Athena proposes to Asher

The old car kept rolling down the empty road, cutting through the falling snow.

In the backseat, Asher sat in silence. His jaw was tight, eyes staring straight ahead. His fists clenched on his lap, like the rage inside him hadn't fully cooled like a part of his soul was still back in that ruined wedding garden. The place where he'd destroyed everything to save a girl he barely knew… but who had already filled every corner of his heart.

Beside him, Athena stared out the window, but her mind was far away.

"Even if you didn't owe me a thing… I'd still marry you!"

Carlos's voice kept echoing in her head, like a wound that refused to close. Those words hurt more than threats or violence. Because they meant there was no way out. No negotiation. No freedom. She might've escaped today… but what about tomorrow? Tomorrow could be so much worse.

Athena turned her gaze to Asher, still frozen in place. Her heart raced, she finally had her answer.

"Asher…"

He turned slowly, the red in his eyes starting to fade.

"I want us to get married."

The screech of brakes pierced the silence.

The car jerked to a sudden stop on the snowy shoulder. Lucky, the road was completely empty.

Lucy whipped her head around, eyes wide. "Hold up, what did you just say?"

Athena looked down, gripping her wedding dress tight. "I have to get married, Lucy. It's the only way left to protect myself."

Lucy didn't say a word. Her eyes shifted from Athena to Asher.

Athena lifted her face, even though fear still lingered in her eyes. "Carlos won't stop chasing me. This isn't about money anymore… he said he doesn't care. He just wants to own me. And the only way to make him stop… is if I already belong to someone else. Officially."

"Asher," she continued, her voice shaky but clear, "you're the only guy who can protect me. You… you're the only one I trust."

Asher tilted his head, staring at her for a long moment. Like he was truly trying to understand.

Then he nodded.

"I already have your last name," he said, completely serious. "So… we should get married. Like you said, to have someone's last name, you gotta marry them first."

Athena stared at him, then let out a small, teary smile. She wasn't crying from fear… but from how touched she was. His innocence was the gentlest kind of comfort, more real than anything else in her life.

"You're right," she said softly. "And this… this is your way of protecting me without hurting anyone. If we're married, we'll have a marriage license. And everyone will know you're my husband. Carlos won't be able to take me to be his bride."

Lucy was still frozen behind the wheel. She looked at the two of them like she was watching a movie she couldn't quite wrap her head around. Part of it sounded insane. But somehow… it also made perfect sense.

A man with no name. No past. Superhuman strength but a heart like a child's. And a girl who'd lost everything, her freedom, her family, except for her pride and the courage to choose the one path left to survive.

Lucy let out a long sigh and nodded.

"If you two are actually serious about this… we need to find a way to make the marriage legal."

Athena and Asher looked at each other.

"I mean… he's basically a mystery guy. No memory, no ID. We gotta fix that before you can legally get married," Lucy said nervously.

Athena frowned, picturing the mess it would be to get documents together, how long that'd take. Carlos could show up anytime, and this time he might bring even more thugs.

"I know, Lucy," she replied, worried. "But if we wait for all that… it's like handing Carlos a second chance to take me."

Lucy smirked. "Wow. Someone's in a real hurry to marry the hot guy next to her…"

Athena swatted her from the back seat.

"Lucy!"

"Ahaha!"

"I didn't mean it like that! This marriage is just for protection!" Athena said firmly.

"What do you mean just for protection?" Asher asked, turning to her. "Can you explain… what does it mean to get married?"

Athena froze, her lashes fluttering, her cheeks turning pink.

Lucy burst out laughing. "Ohhh no! You started it, Girl! Now you gotta finish. Go on, explain to our sweet clueless guy what a 'just for protection' marriage really means!"

Athena looked at Asher, flustered. "Marriage is… it's a bond between two people. Legally. To protect each other.. uh, I mean... to be bound together. It's not something you should overthink once it's done…"

Asher blinked. "Then why do you look embarrassed?"

"I'm not embarrassed!" she said way too fast. Her cheeks flared even redder.

Lucy howled. "Ohhh, you so are. And it's adorable. I knew you were secretly into this, even if it's all just one big emergency, hahaha!"

"Lucy!"

"Oh come on! He's gorgeous and a badass! You're totally crushing!"

"Shut up!"

Athena snapped, and Lucy went quiet barely while trying not to laugh. She sighed, then turned to Asher with a more serious look.

"Getting married means we become husband and wife. We live together. And everyone will know I belong to you and you belong to me. No one can break that apart. So if Carlos or anyone tries to take me again, you have every legal right to stop them. You can say I'm your wife, and they can't lay a finger on me."

Asher narrowed his eyes. "Belong… like I protect you? Like earlier, when I stopped them?"

Athena gave him a tiny, tearful smile. "Yeah. Just like that."

Asher thought for a second. Then he nodded.

"Then… I want to marry you," he said quietly, with deep sincerity. "Because I want to protect you. Always."

Athena lowered her gaze, her heart pounding like a drum. Everything inside her felt warm… and scared. Scared of feelings that grew too fast, too strong but were too real to ignore. It all felt forbidden. He was still a stranger. One who might one day remember who he really was… and forget her.

Lucy fake-gagged while laughing. "Okay okay, enough of the romance movie moment! Back to the actual problem how do we get a mystery man with no name and no documents legally married to a girl being hunted by some spoiled psycho?"

"What if…" Athena looked up, hope in her eyes. "We find a priest or minister who's willing to do the ceremony without all the paperwork, just for now. Later, when Asher gets proper documents, we can register the marriage legally."

Lucy nodded slowly. "You're talking about a hush-hush wedding."

"Yeah. A symbolic one. But enough to make Carlos back off."

Asher looked confused. "So… we get married… twice?"

Lucy cracked up. "If that's what it takes to save Athena's life? Heck yeah. Double wedding, double honeymoon!"

Athena just shook her head, trying not to smile as it crept onto her lips.

"So what now? We headed to a church?" Lucy asked, perking up like a ready chauffeur. "Say the word, I'm on it!"

"Um… maybe we should grab some rings first," Athena said, fidgeting. "So I can show Carlos I'm already married."

She looked over at Lucy's bag. "You got money, right?"

"Uh…" Lucy turned around with a guilty grin. "Technically not mine. I borrowed it from Madam Janet… She figured helping you escape was worth it. You're kinda the heart of her bakery, y'know?"

Athena let out a groan, massaging her temples. The word "debt" was starting to haunt her.

"Let's give the money back. I'll use mine instead and buy cheap fake rings. They don't have to be fancy,just good enough for the wedding." Lucy offered helpfully.

"What's a fake ring?" Asher asked.

Athena groaned, clearly not in the mood to explain.

"Lucy, just take us to the nearest accessory store. I wanna get married already," she said with a tired sigh.

Lucy chuckled. "With pleasure!" she said, then slammed her foot on the gas and the old junker roared back to life.