What was he supposed to say to that? It wasn't as though he had a rebuttal. Even given that he hadn't decided of his own free will to elope, none of his decisions over the course of the past few months were ones Aldous would approve of. He was a fool. And Melody... Ben wasn't sure. He'd always thought of her as the smart one, between the two of them, but there was nothing smart about how she'd handled things the night before. There was also a certain nativity to her decisions, because Melody, coming from the background she did, just didn't know. She didn't know what being married to him would really mean, compared to the life she'd had before.

Well, fool or not, she was stuck with him now. And what a pair they made.

"I know," he said, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I know. I... I need help, Aldous."