Chapter 7
The next morning, I woke to soft dawn light filtering through the window.
I hurried through washing up and rushed downstairs, only to find Frederic sitting in the living room with my father, discussing military matters with a comfortable ease.
“Frederic’s been waiting all morning,” my father teased with a grin. “I offered to wake you, but he insisted on letting you rest.”
My cheeks flushed warm.
Yesterday on the drive, Frederic had suggested we get our marriage license today, and I’d agreed.
But after staying up late talking with my parents, I’d overslept.
After a quick breakfast, the three of us drove to the base civil affairs office.
Signatures, fingerprints, ID photos-everything went smoothly.
When the marriage certificate was handed to me, I stared at the names printed inside, suddenly feeling dazed-
The marriage I’d waited four years for took only half an hour.
I held up both certificates in front of the military flag, snapped a photo, and posted it online:
[The rest of my life with you.]
The comments exploded almost instantly-congratulations mixed with shock at my breakup with Kaelan.
I replied to everyone uniformly:
[Thank you all. The past stays in the past. The wedding will be in one week. My husband and I welcome you all.]
“Husband?” Frederic glanced at my reply, a tender smile tugging at his lips.
My face instantly turned red. I was about to respond when a trembling voice suddenly shattered the moment.
“Avelaine!”
Kaelan stood not far away, his eyes bloodshot, fists clenched so tight his knuckles cracked. His gaze locked onto the certificate in my hand.
“You… you married him?”
I put away my smile, my eyes unwelcoming. “Yes. As you can see, I’m married now.”
Frederic naturally wrapped his arm around my waist, staking his claim.
Chapter 7
“Hello. I’m Avelaine’s husband.”
The word “husband” stabbed into Kaelan like a needle.
He forced down his rage, pulling his mouth into an ugly smile.
“Avelaine, don’t sulk. I’m your fiancé. Divorce him right now. I’ll take you back and we’ll register together.”
He reached out to grab my hand.
Frederic’s expression darkened. He stepped in front of me protectively.
“Commander Sherwood, Avelaine and I are legally married. If you keep harassing her, I won’t hesitate to have you transferred to the border.”
Kaelan snapped. His eyes went scarlet as he lunged forward-but I stopped him.
“Kaelan!”
His fist froze mid-air, disbelief etched across his face. “You’re actually defending HIM?”
“I’m defending my husband. Should I be defending you-a stranger?”
My words were ice-cold.
Kaelan staggered back, his voice hoarse.
“We promised we’d get married. Don’t you love me anymore?”
“Promised?” Frederic scoffed, his tone icy.
“You mean the ‘promise’ where you used that family card-drawing rule to drag her along for five years? If you really loved her, how could you make her wait that long-or expect her to keep waiting?”
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