The Third Marriage Certificate

The hospital smelled like antiseptic and rain-soaked coats."He is stable for now," the doctor told me outside the ICU. "We are waiting on the next set of results. Stay close."Through the glass, Grandpa looked smaller than he ever had, swallowed by white sheets and machines.My parents died in a car accident when I was very young. Grandpa raised me with his rough, callused hands.Anything other children had, he tried to give me. He only ate stale bread, but would travel across town on my birthday to buy my favorite little pastries from the bakery I liked. During summer blackouts, he sat by my bed all night waving a paper fan so I could sleep, while sweat ran down his own face.When I got into a good university, he was happier than I was. He went around the whole building telling neighbors, "My Elara is going places."But he got old. Too old, too fast. After the diagnosis, he often held my hand and said, "Elara, I am not afraid of dying. I am afraid of leaving you alone in this w

The two certificates in Grandpa's hands were stamped and official.More importantly, the man in the photo was not Grant. The name printed beside mine was not his either.What was going on?Had Elara somehow found two more fake certificates just to fool the old man?Even as that thought crossed Grant's mind, his expression darkened.His phone buzzed several times. A group chat with his friends had exploded with videos. Luke's voice in the audio message had gone up a pitch."Grant, watch the videos. Now."Grant opened one.Elara stood outside the hospital with a faint smile on her face, her hand resting on the arm of a man in a charcoal suit.The moment Grant saw that man's face, his pupils tightened.Him?Impossible.Grant shoved his phone away and turned for the door.Grandpa called after him.The old man smiled and tapped the man on the photo."You are not my grandson-in-law. He is."Grant's face went black.He left the room faster and faster, almost running down the

Grant's face changed instantly.He opened his mouth, but no words came out.Marriage certificate.That ridiculous bet. That absurd ceremony.I remembered standing outside the City Clerk's office that morning in a white dress I had spent an entire week choosing. It was the most expensive dress I owned, nearly three months of my salary.I told myself that signing marriage papers happened only once in a lifetime. I wanted to look beautiful. I wanted him to remember me in white.I waited outside for three hours.He never came.Later I learned he had gone inside with Nora.Because of a bet.His friends said he would not dare marry Nora.Grant said, "Why wouldn't I?"So he did.It had been that simple.I lowered my eyes. My lashes trembled.I did not want to stay here anymore. The air itself felt hard to breathe."Let's go," I said, gently tugging Adrian's sleeve.He looked down at me, and the coldness in his eyes disappeared at once.He nodded and wrapped an arm around my

His eyes reddened, his voice tight with suppressed trembling."I admit all of it.""Give me one chance. Just one.""The wedding is ready. The dress is ready. Everything is ready.""All you have to do is say yes."I looked at him quietly.His eyes were still the same: deep, sharp at the edges, the eyes in which I had once searched for my own reflection.I searched for so long that I forgot what I had been looking for."Grant," I said, "I do not need it anymore."His hand froze in midair."I used to wait for you to say these things."My voice was very soft, like a leaf landing on water."I waited for you to look back at me. I waited for you to tell me you cared about me too.""I waited a very long time.""Then I stopped waiting."I turned slightly and looked toward Adrian, who had been crouching beside the massage chair.At some point, he had stood up. He remained where he was, quiet and still. He did not rush forward or interrupt.He simply watched me with the kind of g