His Tardiness, Her New Marriage Chapter 02

His Tardiness, Her New Marriage Chapter 02

I reached out and yanked my suitcase back.

Sloane’s expression changed, caught completely off guard by my words.

Her chest heaved a couple of times before she suddenly forced a smirk.

“Fine.”

She pulled her copy of the marriage certificate from her purse, dangling it between her fingers.

“You care that much about this stupid piece of paper?”

“Then I’ll just rip it up, okay? Consider it my apology to you.”

And just like that, she started to tear it.

Riiip.

The marriage certificate split down the middle.

Sloane threw the two pieces on the ground.

And stepped on them.

“We’re not married anymore!”

Her voice was loud.

As if she was the one who had been wronged the most.

“There! Are you happy now? I’ve gone this far!”

Blake’s face was grim. “Sloane, what are you doing?”

Sloane shrugged.

“I’m helping you solve your problem.”

“The certificate is torn. She should be over it by now, right?”

She turned to me. “Are you satisfied now?”

With that, she shot me a glare, her eyes turning red as she ran off.

I glanced coldly at the scraps of paper on the floor.

After a few seconds of silence, I looked up at Blake. “Is that her idea of an apology?”

Blake’s gaze returned from the direction she had disappeared.

He pressed his forehead, frustrated.

“She’s just hot-headed. She was trying to let you blow off some steam.”

Blow off steam?

I actually laughed, a bitter, humorless sound.

“She tore a copy. Before you can file for an annulment in court, you’ll have to go to the Clark County Clerk’s Office to get a new certified original.”

My smile faded. “Blake, she’s not letting me blow off steam. She’s making your annulment process a whole lot harder.”

Blake’s fingers tightened against his forehead. “…She wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Right, she doesn’t have to think,” I nodded. “After all, she’s not the one who has to deal with the mess.”

I didn’t look at him again, just picked up my suitcase and turned to leave.

The taxi driver helped me put my suitcase in the trunk.

Blake ran over in a few strides, blocking the car door just before it closed.

He leaned down to look at me.

“Audrey, you can go cool off for a few days. Think about whether you’re overreacting.”

“But tomorrow, all the guests and the media will be there. You know exactly what you need to do.”

“The reputation and interests of the Harrington and Langford families are not something you can afford to gamble with.”

I slowly lifted my head to look at him.

There it was again. The two families’ interests.

It’s been six years.

This wasn’t the first time I’d felt my heart go cold, wanting to break up with him over Sloane’s boundary-crossing behavior, all done under the guise of “friendship.”

He would either dismiss my concerns with, “We grew up together, don’t overthink it,”

Or he would do exactly what he was doing now, his face stern as he reminded me—

The families’ interests come first.

He was so certain that I couldn’t leave him, not emotionally, and not financially.

That’s why he never once thought about putting distance between himself and Sloane.

I did believe they hadn’t crossed the final line.

But what did I have to see?

I had to see Sloane jump on his back and have him carry her around.

I had to see her drink from his glass without a second thought.

I had to see her call him late at night to pour her heart out.

She could even go through his phone whenever she wanted.

And me, his fiancée, the woman approved by both families for this union,

I was supposed to listen to Sloane’s advice.

I was supposed to play my part to help him secure his position in the family business, to wait until his footing was firm.

And I waited.

I waited as he built his own business empire from the ground up, landing a spot on the Forbes “30 Under 30” list.

I waited until he finally decided he was ready to give me a marriage.

I spent the last six months joyfully planning our wedding.

And for what?

To be handed a marriage certificate he signed on a whim with Sloane at City Hall.

In the past, it was all those “little things.”

But now, even my legal status as his wife was something she could just shove her way into—and then laugh it off like nothing happened.

“The reputation of the Harrington and Langford families…”

I repeated the words softly, then shook my head. “You can handle that on your own.”

I delivered my final line.

“I won’t be at the wedding. As for who the bride is—”

I slammed the car door shut. “You can marry whoever the hell you want.”

The car pulled away.

The driver asked, “Miss, where to?”

“JFK Airport.”

The whole way, my phone buzzed nonstop in my hand.

Blake, my mom, his mom, our mutual friends.

I declined every call, then turned it off completely.

It was the first time I had ever been so “reckless,” so willing to ignore the bigger picture, and yet I felt a sense of relief I hadn’t felt in years.

But just when I thought I was finally free,

That relief was shattered the moment I arrived at the airport entrance.