He Asked for a Fake Divorce, So I Married His Rival Instead

Chapter 3 Beside the Divorce Window

At 9:00 a.m. the next day, Dante was waiting outside the courthouse.

When he saw me step out of my grandfather's car, he reached over to straighten the scarf the wind had knocked crooked and asked as if nothing had happened, "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well."

"We'll deal with the house when I get back. It's only five days. Don't overthink it."

He spoke as though I had merely stormed out in a fit of anger and would still be there in five days, waiting for him to take me home.

I pulled the scarf out of his hands and retied it myself.

"You went to your grandfather's last night?"

"Yes."

He nodded, and the tension left his face.

My grandfather also lived in Crimson Harbor. As long as I hadn't disappeared beyond the boundaries Dante had drawn for me, he believed everything could still go back to normal.

At the hearing, the judge first asked Dante to confirm that he wanted the divorce.

"I do. It's only a temporary arrangement to separate the family assets." Then he tried to answer for me too. "She understands our plan."

The judge cut him off and turned to me.

"Ms. Moretti, do you understand that once I sign this decree, your marriage will be legally over?"

"Yes."

"Are you agreeing to the divorce of your own free will?"

"Completely."

Under the table, Dante took my hand.

I didn't pull away. I only watched the judge sign the decree.

The rasp of pen against paper lasted only seconds. Five years of marriage ended on a single dated line.

We each received a stamped copy of the divorce decree. The moment Dante stepped out of the hearing room, Bianca called.

"The motorcade left early. Reporters are blocking the main entrance. Dante, you're the only one who can drive the lead car."

He looked at me and hesitated for only a few seconds.

"Go back to the hotel. I'll come for you when I'm done."

"Okay."

He hurried away, never noticing that I was heading in the opposite direction.

Inside the marriage-license office in the Courthouse Annex, a man in a charcoal-gray suit stood beside Window Four.

He looked even more forbidding in person than he did in the business pages.

An agreement already reviewed by both families' attorneys lay beside him.

"Evelyn Moretti?"

"That's me."

"Adrian." He didn't touch me. He only slid the agreement closer. "In 90 days, if you want out, I won't fight the divorce. While we're married, I ask only two things: Don't lie to me, and don't disappear."

"You don't mind that the bride changed at the last minute?"

"I mind being deceived." He met my eyes. "The Bellinis need the agreement honored. The Morettis need to avoid a conflict. What happens after 90 days will be our decision. No one else's."

Then he placed the pen in front of me.

He didn't ask what had happened between Dante and me.

'Don't lie. Don't disappear.'

Two small promises that would never make it into traditional wedding vows.

Yet Dante had broken both.

The clerk brought over a complimentary bouquet of white roses.

I stared at them without reaching out.

Adrian asked why. After I told him the reason, he had the flowers removed and brought me a cup of black coffee with cinnamon instead.

"You don't have to pretend to be happy today," he said. "You only have to be sure this is your choice."

I lifted the coffee. "It is."

The display lit up.

Window Four: Please proceed with your registration.

There were no guests. No music.

During the vows, Adrian didn't promise forever.

He promised only to be honest for as long as our marriage lasted.

I signed first. He waited until I had finished the final stroke before adding his own name.

The clerk looked up.

"And the groom's full name?"

The man beside me answered calmly, "Adrian Bellini."