Chapter 4: Husband and Wife
934 Words
The tip of my pen touched the paper.
For one heartbeat…
I couldn’t move.
This was madness.
A few hours ago, I didn’t know Lucien Kingston existed outside magazine covers and business headlines.
Now I was about to become his wife.
I looked up.
“If I sign this…”
My voice trembled.
“…there’s no turning back.”
Lucien held my gaze.
“There is.”
I frowned.
“You can still walk away.”
My heart skipped.
“What?”
“Until your signature is complete.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I won’t stop you.”
No persuasion.
No threats.
No desperate speeches.
Just the truth.
For the first time that night, I realized something.
Lucien wasn’t forcing me.
He was giving me a choice…
Even if every option hurt.
I closed my eyes.
Dad’s face flashed through my mind.
The empty office.
The foreclosure notice.
His apology.
I lowered the pen.
My name flowed across the page.
Sienna Lawson.
The moment the ink dried…
My old life disappeared.
Lucien picked up the contract.
He studied my signature for a second before signing beneath it with quick, practiced strokes.
Then he closed the folder.
“Thank you.”
I blinked.
That wasn’t the response I’d expected.
“You… thank me?”
“You trusted me.”
“I haven’t.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You will.”
⸻
Ten minutes later…
We stepped into a quiet courtroom.
The walls were cream.
The flowers looked like they’d been arranged in a hurry.
There were only five people inside.
The judge.
A court clerk.
Two witnesses I’d never met.
And us.
No music.
No family.
No friends.
No white dress.
No vows we’d written ourselves.
This wasn’t the wedding I’d imagined as a little girl.
It felt more like signing away a piece of my future.
The judge smiled warmly.
“I know this is unusual.”
If only you knew.
She glanced at the documents before looking up.
“Mr. Kingston.”
“Miss Lawson.”
“Are you both entering this marriage willingly?”
Lucien answered first.
“I am.”
The room turned to me.
Every instinct screamed at me to run.
Instead…
“I am.”
The judge nodded.
“Please exchange the rings.”
Lucien opened the velvet box.
He lifted my hand.
His fingers brushed my skin.
Warm.
Steady.
The contact lasted only seconds.
Yet somehow…
It felt longer.
His thumb lingered for the briefest moment before sliding the diamond onto my finger.
It fit perfectly.
A strange thought crossed my mind.
How did he know my ring size?
Before I could ask, the clerk handed me a simple platinum band.
I took Lucien’s hand.
His skin was warm.
His pulse surprisingly steady.
I slipped the ring onto his finger.
Neither of us spoke.
The silence between us wasn’t awkward.
It was… heavy.
As though we both understood this moment would change everything.
The judge smiled.
“By the authority vested in me…”
My heartbeat thundered.
“…I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
The words echoed in my ears.
Husband.
Wife.
Impossible.
The judge looked at Lucien.
“You may kiss your bride.”
Time stopped.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
The room faded away.
He took one slow step closer.
Close enough that I caught the clean scent of cedar and bergamot.
Close enough that I could count the tiny flecks of gray in his dark eyes.
His gaze searched mine.
Almost asking.
I barely nodded.
Lucien lifted one hand and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
His fingertips grazed my cheek.
My breath caught.
Then…
He leaned in.
His lips brushed my forehead.
Soft.
Respectful.
Gone before I could process it.
The judge smiled.
“That’s one way to do it.”
A quiet laugh escaped the clerk.
Heat flooded my face.
Lucien stepped back.
“I hope that wasn’t too disappointing.”
I stared at him.
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“Good.”
One corner of his mouth lifted.
“I usually have that effect.”
For the first time since we’d met…
I laughed.
A real laugh.
His expression softened.
Almost imperceptibly.
But I saw it.
And somehow…
That frightened me more than anything else tonight.
We walked toward the courthouse exit together.
“One more thing,” Lucien said.
“What?”
“From this moment on…”
His tone became serious again.
“You’ll never have to face anything alone.”
I looked at him in surprise.
Was that part of the contract?
Or had he simply meant it?
Before I could ask…
The courthouse doors swung open.
A blinding flash exploded in front of us.
Then another.
And another.
Voices shouted over one another.
“Mr. Kingston!”
“Mrs. Kingston!”
“Look this way!”
“Is the marriage real?”
“Why the secret wedding?”
Hundreds of cameras.
Dozens of reporters.
People surged toward us from every direction.
Instinctively, I stepped back.
Lucien moved first.
His arm wrapped firmly around my waist, pulling me against his side.
“Stay close.”
His voice was low.
Calm.
Protective.
Another wave of flashes lit up the night.
Questions flew from every direction.
Someone yelled,
“Mr. Kingston, is this the woman your grandmother chose?”
Lucien’s body went rigid.
I looked up at him.
For the first time…
The Ice King looked genuinely shaken.
And that’s when I realized…
Our marriage wasn’t the biggest secret.
It was only the beginning.
- Writer
