Noelle adjusted the pristine white wide brimd hat that matched her skirt suit, a nervous flutter in her stomach. Today was going to be the day. Her escape route. Her ticket to life on her own terms. She had ticulously planned everything, down to the minute. Caine Weston, the charming, albeit sowhat unreliable, socialite, was supposed to et her at the courthouse.
She did not have any delusions about what she was getting into, it was a business deal and nothing more. The fact was further buttressed by the docunt she carried in her briefcase. A docunt she intended to make Caine sign before they went into the registry.
A quick ceremony, a signed marriage certificate, and she would finally be free from the looming threat of losing everything in her life.
She glanced at her watch and shifted on her So Kate heels, her anxiety growing. Caine was late. She had known he was a risk, a gamble, but she was desperate. Ti was running out. Her grandmother's return was imminent, and the iron grip of tradition was tightening around her. The thought of being bound to Evan, a man she did not want, a man who represented everything she was trying to escape, made her skin crawl.
She paced the small waiting area of the courthouse, her heels clicking impatiently against the polished floor. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen. Caine was officially, unforgivably late. Her carefully constructed plan was crumbling before her eyes. Rage, hot and sharp, began to simr within her. How dare he? How dare he leave her hanging like this, especially when she had swallowed her pride and agreed to this ridiculous charade?
"Miss, is your groom here yet?" The clerk popped out for the umpteenth ti.
"Just a minute, he is stuck in traffic." Noelle lied.
The clerk stared at her for a minute, eyes in thick glasses examining her with pity before turning away. She felt pity for the young woman, having worked in this office for many years and seen incidents like this happen, she knew that this was another bride stood up by her groom.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the realization dawned on Noelle. He was not coming. Caine Weston, predictably, had bailed. He was a flake, a user, and she had been foolish to think she could rely on him. She felt a wave of humiliation wash over her. She had been so close, so confident, and now...nothing.
Her carefully crafted facade of composure cracked, and she stord out of the courthouse. She descended the steps, her anger bubbling over, threatening to spill out. She was so consud by her frustration that she didn't see him until she bumped right into him.
"I am so sorry." Noelle said as she bent to pick her briefcase which had fallen to the ground.
"We really need to stop eting like this." Ca an amused voice that sounded vaguely familiar.
Noelle looked up and her jaw almost dropped to the ground. It was the valet. The sa one she had verbally eviscerated just a couple of days ago. The mory of her scathing words, the way she had looked down on him, flashed through her mind, adding another layer of sha to her already overflowing cup of emotions.
Noelle glared at him, her anger montarily redirected. "You!" she spat. "What are you doing here?"
He put his hands in his pockets, his expression surprisingly calm. "I ca to save you," he said.
Noelle stared at him in astonishnt. "Are you stalking ?" Her voice deceptively soft.
"Does that really matter?" he asked, his voice steady. "I ca to offer you a solution."
Noelle raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A solution? To what?"
"To your...predicant," he said. "Since I see an unhappy bride without her groom, I figure he stood you up."
Noelle's eyes narrowed. "You have so nerve," she accused, her voice shaking with anger.
He shrugged. "I can't help it."
Noelle gritted her teeth. This was getting worse by the minute. She was being humiliated on all fronts. She swore that when she caught Caine, he would pay for this humiliation.
"Look," she said, her voice sharp, "I don't know what you think you're playing at, but I'm not in the mood for gas. Just leave alone."
"I'm serious," he insisted. "I can help you."
Noelle laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "Help ? How? By parking my car?"
"By marrying you," he said, his voice calm and matter-to-the-point.
Noelle stopped, her anger montarily forgotten in a surge of disbelief. "Marrying ?" she repeated, her voice incredulous.
He nodded. "Yes. I understand you need to be married soon. And I need certain...accommodations."
Noelle stared at him, trying to decipher his motives. "Great! The valet wants to marry so he can have a place to sleep," she caustically.
"And food," he added. "And...security."
"This is stupid!" Noelle said and tried to leave but the valet stepped in front of her and waved a sheet of paper in front of her.
"I am willing to sign a prenuptial agreent," he said, his tone no longer playful. "I will walk away from the marriage whenever you want without a single di of your money and no one will know about this agreent."
Noelle crossed her arms, her suspicion and curiosity growing. "And what do you offer in return?"
"My...cooperation," he said. "I will play the part of your devoted husband. I have no ego, I'm a nobody, I am the right person to be your fake husband."
He handed the paper he had been waving to her. It was a contract, clearly stating his intentions. He would marry her, he would receive food and lodging, and he would leave when she no longer needed him, without any claims to her money or property, and he could not sell his story for any sort of publication.
Noelle took the contract, her mind racing. It was insane. Absolutely insane. Marrying a valet she did not know? It was a desperate move, even for her. But...was it any more insane than marrying Caine Weston? Or being forced to marry Evan?
She looked at the contract, then at the valet. He was looking at her with an expression that was neither pleading nor demanding. Just...calm. And strangely sincere.
She thought about her grandmother, her stern face, her unwavering adherence to tradition. She thought about Ma-Ri and all her plots which would not stop until she was ground to the dust. Also Evan, his polite indifference in the face of her tears of devotion, his abandonnt of her, his family's relentless pursuit of the Ryu fortune. She thought about Caine and his casual disregard for her feelings.
And then, she thought about this valet, this stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, offering her a way out. It was a risky gamble, a desperate asure, but...maybe, just maybe, it was her only chance.
"You're serious about this?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He nodded. "I am."
Noelle looked at the contract again, her mind made up. "Fine," she said, her voice firm. "Let's do it."
He smiled, a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Good," he said. "When and where?"
Noelle thought for a mont. "Right now," she said. "Right here."
He smiled smugly, his expression making the butterflies that had decided to invade Noelle's belly dance furiously. "Afraid I will change my mind?"
Noelle glared angrily at him. "Are you ready to do this or not?" She demanded angrily and walked back to the courthouse while Flynn followed her, watching her stomp up the stairs in amusent.
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