He Said He Loved Me, Then Gave Her Our Marriage Certificate Chapter 02

He Said He Loved Me, Then Gave Her Our Marriage Certificate Chapter 02

My fingers trembled as I curled them into my palm.

The first time they met, Serena said Grant was only playing with me.

Grant opened his family group text and showed her that on the very first day of our relationship, he had told his parents I was the only woman he would ever marry.

The second time, Serena challenged him. “What does Talia want to eat right now?”

“If you can’t answer, break up with her.”

Grant produced a cake from my favorite bakery.

“She looked at the bakery window for one extra second while we were in the car.”

Their third meeting fell on my birthday.

Grant’s flight was delayed, and Serena demanded that I end things with him the next morning.

At 11:59 p.m., he appeared at my door after sixteen hours of missed connections, Amtrak, Greyhound, and a long rideshare, all so he could tell me happy birthday in person.

And it continued.

By their hundredth meeting, Serena and I had become trapped during an overseas conflict-zone photography assignment.

Serena claimed that mortal danger revealed a person’s true heart, and that if Grant did not come for me, he had never truly loved me.

Then Grant appeared through the smoke.

He had traveled through active fighting for more than ten hours. He held out a ring and asked me to marry him.

“Talia, facing death taught me that I love you even more than I ever understood.”

I forced a bitter smile. Every memory still felt as vivid as yesterday.

He had once loved me with such intensity. How had he turned around and given that love to someone else?

I kept reading, searching for an answer with a cruelty that bordered on self-punishment:

[Later, I won a major photography award and drank too much at the celebration.]

[One of the project sponsors cornered me while I was intoxicated and tore at my clothes. Grant stepped in.]

[He beat the man badly. When the sponsor threatened him, Grant said, “Picking on a defenseless woman doesn’t make you powerful.

“If you have a problem, come after me. I’m Grant Whitmore of the Sterling Bay Whitmores.”]

[I’ll remember it forever. The lights caught in his eyes, and they looked like stars.

For the first time since the attack, I didn’t hate every man I saw.]

I knew that story.

When Grant came to pick me up the next day, I had seen marks on his neck. He told me about the sponsor, and I kissed him in gratitude.

“Serena must have been terrified. Thank you, Grant.”

“Please be even kinder to her from now on. We’re all she has.”

He had agreed softly.

I stayed happy for days because I believed he had finally learned to extend his love for me to the friend I considered family.

Her post continued.

[He wrapped me in his coat and carried me out. I was drunk and kept pressing against him.

I even left marks on his neck. His body reacted, but he still handed me over to a female hotel employee.]

[He bought medicine for me and watched me take it. Then he sat in the living room all night and didn’t leave until I was fully awake.]

[Every other man had wanted my body. He didn’t.]

[He was different from all of them, but the more honorable he seemed, the more certain I was that he could never be mine.]

A hollow laugh escaped me. The marks on his neck had never been injuries, only Serena’s kisses.

[He was my best friend’s boyfriend. I told myself I could not fall for him, but you can’t stop fate once it decides to come for you.]

[A week later, he became the new financial backer for my agency. He gave me the best project and an open-ended budget.]