Chapter 4: The First Glitches

*POV: Mia Thompson*

The morning was supposed to be normal. I woke up in my cozy loft, the kind of loft that screams “artistic chaos” with its mismatched furniture, photo prints tacked to the walls, and a camera bag permanently draped over a chair. The sun streamed in through the tall windows, filling the room with a warm, lazy light. I stretched, shuffled over to the kitchen, and set the coffee machine to do its magic.

Today was going to be productive. I had an engagement shoot at noon\, a few edits to polish off\, and maybe I’d even squeeze in a quick call to remind Ryan that this whole accidental marriage thing was supposed to *fade away*. Easy\, right? I could almost laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

As I poured my first cup of coffee, though, the calm shattered. My phone buzzed on the counter, and the name "Mom" flashed across the screen. I groaned, already sensing the whirlwind that was about to hit me. Bracing myself, I answered.

“Mia\, darling! I’ve been meaning to call you! We need to talk about the *reception*!” My mother’s voice was like a shot of espresso directly to my brain.

“Reception?” I echoed, frowning into my coffee cup.

“Yes, the wedding reception! I’ve been brainstorming all morning, and I’ve already got a few fantastic venues lined up. Oh, Mia, you and Ryan are going to have the most magical belated celebration. Tuscany was beautiful, but we can’t let that be the only memory!”

I nearly dropped the cup. The whole Tuscany thing had been a mistake—a series of unfortunate coincidences that led to Ryan and me being accidentally declared husband and wife at someone else’s wedding. And now\, here I was\, listening to my mother ramble about *our* belated reception.

“Mom, wait, no, this isn’t—” I started, but she was already off to the races.

“I’ve sent you a list of venues, and there’s this vineyard I think would be perfect. Oh, and your father thinks we should invite the whole extended family. You know how much they adore Ryan! Oh, and don’t worry about the catering, we’ve got it covered…”

“Mom, seriously!” I raised my voice, but she wasn’t listening. She was in full wedding-planning mode.

After five more minutes of futile protest\, I hung up the phone and stared at it in disbelief. How had this spiraled so quickly? I hadn’t even had time to call Ryan\, let alone figure out how to quietly dissolve this ridiculous situation. And now\, instead of the far-off *annulment*\, my family was talking about hosting a reception? A reception! Like this accidental marriage was real or something. I groaned and downed my coffee\, already dreading the day ahead.

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*POV: Ryan Collins*

I sat at my desk, tugging slightly at the knot of my tie. Today was supposed to be straightforward. Some emails, a few calls, and meetings with clients. Just another day in the office.

But when I opened my laptop and checked my inbox\, my stomach sank. My inbox was flooded with congratulatory emails—some from clients\, some from colleagues\, and most annoyingly\, some from people I barely even knew. Every single one referenced my so-called *secret wedding*.

*Congrats\, Ryan! Can’t believe you got hitched so quietly!*

*Ryan and Mia\, huh? Saw the pictures. She’s a catch!*

*You’re such a dark horse! Looking forward to meeting your lovely bride.*

Bride. That word made me wince. I didn’t have a bride. I had an accidental *situation* that I was desperately trying to fix. I rubbed my temples\, trying to stave off the headache that was building. This was exactly what I was afraid of. The moment my family and colleagues caught wind of this\, it would spiral out of control\, and now... here we were.

To make matters worse\, a floral arrangement had just been delivered to my office. The card was from one of my most annoying clients\, congratulating me and Mia on our *new journey together*. Apparently\, they thought Mia might want to help “spruce up” our next meeting with her artistic eye. I stared at the bouquet on my desk\, mentally debating whether to toss it out the window or set it on fire.

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*POV: Mia Thompson*

By the time I arrived at the engagement shoot, I was frazzled. The whole way over, I’d been fielding texts from my mom, all of them filled with enthusiastic ideas for this so-called reception. I hadn’t even told Ryan yet that the families were running wild with this, which was definitely a conversation I wasn’t looking forward to.

At least photography was a welcome distraction. It was easy to lose myself behind the lens, focusing on capturing the little moments—the stolen glances, the laughter, the easy way couples seemed to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

But, of course, today wasn’t going to let me off that easy.

“So, how’s married life?” the bride-to-be asked out of nowhere as I adjusted the camera settings.

I almost dropped my Canon. “Sorry, what?” I fumbled, trying to act casual, but I was anything but.

“You and Ryan, right? Saw the pictures from Tuscany—looked like a dream. How’s it going?” she asked, flashing me a smile like she hadn’t just sent my brain into a tailspin.

I laughed nervously, shifting my camera from one hand to the other. “Oh, um, yeah… it’s, uh, great. Really, really great,” I said, cringing internally. What else was I supposed to say? That it was a complete accident? That the whole thing was a mix-up?

The bride, oblivious to my internal crisis, kept pushing. “Where did you two go for your honeymoon? I’m thinking Italy, but I can’t decide on which coast.”

I forced another laugh\, avoiding eye contact. “Oh\, you know… still figuring it out\,” I muttered\, grateful that the groom had distracted her with a kiss. I snapped a quick shot\, trying to block out the *questions* and focus on my job.

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*POV: Ryan Collins*

Lunch with James was supposed to be a calm affair. We had a new deal to discuss, and I had planned to use the hour to reset after the madness of the morning. But James, like everyone else, had other ideas.

“Ryan, you dark horse!” James chuckled as we sat down at a quiet corner table. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Mia.”

My jaw clenched. “It’s, uh, still new,” I said through gritted teeth.

James didn’t seem to notice the tension in my voice. “I get it. But she’s perfect, isn’t she? Laid-back, artsy. Exactly what you need. I was thinking we should invite her to our client dinner next week. Might be good to show that softer side of yours. Mia’s got that down-to-earth charm.”

I resisted the urge to slam my fist on the table. Instead, I nodded, pretending to consider it. “I’ll have to see if she’s free,” I said, hoping James would drop it.

Of course, he didn’t. “It’d be great to get to know her better. You know, the wives are already planning some sort of welcome dinner for her, too.”

*Fantastic.* Now there were *wives* involved. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up this charade.

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*POV: Mia Thompson*

After wrapping up the shoot, I was finally able to call Ryan. He picked up on the third ring, sounding just as tense as I felt.

“We need to talk,” I said immediately.

“Yeah, no kidding,” he replied. “My office looks like a florist exploded. I’ve had clients and business partners congratulating me all day.”

I groaned. “My mom’s planning a wedding reception. A *reception*\, Ryan. And people keep asking me about *our honeymoon*.”

Ryan let out a long, exasperated sigh. “This is getting out of hand.”

“Tell me about it. I nearly died when someone asked about our *married life* during an engagement shoot.”

We sat in silence for a beat, both of us processing how wildly out of control things had gotten. But then, almost simultaneously, we started laughing—really laughing, the kind of laugh that comes from the sheer absurdity of the situation.

“This is insane,” I said, wiping a tear from my eye.

“Insane,” Ryan agreed. “But we’ve got to stay the course… at least for now.”

“Right,” I said, though part of me wondered just how much crazier things could get.

The truth? I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

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