Chapter 4
City Hall was quiet. Bathed in the cold, sterile light of the late afternoon.
The perfect place to bury my past.
I stood next to Theo Vale in front of the registrar. This wasn't a romance born of naive dreams. It was a strategic alliance. The final, lethal move I needed to reclaim my life.
Just as the registrar prepared the final documents, my phone vibrated in my purse.
The screen flashed.
Nolan.
The name that had owned my life for seven years.
I didn't panic. I pressed answer and put him on speaker.
"Get to the venue early tonight," Nolan's voice cut through the quiet room. Arrogant. Impatient. "Iris is a wreck. She’s nervous about her first time on stage. You know exactly how to handle the speech, so help her check it. Don't let her make a fool of herself."
I gripped the phone.
He was still trying to use me as his personal problem-solver. He was still treating me like his backup shadow.
I looked at the registrar, then up at Theo. Theo was watching me with dark, absolute intensity. He knew exactly how much damage this voice had done.
"Nolan," I asked softly, my voice terrifyingly steady. "Do you even know what day it is today?"
"Of course I know," he scoffed, bored and annoyed. "It’s our anniversary. I’m busy, Marion. If you can’t handle a simple task, just stay in the background. I’ll make it up to you after the banquet."
He was incredibly full of himself. He didn't even realize he was talking to a woman who had already legally severed every connection to him. He was giving orders to a ghost.
"Are you ready, Miss Hart?" the registrar asked, bringing me back to the present.
I looked down at the glowing screen. Nolan’s voice was fading into the background, still rambling about "not stealing Iris's thunder."
I raised my head and met Theo's dark, reassuring gaze. The only man who had seen the wreckage Nolan caused and handed me the weapon to fight back.
"I do," I said. My voice rang out clear as glass.
The registrar smiled.
Thud.
The official stamp fell. With that heavy, echoing sound, I legally became Theo Vale's wife.
I looked at my phone. Nolan was mid-sentence.
I pressed the red button.
Silence. I didn't owe him an explanation. I didn't owe him a performance.
Theo reached out and took my left hand. He slid a perfectly fitted, brilliant diamond ring onto my bare finger. It wasn't just jewelry. It was cold, hard proof that my future was finally mine to control.
"After tonight," I whispered, looking up at my new husband with a smile that carried zero mercy. "Nolan will learn exactly what it feels like to be forced into the background."