The courthouse loomed ahead like a silent judge, its plain façade offering no answers, no comfort—only a sense of finality. My heart pounded with a relentless rhythm as I stepped out of the car, Roberto’s steady hand guiding me as if I were a fragile thing on the brink of collapse.
“Cold feet aren’t an option,” he said with a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. His voice was warm, steady, everything I wasn’t in that moment. “The judge already signed the paperwork. We’re good to go.”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. Words wouldn’t come—not the ones I needed to say. Not the ones that would tear this fragile dream apart. Instead, I followed him inside, my heels clicking against the sterile tiles of the courthouse floor. Each step felt heavier than the last.
The air ins
