“What does all this actually say?” she asked slowly, suspicion bleeding through her voice as she looked between us.
Max blinked impatiently. “It says ‘sign it.’”
I leaned back in my chair, watching her closely. Of course she was dragging this out. God forbid she ever do anything simple. Had to make it difficult. Had to push every damn boundary just to prove a point.
Max was out of patience.“Valentina.”
She ignored him—naturally. Instead she turned straight to me, eyebrows lifted in challenge. “You’re a lawyer. What am I actually agreeing to?”
I rubbed my jaw slowly. This was a test, obviously. I knew it. She knew it. Hell, even Max knew it. The easy option was right there: tell her to just sign the damn paper and move on. But since when had I chosen the easy route where Valentina was involved?
Never—that’s when.
I leaned forward, pulling the first page toward me. I flipped to the second page and tapped the relevant line with my finger. “This one’s an asset release form,” I said, explaining everything to her. “It means, after today, Max can’t hold your inheritance over your head anymore.” I paused, letting my gaze flick briefly to Max before adding, “Not legally anyway.”
Max shot me a flat look, clearly unimpressed. Too bad. If he wanted a lawyer who didn’t point out loopholes, he should’ve hired someone less thorough.
Valentina nodded slowly and pointed to the next page. “And this?”
I sighed internally, flipping to the section in question. Was she really going to make me do this page by page? Of course she was. Because God forbid Valentina make my life easy for five minutes.
“It’s an agreement stating that if you divorce before the required term, you forfeit the remainder of your assets.”
She frowned, scanning the text. “And what exactly is ‘the required term’?”
“Two years,” I said, leaning back again. “Max originally wanted five.”
Her gaze snapped up to Max.
He just shrugged. “Couldn’t let you run the second you got your check.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Instead she tapped another line, moving on to the next as if she had all the time in the world. At this rate, she probably did.
And that was exactly how it went. Page after page, question after question, each one pushing my patience further to its limit. But still, I answered every single one. Apparently, I didn’t know how to quit either.
At least one of us was consistent.
Max groaned dramatically, clearly at his limit. “Sign the fucking paper before I change my mind and make it five years.”
Valentina smirked as she picked up the pen and signed.
One last swipe of ink.
One last binding decision.
She set the pen down, and before the ink had even dried, Max reached forward to take the papers, flipping through them quickly to double-check everything.
“See?” he said, leaning back, satisfied. “That wasn’t so hard.”
Valentina glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow. “So that’s it?”
“That’s it,” I confirmed.
Max lifted his glass, grinning. “Congratulations. You’re officially married to the only person in this room more emotionally unavailable than you.”
I ignored that completely. If Max wanted to get a rise out of me, he’d have to try harder than that.
I was done here. No reason left to sit through Max’s twisted sense of humor or Valentina’s endless interrogation. I stood and slid the signed papers across the desk, fully prepared to walk outand finally put some space between me and whatever this mess was.
