Page 77 of Break Me

The rest of the ride passes in silence, neither of us feeling the need to fill it. Before long, we pull into the courthouse parking lot.

Inside, the front door closes behind us with a soft thud. There's no fanfare. Just the low hum of fluorescent lights and the muted murmur of voices somewhere down the hall.

Raven squeezes my hand once, and together we step up to the counter.

Names are asked for. IDs checked. A clipboard is slid across the desk.

“Fill this out and have a seat,” the woman says. “Someone will be with you shortly.”

After a few minutes, we're led into a small cream-colored room that smells faintly of old files and furniture polish. A desk sits in the center, flanked by two chairs, with an American flag standing quietly in the corner.

The justice of the peace looks up at us. “I need to confirm,” he says, looking between us, “that you’re entering into this marriage of your own free will.”

“I am,” I say.

“So am I,” Raven adds, without hesitation.

The justice reviews the paperwork one last time before sliding it across the desk.

"Whenever you're ready."

We sign where he points, our names appearing one after the other in neat black ink.

Samuel Morgan.

Raven Morgan.

The sight of her new name catches me off guard.

Raven glances over at me, her eyes already shining.

The justice smiles before reaching for the papers. "Do you have rings?"

My pulse kicks. "I do."

I reach into the inside pocket of my jacket and pull out the small velvet box.

Raven's brow furrows.

"Sam..."

My mother's engagement ring rests beside my parents' wedding bands, the gold softened with age but no less beautiful than I remember.

"They were my parents'," I say quietly. "I know they're old, and I'd understand if you wanted something different. But..."

"Samuel."

She cuts me off before I can finish. Her fingertips brush over the rings, her eyes glistening as she looks back at me.

"They're perfect." A tear slips down her cheek.

Emotion lodges in my throat. "You really mean that?"

She laughs softly through her tears.

"They’ve already been a part of one love story.” Her fingers close gently around mine. "How could I want anything more beautiful than that?"

My hands tremble as I lift my mother's rings from the box.