Chapter 434 - 313: Before the Wedding
’Why do I always feel so restless?’
Mason Hayes’s words had been a sudden revelation, and Marcus Monroe believed he had finally found the reason!
Because he was afraid.
He wasn’t afraid to admit it.
He was, indeed, afraid.
He was afraid that Paige Summers still longed for the world she once lived in. Afraid that just as she had appeared so mysteriously, she might mysteriously disappear. Afraid that she still harbored a secret desire to go back...
These fears didn’t vanish just because Paige Summers never mentioned it. Even though he watched her every day, knowing she had neither the time nor the energy—let alone the inclination—to find a way to leave this world!
But Marcus Monroe still couldn’t erase the anxiety in his heart.
So, he subconsciously found himself constantly worrying about losing her, unable to feel at ease.
However, Mason Hayes’s words had also given him an idea.
If his acceptance and acknowledgement alone weren’t enough, then he would get more people to help solidify her resolve to stay in this world.
He needed a wedding!
Witnessed by everyone, he wanted them—and Paige Summers herself—to know for certain that she was his wife.
She was his wife now, and in the future, she would be the mother of his children.
If his love alone wasn’t enough, then he would add the bonds of family!
He would have children with her, creating more and deeper ties to bind her. He would make it so she would never, ever want to leave this place. Even if the opportunity arose in the future, she wouldn’t waver in the slightest!
And so, while Leo Joyce and his group were exhausting themselves—half of them dragging their blood-loss-weakened bodies as they finally dug out a considerable amount of munitions from a collapsed tunnel, only to find all the gunpowder was damp and useless, forcing them to return to their own base in disgrace—Bloodfall Base was busy preparing for a joyous occasion!
For Marcus Monroe and Paige Summers’s wedding, the entire base was decorated and given a fresh new look.
Everyone was excited.
There had been very few weddings since the apocalypse began.
Not just for ordinary people or ordinary Superpower Users; even the weddings of Noble Houses or high-ranking officials were mostly low-key affairs.
The world was too unstable.
Marriage had become incredibly fragile.
Whether based on love or mutual benefit, it was highly likely that a marriage would quickly end in a funeral or a breakup.
So many people simply didn’t bother anymore.
They either chose to stay single or just had a simple meal together, and that was that.
Of course, Marcus Monroe refused to settle for that.
If Paige Summers hadn’t found it to be too much trouble, he probably would have even sent a special envoy to notify Central City.
He wanted as many guests as possible to witness the ceremony!
It would be best if the whole world knew that Paige Summers was the wife he had honorably wed!
Paige Summers herself was actually quite surprised that he wanted to hold a wedding.
Perhaps it was because she had never seen a single wedding since she arrived here.
It wasn’t that there weren’t couples around.
In Bloodfall’s Hunting Parties, for instance, there were people who felt they were a good match and simply moved in together.
Once they lived together, it signified their intimate relationship, and everyone else naturally understood what was going on.
No one went out of their way to hold a wedding ceremony.
So for someone like Marcus Monroe to completely redecorate their living quarters to serve as a marital home, and for the base to follow suit, putting up traditional ’double happiness’ symbols and hanging symbolic red banners everywhere, was unheard of. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, especially when they saw her, giving her teasing, suggestive looks.
It made her feel extremely awkward!
"Hey! Do you really have to be so over-the-top?!" she couldn’t help but complain to Marcus Monroe as they lay in bed that night.
She had been so busy lately that her spirits were a bit low. Seeing everyone in the base making such a fuss, she had to admit, she found their ostentatious efforts a little annoying.
Marcus Monroe noticed her slight change in mood. Thinking she was nervous about the wedding, he turned on his side, pulled her into his arms, and soothed her, "If you don’t like it, I’ll have them take everything down after the wedding."
Paige Summers pursed her lips. After a long pause, she said slowly, "It’s not that... I just find it strange..."
Marcus Monroe raised an eyebrow. "Pre-wedding jitters? That really doesn’t sound like you." Though he said that, he was secretly pleased. ’If she’s nervous, it must mean she cares about me! That’s a good thing!’
Paige Summers shot him a look. "Then you must have pre-wedding excitement syndrome!" He really was excited. His elated expression was so vibrant she could hardly find a trace of his former silence and usual deadpan look. She almost didn’t recognize him!
Marcus Monroe leaned in, pressing his face against hers. "You don’t like it?" As he spoke, he licked the shell of her ear.
"That tickles!" Paige Summers laughed, dodging his oral "assault" and burrowing deeper into his arms.
Marcus Monroe’s desire was instantly stirred, and his hand slowly slid inside her pajamas...
Paige Summers quickly grabbed his mischievous hand. "We agreed, not tonight," she said, displeased.
"I’m not doing anything!"
"How can you say that! Where do you think you’re touching!"
"You mean here? Or here?..."
"Hey..."
"Alright, alright, just for a little bit, I promise!"
As it turned out, a man’s promises in bed were often useless. Paige Summers was thoroughly devoured from head to toe, so much so that her back was incredibly sore when she woke up the next day. And her attempt at a low-key protest was ignored before it even began.
Sighing, Paige Summers washed her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
’I really haven’t been feeling my best lately.’
Others might not have noticed, but she knew it clearly.
There were too many things that required her attention. Although the smelting was on track, she still needed to oversee it sometimes. The most exhausting tasks were making weapons and working on the surveillance system with Maisie Joyce.
The base’s population had grown, so she had already picked twenty promising individuals to be her apprentices and begin learning Artifact Making. Most of them had no foundation and had to start from scratch. Although she had written a simplified textbook, this craft wasn’t something you could master just by reading. Paige Summers’s guidance as their master was far more important.
Every day, she had to spend at least half her time teaching her apprentices. The other half was spent with Maisie Joyce and the others, researching electronic components.
Maisie Joyce’s group had brought some finished components, leftovers from before, but other parts needed to be made from scratch.
This required a lot of specialized equipment and tools.
This wasn’t something her new apprentices could help with. The only way was for Maisie Joyce’s group to provide technical support while she figured out how to craft the parts herself.
It had to be said, this was quite difficult.
However, she would never give up.
Thankfully, Levi Young could also help in this area, so she wasn’t completely overwhelmed.
Even so, after days of this exhausting routine, her head felt heavy. It was like she had a cold, seeing everything as if through a thin film.
She thought she probably needed to slow down, or she might just collapse before the wedding.