It fit perfectly.
My turn.
I took the other band and slid it onto his finger with trembling hands.
Marco still hadn’t let go of my hand.
The clerk cleared her throat. “You’re officially married. Congratulations.” She sounded completely uninterested. I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t exactly feeling festive either.
It took all of five minutes. Five minutes to sign my name, stand next to him for some legal vow I couldn’t even remember, and let a ring slide onto my finger. Then we were done.
I barely tasted the air in that cramped courthouse office before I was moving, heels clicking against cheap linoleum, trying to outrun the realization I’d just marriedMarco.
I wanted out. Out of the courthouse. Out of that suffocating hallway. Out of the entire situation, if I could manage it.
I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know he was right behind me. I could hear his steps, the sound of those long, slow strides that belonged to a man who never seemed to be in a hurry—except, apparently, when he was trying to catch me.
Eventually, my speed-walk turned into a speed-trot as I made my way down the hall. But it made no difference. He caught me easily.
“Valentina.” He said my name like a demand.
I wasn’t going to answer, but then his hand snaked around my arm, forcing my attention to him.
“Let go,” I snapped, swinging around.
I knew he wouldn’t. Instead he steered me down another corridor and pushed open a door that led us into a small space. I couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe a storage room or a conference room nobody used.
He slammed the door shut and finally let go of me. Then I took the opportunity to shove him in the chest—hard.
He barely moved.
I hated that.
“You,” I hissed, jabbing a finger at him. “What thehellwas that?”
He stayed silent, watching me. I knew I wouldn’t get an answer. Marco was the human equivalent to a locked door that no one had the key to—not even himself.
“Answer me,” I hissed, hands trembling. I didn’t know if it was from fury or the adrenaline still spiking my pulse. Probably both.
Still, he didn’t give me an answer.
I hated lawyers.Thisonein particular.
“Why can’t you let me handle my own mess for once?” I argued. “I didn’taskfor your help.”
“For fuck’s sake, Valentina,” he hissed. “Why can’t you just thank me for once?”
I laughed. A real, full-bodied laugh—the kind that would’ve made Mama swat at me for being disrespectful.Thank him? Was he insane?
“For what, exactly?” I took a step closer, tilting my head. “For ruining my plan? For stepping in when I didn’t ask you to? Or for making sure I can never,everget rid of you now?”
“You don’t get to be mad about this,” he said finally, his voice rougher than before. “You wanted an easy out, a name on a contract, a quick fix. You were about to tie yourself to aFed, Valentina. A man who would’ve turned on you the second things got hard.”
Hewasright, wasn’t he? Wasn’t that the whole point of this? The money, the security, the exit strategy? Ishouldhave been relieved, but I wasn’t.
I wasfurious.
I wanted to believe this was just Max pulling his usual shit. That Marco had been forced into it. That he’d followed orders like the good little soldier he was, no questions asked, no opinions given. That was the way Marco worked, wasn’t it?He followed. He obeyed. He handled problems the way he always did.
