Mark's plan was so well thought out, so thorough, I couldn't help but be impressed. I knew he was a good businessman, but this was just an incredibly good plan.

"Wow... I really like that idea," I replied, my tears stopping as I realized there was a way out.

"It's not going to be easy, not by a long shot, I can tell you that."

"I know... I definitely know. But are you sure you can do that? Leave the country for six months? You're still in the start-up stage of the business, after all."

"I would give up the entire company if it meant making you feel safe, Caroline."

Tears welled up in my eyes once more, this time for an entirely different reason. I loved this man so much, it hurt. I wrapped my arms around him and thanked him.

"Don't thank me yet, Caroline. It's still just an idea."

The next few weeks went by so incredibly quickly. I quit my job, in antic.i.p.ation of my upcoming wedding, but apart from that I had to do my best to act like everything was normal. I would still see my mother following me, from time to time. She even came up to me once, but I told her to leave me alone, and she eventually did.

The hardest part really was pretending nothing was different, that nothing was going to change. Mark and I were going to get married next year, we were going to go on a weeklong honeymoon to Maui afterwards, then come back here as Mark continued work on his new company.

Secretly, I was planning out what we were going to do for the next six months. It was weird, having the entire world literally at my fingertips. There were so many things I wanted to see in the world, but had never gotten the opportunity to do so. I kind of a.s.sumed I was going to live my life like most people, never having gone overseas at all.

Now I had the chance to go wherever I wanted. The entire world was my oyster. I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, I wanted to climb Mt. Fuji, I wanted to swim in the Great Barrier Reef. All of those were options I had now. Mark and I went over the trip excitedly.

"It's funny, I've been to a lot of these places for business, but I've never really seen most of them, if you know what I mean."

I nodded. "I do. I'm the same way with most of America. I've been to St Louis, I've been to Chicago, I've been to St. Paul, but I don't feel like I've visited them. Mainly I just spent all my time at the ice rinks."

"Exactly. This is going to be a really awesome trip."

Mark had been in contact with his real estate agent. The plan was to put our apartment up for sale as soon as we left, so as to make it look as though we were still in the city. Meanwhile, Mark went looking for other apartments we could potentially buy. I would have loved to have gone with him, but with my mother following me, but apparently leaving Mark alone completely, it was safest if he went to find us a new place to live by himself. Even so, he hired a former marine to come with him and make sure we weren't being followed.

Finally, it was time. Mark's marine drove me to the airport while Mark took an unmarked cab, and we met at the departure gate. Ticket in hand, I finally felt safe again. My mother wasn't going to be able to come in here, even if she knew where we had gone.

As the plane flew off to take us across the Pacific Ocean to the island paradise where Mark and I first met, I finally felt like I could relax for the first time in over a month. I laughed as I realized, and told Mark I was probably the first bride on the planet who felt more relaxed the closer her wedding date got.

Mark took my hand and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it. We're going to be the first ones to arrive in Honolulu, we have two full days there together before the rest of the wedding guests arrive, so we can absolutely make the most of it."

When we landed a few hours later that was exactly what we did. We had booked the Honeymoon suite of one of the hottest hotels in Honolulu, opting not to stay at the Hibiscus Resort. Our suite was enormous, the master bedroom unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I couldn't believe we were spending the next five days here.

"Wow, can we change the wedding to being in this room, because I don't think I'm going to leave until security kicks me out," I joked.

"Well, we could, it might just make the wedding night a little bit awkward."

I laughed and fell on the bed, the covers so plush I wasn't even sure there was a mattress underneath them.

Mark climbed on top of me and started to kiss me.

"Aren't we going to wait until our wedding night to break in the bed?"

"Yeah, right."

An hour later we had a quick shower and got dressed once more, going out for a walk along the beach. I soaked in the sun, breathing in the fresh ocean air. I was so perfectly relaxed. I knew we weren't out of the woods yet in terms of making my mom think we'd left San Diego, but I also knew that right now, she had no idea where I was, and for the next few months I was completely free from her grasp once more.

Over the next couple of days friends and family began to arrive. Well, Mark's friends and family began to arrive, I should say. We weren't having a big wedding, immediate family only. Sam, her husband and her three kids were here, as were Mark's parents. He had decided he wanted to invite them, despite everything that had happened.

"My father extended me an olive branch by putting me back in the will, accepting me back into the family. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and invite him to my wedding."

I understood completely, and both he and Mark's mother were quite a bit more civil than the last time we'd met. Sam took Mark and I aside at one point and told us that she found out they were both seeing a therapist, and that Mark's outburst was what she suspected had done it.

When I heard what she said I began to doubt my own decision to cut my mother off completely. What if she could change? After all, Mark's parents at least seemed to be trying to do so. I forced those thoughts out of my head. There was no way my mother would ever seek therapy, she still didn't think she'd done anything wrong.

Still, I was happy for Mark. It was nice to see him get a somewhat happy ending after all of the trouble he had endured in his childhood.

As for my side of the wedding, it basically consisted entirely of my old friend Lisa and her husband Rob. As soon as she arrived at the hotel she ran over to me, squealing.

"OH MY G.o.d CAROLINE I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!"

I hadn't done as good a job of keeping in touch with her as I'd hoped, and I'm sure the news of our wedding and the invitation came as a surprise to her. I was glad she was able to come, despite it all being pretty last minute.

"Hey, Lisa, thanks for coming," I told her as we hugged, like long lost sisters.

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have missed this for the world. G.o.d, I can't believe the tickets you bought us were for first cla.s.s, do you even know how amazing it is? Of course you do, you're marrying basically the richest guy on the planet."

I laughed. "He's not quite that rich, Lisa."

"Well, close enough to it. You know, I've decided I'm going to take credit for you meeting him."

"How's that?"

"Well, I was the one who distracted you so much that you forgot your sungla.s.ses. And also, if I'd come to your surfing lesson the way you wanted me to, he totally would have fallen for me instead."

"Lisa, you're married!" I told her, laughing.

"I would have dropped Rob in a second for someone like Mark."

As though perfectly on cue, Rob made his way towards the two of us.

"Is Lisa telling you how she'd leave me for your fiance if he asked?" he joked.

"She is, yes."

"Well congrats, Lisa, you're the one hundredth person Lisa has said that to today!"

"So I guess the 'keep quiet' part of the invite you figured was optional?" I teased. I didn't mind, really. When we asked people to be discreet about the invitation, we were more concerned with Mark's side of the family, who were sometimes in the media.

"I was being discreet, I didn't tell anyone who my friend was marrying, or even who my friend was."

I turned to Rob. "Thanks for coming. To both of you. You're basically the only ones sitting on my side of the aisle. And Lisa isn't even doing that, since she's the Matron of Honor."

Lisa took me in a hug. "That's alright sweetie, we'll move some people over from Mark's side."

I couldn't believe it had been so long since I'd seen Lisa. My eyes started to well up with tears as I was overcome with emotion. She had been my best friend, she always knew never to pry, but knew exactly what to say. I was so thankful to have her, I didn't need anyone else on my side of the aisle.

The next couple of days flew past. I met friends and relatives of Mark's that I didn't know, and forgot most of their names almost immediately after meeting them. We got all the details ready for the wedding, the rehearsal dinner took place, and then the next thing I knew I was waking up on my wedding day.

Sunlight streamed through the window and into the suite. Mark had moved into a room down the hall for the night, in order to keep with tradition so he wouldn't see me before the ceremony, which would take place at three o'clock that afternoon.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard Lisa knocking excitedly on my door.

"Hey, Caroline, you had better be up by now, we have to get ready!" she nagged through the door as I threw on a robe and went to let her in.

"I was up, I was up, I was just having a shower."

"Well good, I thought I'd check up on you just in case. We have the hair appointment at nine, then nails are being done at eleven, then I figure we should be back here to put on the dress and take care of any finishing touches by maybe one, one thirty at the latest."

"That works for me, the florist is coming at nine thirty, but she knows I'll be out and to just take the initiative, she knows what I want. The cake is being delivered at noon, but the hotel is taking care of that. The photographer should be at the hotel around one, so he'll be able to get all of us getting ready as well."

Just listing everything that had to be done made me feel more stressed out than I'd been leading up to this day. It just seemed like so much, how was it all going to get done before three?

"There's so much, Lisa, I should have been up an hour ago!"

"Don't worry, Caroline. Everything will be fine. Besides, even if everything isn't perfect, you're marrying the man you love, right? That's the important thing."

"You're right, of course. Thanks Lisa. Let's go find Sam, the other Bridesmaid, and we'll go to the hair appointment."

I texted Sam and she met us in the lobby, looking absolutely perfect. I was so jealous of the way she could pull off the confident, upper cla.s.s woman look almost effortlessly.

"h.e.l.lo ladies, are we ready for the appointment? I've already called a car to come pick us up, the driver should be here any minute."

Sure enough, two minutes later a luxury sedan pulled up and we climbed into the back seat.

"So what's the plan, hair wise?" Sam asked.

"Well, I was thinking just something simple, some soft waves for everyone, maybe an orchid in the hair, make it look especially Hawaiian, that sort of thing. Thoughts?"

"I like it, very elegant. It shouldn't take too long, either."

Sure enough, after only a little more than an hour we were finished with the hair, and as I admired my new do in the mirror all I could think was that I couldn't wait for Mark to see how beautiful I looked.

"d.a.m.n, you're going to look amazing in that dress," Lisa said when she saw me, and I blushed.

"Lisa's right," Sam confirmed. "That hairstyle looks amazing on you.

"Aw, thanks ladies," I replied, feeling the blush crawling up my face. Accepting compliments had never been my strong suit. We decided to walk to the nail salon, since we still had quite a while before the appointment. I might have been imagining things, but I couldn't help but notice a few more heads turning my way as we walked down the street.

When we finally arrived back at the hotel, I started to feel really nervous. I wasn't scared, it wasn't like I was having second thoughts, I just didn't want anything to go wrong. I guess I was just a natural worrywart, but I couldn't help it. I tapped my fingers against the railing of the elevator as it took us back up to the suite, and Sam smiled.

"It's going to be fine, Caroline. Mark loves you, you love him, you're going to have a beautiful wedding."

I shot her a smile that I hoped looked normal enough. "Thanks, Sam. You're right, of course." The photographer knocked on the door five minutes after we got into the suite. My wedding dress was in the closet, and I pulled it out of the bag, hanging it up on the door, admiring the beauty of it.

It was a short sleeved silk dress with a sweetheart neckline, form fitting, with a couple of layers that crossed over to halfway down my legs, almost c.o.c.ktail dress size. Perfect for a beach wedding. I took out the pair of white sandals I'd chosen to go with it, and the photographer took a few photos while my wedding party 'oohed' and 'ahhed'. We then all got changed, me into my dress, the other ladies into the turquoise bridesmaid dresses I'd picked out.

The next thing I knew, it was a quarter to three, my makeup was done, my dress was on, my jewellery perfect and I was ready to go get married.

My heart felt like it was going to burst through my throat as we walked. I stayed in the waiting room, staring at the door. The florist came in and gave me my bouquet, Lisa squeezed my hand and told me it was going to be fine, the photographer snapped a few pictures, and the next thing I knew Pachabel's Canon was playing and the doors in front of me opened, revealing the beautiful beach sixty feet in front of me, all the guests on white chairs on either side of a gorgeous red velvet carpet that shone beautifully against the white sand.

As I walked down the aisle, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. It wasn't a big wedding, we had only just over 50 guests, and while I normally would have felt uncomfortable with that many people looking at me, that wasn't a problem right now. All I could see was Mark, standing at the other end of the carpet laid out across the beach for me, beaming up at me. At that moment I knew I had made the right choice. I was the love of his life, and he mine. Every step took me closer to him, and as I finally stood in front of the altar, my bridesmaids falling in behind me, I knew I was ready.

The ceremony was simple, taking only around 20 minutes, and once it was all over, Mark and I officially left as Mr and Mrs Mark Selzer, heading back into the hotel for a couple of minutes before going to do the wedding photos and the reception.

Looking back on it, the whole rest of the day pa.s.sed by in a blur. We spent around two hours doing the wedding photos, both portraits with family and friends, the wedding party, and the just Mark and myself along the beach, before the reception started. We had the entire restaurant booked out, on the second floor, on the balcony overlooking Waikiki beach. It was absolutely perfect, but nothing compared to what came next.

The night finally came to a close around midnight, with nearly everyone at least slightly intoxicated finally filing off to their rooms on the floor we'd rented out for guests. Mark and I finally found ourselves alone on the balcony, looking over the ocean, completely black apart from the lights from the hotels bouncing off the waves.

"So, Mrs. Selzer," Mark asked, hearing the name bringing a smile to my lips, "did you want to go back to our room? I'm not sure I can keep my hands off you any longer."

"Absolutely, I do," I replied, and before I knew what was happening Mark had literally swept me off my feet and picked me up in his arms, carrying me across the room, up the elevator and past the threshold of our honeymoon suite.

He carried me over to the bed, placing me gently against the sheets before climbing on top of me and kissing me slowly.

His lips pressed mine and I instantly felt like I was floating, carried away into another universe, another universe where the only sensation was pleasure. I closed my eyes, willing every ounce of my body to focus on Mark's lips. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and I kissed him back. I wanted this so badly, I wanted him so badly.

As Mark's mouth discovered mine, his fingers began to undo my dress. I could tell he wanted to just rip it off me, that he wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but we both knew I wanted to keep the dress, as so many brides do, so he took his time.

When all the b.u.t.tons on the back were undone, Mark moved off me so that I could get the dress off. Hit with a sudden burst of confidence, I got up off the bed. Mark looked confused, not used to me taking the initiative in the bedroom, but I pushed him back down on the bed and he grinned as he watched me slowly taking the dress off, first one strap, then the other. I held it against my chest for a moment, teasing him, before letting the fabric drop, revealing my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I heard Mark sigh with pleasure when I did it. I turned around and slowly wiggled my hips as I let the dress fall around them, letting the fabric fall to the floor, the light blue thong I wore under it the only thing I still wore.

When I slid that off as well, bending over as I pulled the thin fabric down my legs, giving Mark the best view he could have hoped for, I heard him groan.

"Climb on top of me," he ordered, and I immediately did as he asked.

I fumbled with his clothes slightly before getting his pants undone and his boxers pulled down enough to reveal the hardness underneath. I could tell we were both ready for this, we both wanted it.

I pressed him inside of me and began to bounce up and down, every stroke bringing us both pleasure unlike any other feeling on the planet. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his hands on my hips as the pleasure inside of me grew, the fire coursing through my veins getting hotter and hotter until I felt I couldn't take any more of this.

As I picked up the pace, both our need getting more urgent than ever, we came together, each of us climaxing at the same time, our cries intermingling in the night, enjoying our first night of wedded bliss together. When it was all over, I collapsed on top of Mark, who was still practically fully dressed, then rolled over onto the bed next to him and nestled myself into the crook of his arm. We were married now, until death do us part. Mark wrapped his big, strong arms around me and we stayed that way for a while, until finally Mark suggested we have a shower and maybe keep things going there...

After the wedding, Mark and I quickly jumped on a flight to j.a.pan. As I leaned back in the seat and relaxed, I thought about my life. We were married now, and about to start on a new life journey. h.e.l.l, we were about to go on the adventure of a lifetime. I was incredibly excited; having never been out of the country before. Mark and I had a small idea of where we wanted to go, but since the plan was to stay as far off the radar as possible, we hadn't set anything in stone yet. We were starting our trip off in j.a.pan, were probably going to go to Australia from there, and we would see afterwards.

What I did know was that by the time we got back everything would be organized so that it would seem as though we left San Diego and lived in New York City for good. My mother would have been incapable of finding us for over six months, she would have seen that Mark's apartment would have been put up for sale, and our new place, which Mark showed me photos of on the internet, would never be able to be traced back to us.

Mark had confided in Sam about our troubles, and she was absolutely on board to help us as well. She would hire someone who looked like Mark to go out with her from time to time and act like a brother, just so the paparazzi would also report that we lived on the East Coast.