Married At 9AM, Divorced At 10AM Chapter 08

Married At 9AM, Divorced At 10AM Chapter 08

At five till two, I arrived at the courthouse.

Jake had changed back into his faded delivery uniform and jogged up with sweat on his face.

“Sorry, Emma. It’s been crazy today. I just finished a run.”

I looked at the sweat on his nose and remembered how I used to feel sorry for him every time he came back from a delivery.

I used to dream about marrying him so my parents could teach him the family gold business and he wouldn’t have to work so hard.

Now I just wanted to give him an award for best actor.

“Let’s go in.” I turned and walked ahead.

He looked surprised, probably not expecting me to be this direct.

Inside, he started again. “Emma, once I make real money, we’ll do it again. I’ll give you the wedding you deserve. Okay?”

I looked into his sparkly eyes.

For three years, every time he talked about the future, he wore that same sincere expression.

I nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled and bent over the form.

I picked up the pen and signed the divorce papers.

He stroked my hair. “I always knew you were my good girl.”

The clerk stamped the papers.

When the divorce certificate came out, it felt like the start of a different life.

Jake put it in his pocket like he had just finished a task.

“Oh, Emma. My parents want me to visit for a month. Wait for me in Fairhaven, okay?”

I nodded.

He was about to say something else when his phone buzzed. He glanced at it. “They’re sending me another order. I have to go. Get home safe.”

He turned and took a few steps, then looked back and waved. “You’ll miss me.”

I stood there, facing the direction he had gone, for a long time.

Then I pulled out my phone and opened the chat with the man who had been texting me for eight years.

I typed a few words and sent my location.

[I guess February 15th isn’t so bad. That still work for you?]

—

Jake’s Mercedes was parked at the corner.

He glanced back to make sure she hadn’t followed him out.

Just as he was about to get in, his phone rang. It was his mom.

“When are you finally going to bring your wife home to meet us? Your father is actually willing to give in right now. You need to move fast!”

His mother’s voice had that familiar edge, like she wanted to knock some sense into him.

He laughed. “Mom, have some dinner ready for your daughter-in-law tonight.”

He hung up and glanced back toward the courthouse. Something about Emma’s expression earlier flashed through his mind.

She seemed off today. But he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly.

Too obedient, maybe?

He shook his head. Obedient was better, wasn’t it? That was exactly why he had pursued her in the first place.

Just as he reached for his car door, a man rushed past and nearly collided with him.

“Sorry,” the man said. “I’m in a hurry to pick up my wife.”

Jake looked up and froze. “Nicholas West?” The eldest son of the West family back in Portsville.

They didn’t know each other well, but their fathers had some business dealings.

He had heard a few things about Nicholas here and there. The guy never brought women to any public events.

Seeing him here was something else.

“Since when do you have a girlfriend?” Jake laughed, his tone carrying a subtle edge.

Nicholas glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “Just got one.”

Jake tucked his divorce papers away. “Is that so? Never pictured you as the marrying type.”

Nicholas tilted his head and looked at him, his eyes holding a hint of something between a smirk and a smile.

“No worries. I like the ones who turn me straight. And divorced ones? Even better.”

Then he walked straight into the county building.

Jake watched his hurried back and almost laughed. Who would be in that much of a rush to get married, anyway?

He himself had only gotten the license to make his parents think he was serious.

He pulled open his car door when something else occurred to him.

Why hadn’t her hand shaken at all when she signed today?

A wave of irritation washed over him for no reason he could name.

Then he froze.

He turned toward the figure about to disappear through the doors and shouted, “Wait. What did you just say?”