A/N: This is my first attempt at Penelope fan fic. I absolutely loved the story, but wondered what would happen if Penelope HAD married Edward that day. Would Johnny have stood by and watched? Or would he finally fight for her? Will Edward realize what he has only to lose it? What secret is he hiding and can they discover it before it's too late? This is the story of marrying for convenience and finding love when it's least expected. This is the consequence of "yes." HEA guaranteed. P/E, later P/J.

I sat in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I knew what I was about to do; I was about to sell my soul so I could be normal. I knew that Edward didn't love me. Hell, Edward didn't even like me. We were both marrying to get something out of it. He was getting his reputation back and I was getting the chance to be normal, to not have the pig nose.

What about Max?

Max is irrelevant; I told that irritating voice in my head. Max made it perfectly clear to me that he didn't want me. I put myself out there, begging him to marry me and he said no. I was so repulsive to him that he couldn't stand the thought of saying "I do." Not that I blamed him. I apparently was hideous; I have seven years of men running to prove that. He wasn't any different.

Yes he is.

I scoffed at that.

After the curse is broken, I plan to slap Edward with divorce papers. He'll be rid of me and I'll be able to live a normal life. And my mother will finally be happy with me.

"Mom, I look stupid," I said as my mother brushed my hair.

"Oh, you don't look stupid," she said, looking at me through the mirror. "You look…you don't look stupid."

She turned away from me and I rolled my eyes. Even my own mother didn't see me as beautiful. The only one who did was my father. He always accepted me for who I was, but my mother always overpowered him.

I hate that woman sometimes.

I saw that I was alone again and my mind wandered. I thought about all the men that passed through my front doors the past seven years. All of them ran once I appeared to them.

Except Max. He didn't run. He extended his arm to touch me and then recoiled in disgust. At one point he left but my mother brought him back. He said he had something to tell me but never got the chance.

That was his confirmation that he didn't want to marry me.

I thought about the time we spent together. He was interesting; he made me laugh. He made me think. I remembered him telling me that he was a gambler and the biggest amount that he won at poker. He then proceeded to tell me how he lost it all the next hand. I remember the hurtful look that crossed his face when I laughed at what he said and then joined me in laughter. His eyes twinkled brightly and his laugh was melodic. He seemed happy; carefree.

I later wondered what had caused the sad and painful look in his eyes that day. I never wanted to see that again. He returned the next day, much to my happiness and we began bantering about musical instruments. The day ended as we wrapped up a chess game.

There was one tense moment, though. He asked me to go to the Cloverdilly Pub with him and I turned him down. Could THAT be why he said no? No, that's silly. That would be completely childish and petty. A move that Edward would do, surely, but not Max.

I shook my head. I had to stop thinking about him. I secretly hoped that he would crash the wedding; come barreling down the aisle declaring his love for me before sweeping me up into his arms and kissing me passionately, snout be damned. Everyone would gasp of course, but he wouldn't care. Once the kiss would be broken he'd give Edward a look and the two of us would run off together, happily ever after.

But this isn't a fairytale. Happily ever afters don't exist. Max was repulsed, plain and simple. It'll be better once the curse is broken.

Now that voice is starting to sound like my mother.

I stood up from my vanity and walked to the window, gazing down upon the festivities outside. There was a bustle of activity as everyone was finding their seats for the show. Edward looked pained as usual. Annie was chatting with Jack and the two of them were very chummy. I smiled. I knew that Jack liked her but he never had the heart to say anything. I'm glad that Annie was finally coming to her senses.

Then I saw him. Max! Over by the tree! It had to be him…same build, shaggy hair….I looked at his face and my heart sank. It wasn't him; just someone who had the same haircut. I gripped some of my dress in frustration. Now I couldn't wait to be married just so I wouldn't have to think about him anymore.

"Ready, dear?" my father asked as he entered the room. I turned and walked right into his arms.

He rubbed circles on my back and spoke soothing words. "It's okay," he said quietly. "You know, Penelope, you don't have to go through with this." He tipped my chin up so I could look into his eyes. I loved my father so much. He didn't deserve my mother.

I shook my head and looked down. "Yes I do, father. If I ever want to have a normal life, I have to go through with this." His grip on me didn't lessen and he continued to soothe me.

"Penelope," he said, "you will always be beautiful to me." One again he lifted my chin. "You will always be my beautiful little girl."

At his statement, I hugged him fiercely as tears began to stream down my cheeks. This was silly. I shouldn't be crying, but I couldn't help it. My father was my one grounding device against my mother, the one thing that kept me sane.

And tomorrow he wouldn't be around.

We remained in our little bubble until a shrill voice spoke. "Franklin!" it screeched, causing both of us to jump. I looked up into my father's eyes and he smiled warmly at me. "I love my little girl," he said before releasing me and turning to walk out of the room.

My mother flew to me. "Oh, darling you've been crying. Well, that was a great way to ruin your mascara. Now I'll have to fix it." In a flash I was sitting in front of my vanity while my mother cleaned up my messy eyes. She hummed a happy tune while she did it, oblivious to her daughter's feelings.

"There," she said, turning to look at me in the mirror. "All fixed." Tossing the canister on the vanity, she walked to the door. "Ready, darling?"

I took one last look in the mirror and sighed. If I ever wanted my mother to accept me, I'd better marry that creep down there.

Standing slowly so not to tear my dress, I walked over to her. She took my hand and led me down the long staircase to the wedding outside. The house had never looked so beautiful! The chandeliers were sparkling extra bright, there were flowers and smells everywhere and nothing screamed "PIG!" My mother had done a great job of omitting my twenty-five year existence.

I saw Wanda at the bottom of the stairs, smiling brightly at me. I would miss her. Now that my mother was marrying me off, her job as my matchmaker was complete. I stopped and took her hand, squeezing lightly as I leaned into her.

"You were like a sister to me," I whispered to her. She squeezed back and from the look in her eyes, I knew she felt the same.

Then she turned to my mother. "Jessica, she has to know."

My mother glared at her. "No, she doesn't." She put her arm around me and ushered me outside before turning back to Wanda. I thought I heard Wanda say the name "Johnny," but the door was shut before I could make it out.

Everyone turned to look at me. I felt my cheeks grow red. Some of the people had a look of horror on their faces; they had evidently never seen a pig-faced girl before. Some were smiling because they were my "fans" and wanted to see me happy. I saw Annie's smile. That was genuine. She didn't care that I had the face of the pig; she was my friend the entire time. I began slowly walking down the aisle, looking straight at Edward. As I suspected, he looked ready to throw up.

Guess he figured out he'd have to kiss me. Well, when it comes time for that I'll probably have that same look on MY face.

I smiled to myself as I reached him.

Yup. DEFINITELY figured it out.

"Do you, Edward Vanderman III, take Penelope Wilhern to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Edward swallowed hard. He paused for several seconds before whispering "I do." Then he tried to smile, but it came off more like a grimace.

I didn't pay much attention to the preacher as he talked. I kept looking over to see the guests. All of Edward's look horrified while mine looked bored. They knew I didn't want to be here; hell they didn't want to be either. I looked at my parents and saw my mother had the biggest grin on her face.

"And do you, Penelope Wilhern, take Edward Vanderman III to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. Everything was a bit fuzzy. I heard a ringing in my ears and then voices. I looked out into the crowd again. There was my mother's smiling face, and Annie's concerned one. Wanda's was conflicted with emotion and my father's was sad. Suddenly it became a blur. It was a sea of faces to me, each one fading into the distance. I gasped for breath, my throat constricting.

"Penelope?" the preacher asked, pulling me back to the present.

My head jerked to Edward. His eyes shone, he was hoping I'd say no. Emotions flooded through me. I saw the rush of all the men that had run from me, including Edward. He was the worst of all. I saw the stunt he had pulled to get my picture, using Max as the photographer. I saw Max standing at the bottom of the stairs and whispering "I can't" after I asked him to marry me to break the curse. I saw him at the Cloverdilly Pub when I was there playing darts. He kept his distance, but disgust was still evident on his face. I saw him everywhere I went; he was always on my mind. No matter how hard I fought to keep him out, no matter how hard I tried, it was futile. I saw him all the time.

I saw him by the wedding cake.

But I knew it wasn't him; it was that shaggy-haired guy from before. I didn't need to see his face this time to know it wasn't him. Everything came at me at once then; all the pain, the heartbreak, and the rejection that seven years had brought on me. All because of this damn curse. A curse that I didn't do a thing to deserve. A curse that my stupid great-great-great-grandfather had had placed because he had fallen in love with the wrong girl. A curse I was punished unjustly for.

A curse I needed to break.

I swallowed hard, my eyes drifting back to Edward. His eyes were hopeful that the hideously ugly pig-faced girl would say no; that he would not have to endure any more of me. I wanted to smack him. There was silence everywhere; everyone riveted to what I was going to say. I forced Max out of my head as I smiled. Willing all the strength I could muster, I said one word.

"Yes."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that first chapter. I honestly don't know when I'll update; I have about three pages of chapter 2 done but want to get further ahead.

Thanks for reading!