Page 4

Nolan

K elly was waiting for me in my office when I arrived. He was sitting on the visitor's chair, his dark skin and dark blue suit a contrast to the light cream chair. As soon as I opened the door, he stood up and slid his phone into his inside jacket pocket.

"I've spoken to the lawyers, and they said they're going to draft a new contract," he said, tracking my movements as I crossed to the other side of the desk.

"Thanks." I sank into my chair and opened my laptop. The office was the one place where everything made sense. And liked it most because of that. People. Women. Wives. All were a conundrum to me, my wife most of all.

Married. It's been a couple of hours and I still couldn't believe it. It was as though everything had changed, and simultaneously, nothing had. I doubt this was the experience of most married people. My marriage has been one of convenience. I hardly knew my wife, except for the few things Kelly had gathered about her from an investigation. And what I had gathered was not great. She was a drunk and possibly an addict. She spent money like crazy. And those were the non-controversial stuff. Her number of scandals had made even Kelly nervous.

"I would be careful around her," Kelly said, sitting down.

I looked up from my laptop. His bald head shone under the sunlight streaming from the windows. Few men could pull off a full bald look, and Kelly was one of them. For him, though, it seemed like a fashion choice and less of a hair loss compromise.

"God. What else did you find?"

"Her last boyfriend accused her of poisoning him."

"Was there any truth to that story?" It wasn't the first time hearing it. It had been a huge scandal a couple of years ago that had even reached my ears. I had not believed it at the time. The sensationalism with which the entertainment news had reported it made me think they were taking liberties with the truth.

"Unfortunately, yes." Kelly pointed to my phone. "Check the police report I've just sent you."

I grabbed the phone and opened his latest message. It was a Monaco police report written in French that detailed the drugs found in his system and allegations made by the ex-boyfriend that she had given them to him in a drink.

"Concerning."

"I mean, it's his word against hers," Kelly said, "And he's a certified addict, so really who can say, but, like you said, concerning."

"Fuck." Did I marry a black widow?

Kelly chuckled. His deep baritone voice reverberated in the walls of the office. He rarely found humor in anything and that he was finding it in my situation was somewhat comforting. "You could still get an annulment. It's only been hours."

"And destroy any hope I have of getting W. Burgess? No. KMVH wants it too, and if I blink, they'll get it."

"Did Caiden get the same deal?"

"No, that was reserved for me. The old man knew I was desperate and would agree to anything. I need to know what exactly he wants out of this."

"On it," Kelly said, standing up.

I got into my work as soon as he left. There were a few strategy reports that needed looking into, and some spending that needed my approval. Two hours later, I was still deep in the weeds of a marketing budget when my phone pinged. Once. Twice. Then a fourth time that made me wonder what could be going on.

The family group chat was abuzz. Ivy had posted a photo of me and Aelin on the courthouse steps. We are both descending the steps side by side. The angle makes it seem like we're holding hands. Fuck. So she had called the paparazzi on herself that little…

Carey:

Um…Care to explain Nolan?

Ivy:

Is there anything that needs to be explained? Someone got hitched!

I rolled my eyes. I had planned on telling them in my time. Preferably this weekend.

Thalia:

Congratulations?

Levi:

Looks fake. Has to be Photoshop or AI.

Raine:

Nope. That's a real photo. Ivy, where did you get it?

Ivy:

It's all over social media.

She then posted a link that led to a website with the same image and the headline: He's off the market, ladies. And Insane Aelin is the one who got him. I skimmed the story. It was basically talking about the speculation online of us getting married, a brief and snarky summary of Aelin's past scandals, and then a few comments at the bottom.

"Ain't no way. Why does she always get the good guys?" one commenter said. "Until I see the marriage certificate with my own eyes, I won't believe it!" another said. "Typical man behavior. All they see is a hot piece of ass. I give this marriage two weeks, max."

I returned to the group chat. Not that much better. They were no longer arguing whether it was real and were now arguing who would contact me first.

Me:

You know I can see your texts?

I said at last.

Tyler:

So is it true?

Me:

Yes.