have to get in close, find unusual angles, and anticipate. I have to stay alert and I can't afford distractions or else I'll lose my chance and - ooh, I also have to be wary of the lighting and-" You paused as the woman stares at you, her doe-like eyes glowing with mirth and attentiveness.

Shit, were you rambling?

Your cheeks tint to a shade of rose.

"Sorry, I'm rambling."

"Your voice sounds nice," She grins, "In addition to being cute."

Heat rises from your neck to your face as you cover your face with your hands.

She chuckles and placed a hand on your shoulder to calm you down and garner your attention, "What's your name?"

You remove your hands from your face, "Y/N, third-year college," You locked eyes with her, "And you?"

"Joohyun, fourth-year."

"Joohyun," You repeat. The elder girl smirks upon hearing her name roll off your tongue.

Just as Joohyun was about to open her mouth, another girl; her colleague gets her attention, "Hyun! Moonbyul and I are leaving, can you drive us home?"

Moonbyul?

You whip your head to see Moonbyul grinning excitedly at you as she subtly points at the beautiful blonde. Joohyun clicks her tongue, "Can't you drive, Yongsun?"

Yongsun? Isn't she Moonbyul's rumored crush?

"We're kind of drunk," She sheepishly admits, you watch with amusement as the older girl sighs and looks at you, "Do you have your phone with you?"

"Oh, yes, I have it with me."

She gestures an open palm towards you. You catch on and immediately unlock your phone and tap the call icon. She grins appreciatively as she brings out her phone Joohyun quickly types her number and presses the call button.

Her phone rings, satisfaction etched on her resplendent countenance as she hands your phone back to you; she saved her number.

Hyun (82) xxx-xxxx

She then shows you your contact.

Negroni cutie, xxx-xxxx

"I have to go," She sighs and glanced at her friend, "I have to babysit my friend, you see." She stands up, "It's nice meeting you, Y/N, call me if you need a ride, yeah? Good night."

"Night," You mutter as she flashes you one last playful smile before walking away with her friend, Moonbyul peers over her shoulder and waves, off to Yongsun's place.

You looked down at the saved number in your contacts and smiled as you swing your feet.

"I'm sure you've heard of the Baskovanian Kingdom from the North, where a lord who goes by the name of Alexie Gavriil; saved my life during the war, and in return for saving my life, I grant him one wish." He paused, "What did he wish for?"

Your stomach churns as an answer pops into your mind. You refuse to believe it.

No, no, no.

It can't be true-

"Marriage, between the two families." The guests gasped.

"Today," He declares, "You all will bear witness to a political arrangement between two influential empires!" He gestures a hand in front, and the crowd immediately parts except for the captivating woman. "Between Empress Y/N Valeria and Grand Duchess Irene Gavriil. Bow before your new rulers!"

The resplendent woman, Irene Gavriil, strides toward you like a lioness stalking her prey. Her eyes hid her scrutiny and annoyance well. As she approaches, the guests go down on one knee to bow before your bride. Their heads ducked as she took confident strides toward you and your father.

The emperor steps away from you to join the witnesses, smiling from ear to ear as the grand duchess stops in front of you. Her sapphire-blue eyes swirl with enigma and intelligence before she too, goes down on one knee, her eyes never leaving yours as she takes your right hand, her gloved hands gently holding your hand. You can hear your blood drumming against the back of your ears. How the temperature of your body drops from her intense gaze and how your stomach churns at her proximity. Your knees almost gaze out when her plump, pink lips press a kiss against the back of your palm. She never broke eye contact in doing so, and the crowd squeals as she stands.

And finally, she spoke. Her voice is raspy but sultry and alluring, with a hint of a soft accent that leaves your spine shivering.

"We finally meet," The side of her lip curls to a cold smile, "Moja koroleva."

Her icy gaze pierced through you. You reply with a smile, but your eyes harden, and your face stings with anger, annoyance, and frustration. Your smile drops to a venomous scowl.

Marriage never appealed to you. Even at your age, you never thought of marrying. You saw it as a means of tying someone down to a forced commitment, made to be caged inside a tower and squeeze out heirs.

You don't want this.

You'd rather travel around the world and paint the wonders you've seen than be bound to someone you haven't met.

Political marriages are damned, all of it be damned. Irene moves to the side. You were snapped out of your raging stupor when you felt her lean to your side and snaked her arm around your waist.

Her touch prickles your skin as she pulls you close to her side to face the guest who cheers for you two. You instantly stiffen at her proximity, allowing you to inhale her subtle but sweet scent.

She directs her head to your ear, her eyes never leaving the crowd as she whispers in your ear; her cold breath fans the outer lobe, and her raspy voice fills your ears.

"Smile, dorogoj." She commands with an icy, hushed tone, "If you want to fool them, including your father, I suggest you smile and pretend to be happy with this god-forsaken arrangement."

Begrudgingly, you catch on but you are unable to match the excitement of the guests with the declaration of your union. You cast a side-eyed glance at the foreign grand duchess, her gaze is just as hard and seething as yours.

At least you're not the only one who's not happy with the arrangement. That's what you can both agree on.

You're royally screwed.