Eveline waited as the electronic paperwork was completed.  The tension around the room had not diminished and part of her reveled in the way her parents still sat uncomfortably, as though at any moment Colin would rise and laugh and tell them their daughter was completely unfit to be his wife with her sassy attitude and forward thinking.  But Eveline hadn’t been fooled.  She could read the desire in Colin’s eyes for her to win his game, to slip just under the radar of what was considered acceptable.  For the rest of the world, he wanted them at his feet, walking on eggshells, deferring to his dominance.  But he clearly desired a wife who spoke her mind, who challenged him, who perhaps enhanced him rather than dragged him down.<br/><br/>If only that second wife status did not exist….<br/><br/>Colin signed the pad, pressing his thumb against the screen.  She could see the smirk in his eyes as the people around him shifted to watch.  They all wanted this meeting to end, and Eveline could imagine they were used to far different proceedings.  The man would ask about hobbies and interests.  Obedience and upbringing.  Skills and education.  Basics to solidify the results of the genetics.<br/><br/>This had been different.  Interesting.  Fun.  For her at any rate.<br/><br/>As the tablet was passed to hers, Eveline let her eyes finally drop from her future husband’s face.  She slid her thumb onto the pad, waiting for the scan, for the prick, for the confirmation that she was the person who would be entering the arrangement.  The pad beeped in approval.  Then Eveline passed it to her father, who as her guardian, was responsible for confirming that he too agreed to the match.  There was no hesitation at all.  Eveline had never seen Howard move faster as he pressed his thumb down onto the screen.  At the final beep, the deal was done.<br/><br/>Just like that, Eveline was married.