Chapter 4
The moment the doors burst open, my voice rang out across the hall, amplified through the microphone in front of me.
“I don’t.”
“Because… there’s someone else I want to marry!”
My words echoed through the venue, setting off a wave of gasps and chaos.
As Nolan stared at me in disbelief, I tossed aside my bouquet, kicked off the heels that were slowing me down, and ran-
without hesitation-toward the man who’d promised to crash my wedding.
“Nolan, the woman you should be marrying is your baby’s mother. I’m out.”
The color drained from his face. His wide eyes filled with panic and horror.
My parents followed right behind, faces grim as they stormed over to him. My father grabbed Nolan by the collar and
shouted angrily, “What the hell did Maren mean by ‘baby’? You got someone pregnant?!”
From an inconspicuous corner of the room, a woman in jeans and a T-shirt turned ghostly pale-and fainted on the spot.
Screams erupted, echoing through the grand hotel ballroom.
If standing center stage in a packed theater was the proudest moment of my life…
Then fleeing a wedding in front of hundreds of stunned guests was the freest, most glorious thing I’ve ever done.
I was like a survivor breaking free from the dark, climbing onto a bus bound for spring, shouting and waving at everything
we passed.
Beside me, Beckett held tightly onto my hand. His usually lazy, mocking gaze now shimmered with a rare warmth-like
sunlight in late March.
The sports car sped past crowds and traffic lights, finally pulling up outside City Hall.
I hesitated for a second, then asked, “We’re doing this now?”
Beckett shrugged and looked at me, all innocence. “Nolan is a full-blown lunatic. If we don’t get that license today, don’t be surprised if he shows up at my place tonight, busts down the door, and drags you off. That’d make this whole escape
kind of pointless, wouldn’t it?”
Normally I’d laugh it off. But with Nolan? He’d absolutely do something like that.
Without another word, I grabbed Beckett’s hand and dragged him into the Hall.
Once the paperwork was done, Beckett drove me straight back to the Rhodes estate.
As expected, the normally quiet front gates were swarmed.
Nolan had brought the whole Everett clan-and a handful of his useless cronies-to block the entrance.
Chapter 4
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Beckett rolled down the window, staring lazily at Nolan. His voice was as cocky and irreverent as ever.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Mr. Everett and the Mrs. Eleanor Everett. What brings you two to my humble home?”
Still putting on that smug act, even now. Nolan’s face twisted in fury, his teeth grinding audibly.
“Hand over Maren, Beckett. Or I swear, I’ll ruin you.”
Seeing how livid Nolan looked, Beckett’s grin only widened.
“Come on, Nolan. You and I have been butting heads forever. Since when have we ever not been at war? Bring it on. I’m always ready. As for Maren-she’s now Mrs. Rhodes. Might want to step back before things get uglier.”
Nolan’s eyes burned red with rage. “She was my fiancée! When the hell did she become your wife? Beckett, crashing a wedding is one thing, but now you’re delusional?”
Beckett pulled out their marriage license and flipped to the photo page, lifting it with one hand and slowly turning it for
everyone outside to see.
“Careful with the accusations, Mr. Everett. Maren and I are legally married. Since everyone’s here, why not take a look at
the photo we’re both quite proud of? Just printed-still warm.”
Below the glossy wedding photo sat the crisp red stamp of the state registrar.
The cronies behind Nolan started to murmur nervously.
“Nolan, man… that certificate… looks real…”
His face went bone white in an instant.
He lunged forward, snatching the license out of Beckett’s hand, flipping through it over and over again, eyes full of
disbelief.
He couldn’t accept it. Couldn’t handle it. Heart pounding, he tore the license into pieces.
Beckett frowned, pouting dramatically. “Babe, he ripped up our marriage license. What are we gonna do?”
Beckett pulled out their marriage certificate and and flipped it open to the page with their signatures. He held it up, slowly
turning it for everyone to see.
“Let’s not throw around false accusations, Mr. Everett. Maren and I are legally married-signed and sealed just this
morning. Since everyone’s here, why not admire the fresh ink?”
At the bottom, the official seal was stamped in crisp ink.
“Well then. I guess there’s no more room for doubt-we’re married. So whatever goes on between me and my wife, what business is it of you, outsides?”
The line sounded familiar-eerily so.
Pain dawned slowly across Nolan’s face. He couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“You planned this,” he shouted, voice breaking. “Maren-you planned this escape all along, didn’t you?!”
Hearing his desperate roar, I admitted it openly.
“Yes, I did.”
