6
1096 Words
TESSA
Garrett's eyes wildly flitted between me and Zane, his trembling hands raised a little, a futile gesture of defense. He was always a coward, but now that he had lost his dishonesty, his ill-gotten gains, and his lies, he was nothing more than a desperate man with the gun barrel in his face.
"This is insane." Garrett's voice shook, his hands shaking as he looked at Zane like he had just beheld the devil himself. "You can't just—"
"Sign it, Garrett!" Amanda's high-pitched voice pierced the air, her shrill tone grating on the ears. "Just sign the bloody papers!"
Her whole body shook as she held onto his arm, her daintily manicured nails digging deep into his flesh.
Garrett fought, his jaw clenched so tightly I was sure he was going to crack his teeth. He looked at me then, as if I was there to save him, as if I was there to step in and say, No, wait, let's work this out.
But I didn't.
I stared back at him, not moving, my fists clenched at my sides.
This was it. This was the moment I was finally free.
With a defeated sigh, Garrett snatched the pen from his desk and scrawled his name across the divorce papers with sharp, angry movements. The moment his signature was complete, he shoved them toward me, his eyes burning with resentment.
"You’ll regret this, Tessa," he spat, his voice low, venomous. "You have no idea what you’ve done."
I took a slow breath, uncoiling as I pushed the papers off the table. Exultation rushed over me, as did an odd feeling of loss, that I had severed something of myself I had grasped too hard for so long.
Zane dropped his gun, sliding it back under his jacket as if it never happened, as if he hadn't just threatened to kill my ex-husband right there in the middle of his office. And then he wordlessly turned and walked for the door.
I struggled to walk, my legs rigid as I trailed behind him. The moment we stepped into the corridor, the door snick shut behind us, I took a quick gasp of air, finally able to draw breath in.
Then the truth of what had occurred struck me.
"What the hell was that?!" I turned back to Zane, my tone shrill and shocked, my heart still racing in my chest.
Zane barely batted an eyelash. He just raised an eyebrow, looking at me with his face blank, like I was performing this whole scene for him.
"You're insane," I snarled, still reeling from the fact that this attorney had just pulled a gun and threatened to kill an individual.
He scowled, not even looking disturbed. "Why do you care?"
"Why do I care?" I cried again, louder still, gesturing wildly with my arms. "You pulled a gun on my ex-husband in the middle of his office, Zane! That's not typical lawyer tactics!"
He snorted softly, crossing his arms across his chest, and I finally registered how wide he was, how his muscles flexed under his tailored suit.
"You wanted the divorce quick," he said starkly, with no regret in his voice. "Now it's done."
I began to object, but the reality of his statement settled in my chest.
He wasn't wrong.
And at the core of me, I understood that if he hadn't intervened, if he hadn't bullied Garrett into signing, I could have been stuck in a long, long court case, fighting tooth and nail just to be released.
But that didn't alter the reality that I'd never met a lawyer such as him before. Then again, I hadn't met too many lawyers in general.
Without speaking, he turned and walked along, his long strides confident, as if he had not destroyed my world in the space of fifteen minutes. I didn't tarry more than a moment before running after him, my legs still trembling but my resolve stronger.
In his car, he handed me the papers. I sat there staring at them for so long, tracing Garrett's signature—the last official stamp that I was free. No more deceit. No more manipulation. No more domination.
I signed my name, the ink hard and fast, closing a chapter that I had been too stupid to close earlier.
Zane simply grabbed the papers from me and started the car.
The trip to the office of the Civil Bureau was awkward, but this time, not because of fear. It was something else, though—anticipation, perhaps. Or disbelief. Because all this was happening too quickly for me to even catch up.
By the time we got there, I accompanied him inside, my anxiety resurfacing. Divorces would be slow-moving—forms, courthouse visits, hours of red tape. But Zane, it seemed, was not the waiting type.
I stood beside him, amazed, as he glided through the system, string-pulling, calling, speaking in hushed tones to individuals. It was like watching a man who had done this a thousand times, a man who knew exactly how to work the rules without bending them.
He then pulled out his phone and played a video.
I hadn't even known that he had ever recorded anything at all, but there in the open was a video of Garrett in his office with Amanda. The evidence was clear.
And just like that, it was over. I walked out of the office with the sun shining in my face, as if the world welcomed me to this freedom. I took a breath and felt light, as I had not been for years.
I looked at Zane intently. He had accomplished this all—hastily, well, with an ease that overwhelmed and awed me.
Why was he doing this? What was his goal?
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to make the request that had been at the back of my mind since last night. "Okay, I've done my part of the bargain. I'm officially divorced, Zane. What do you want as payment for all your help?"
Zane didn't blink.
"Marry me."
I froze in my step. My entire body was rigid. I blinked at him, sure that I must have misheard. "What?"
His face didn't change. Instead he walked right in front of me. "You heard me."
I laughed in amazement, though there wasn't really laughter in it. "I just got divorced ten minutes ago. And you—" I waved at him wildly. "—want to marry me? Are you crazy?”
How the hell was I supposed to marry him?
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