Chapter 3

I put my hand behind my back and walked around to her side of the car to get in.

I couldn't tell whether Claire had noticed something. She looked at the tote and the white paper bag in my hands. "I thought I just saw a blue box in your hand. What was it?"

"You saw wrong."

I turned toward the window, trying to figure out how to get out of going for the license with her.

Before I could think it through, a phone call cut in.

Noah's scream came through the speaker. "Claire, I think someone's following me!"

Claire went on alert instantly. "Don't be scared, kiddo. Where are you? I'm coming right now."

The panic in her eyes reminded me of the time Noah tried to kill himself.

Back then, he'd found out I was about to get engaged to Claire. He'd cried, made a scene, and confessed his feelings to her, and she'd turned him down. So he did something drastic.

Claire regretted it bitterly, but our wedding date was already set. All she could do was take twice as much care of him.

She demanded I answer Noah's calls twenty-four hours a day, in case he couldn't reach her and came looking for me.

Once, I was in a meeting and missed his call, and Claire was on a plane with her phone off. Noah tried to take his own life again at home.

Because of that, Claire blocked me and took Noah to Havenlight Abbey to heal—without a single thought for our wedding date, which was just around the corner.

Claire always sacrificed what mattered to me to give someone else what they wanted.

So was this what those devout people called mercy?

Her so-called mercy came down to one thing: she was sure I'd never leave. Sure I couldn't live without her.

But this time, I would.

The driver got us to Noah as fast as he could. Noah was crouched by the roadside like a pitiful little puppy.

But there wasn't another soul around.

The second Noah saw Claire, he threw himself into her arms.

I caught the smug smile on his face and knew he'd done it on purpose. He must have found out Claire was planning to get the license with me, so he'd set out to get in the way.

I found it laughable.

If he knew I was about to marry someone else, he'd probably feel pretty ridiculous himself.

Noah leaned pitifully against Claire, sobbing about the creep who'd followed him.

Claire comforted him as she helped him into the car. Only when she turned around did she see me. She paused, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Get yourself home."

And she left.

We were in the middle of nowhere. Where was I supposed to catch a ride?

I let out a short, humorless laugh and had no choice but to call Rachel for help.

Not long after I got home, I heard hurried footsteps on the stairs.

Claire seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw me. She stood in the doorway, a little apologetic. "Sorry. There was so much going on this afternoon, and we never went for the license like I promised."

I'd thought it was just something she'd said in passing. I hadn't expected her to bring up the license again.

I slipped the finished wedding invitations into my bag. "It's fine," I said offhandedly.

Seeing I wasn't going to blame her, she came over, satisfied, and leaned into my arms.

In the past, as long as I did as I was told, she'd be this gentle with me. She wanted me to be understanding and obedient, while she let another man act out however he pleased.

I dodged her touch and bent down to clear out the cabinet.

Claire froze for a second, then said suddenly, "Why don't we go get the license tomorrow? I'll push back my work."

It was rare for her to bend for me. I bit back a cold laugh. "No. I'm meeting Ben tomorrow to give him an invitation to my wedding."

At that, Claire's expression finally relaxed.