Serenity and Zachary York novel Chapter 2

“I won’t back out on a promise.”

It took Serenity a few days to consider before reaching a decision. Now that she had made up her mind, she was not going to go back on her word.

There was nothing more Zachary could say at that point. He took out his document and placed it in front of the officer.

Serenity did the same.

The pair swiftly went through the formalities in less than ten minutes.

Once the officer issued the marriage license, Zachary fished out a bunch of keys from his pocket and gave them to Serenity. He said, “The house I bought is in Brynfield. Nana told me that you own a bookshop near Wiltspoon School. My place isn’t too far from your workplace. It’ll take around ten minutes by bus.

“Do you have a driver’s license? If you do, you can get a car. I can help with the down payment while you will be responsible for the monthly payment. It’ll be easier for you to commute to work.

“I can get very busy at work, so you won’t see me much. There will be business trips too. Don’t mind me. Just look after yourself. I’ll wire the household expenses to you on the tenth of every month when the salary is out.

“One more thing. For convenience’s sake, we should keep our marriage a secret for the time being.”

Zachary must have held high ranks in the office because he went on and on without giving Serenity a chance to speak.

Serenity only said yes to the marriage so she did not become the reason for arguments between her sister and her brother-in-law. Marriage was Serenity’s ticket out of the house while still giving her sister peace of mind. It was only marriage by name.

With Zachary handing her the keys to the house, she gladly accepted them.

“I have a driver’s license, but a car isn’t in my plans right now. I usually get to work on an e-bike. I just replaced the batteries on the bike, so it would be a shame not to ride it.

“Um… Mr. York, are we splitting the bills?”

Despite her sister and brother-in-law marrying for love, her brother-in-law proposed to go Dutch as if her sister was taking advantage of him.

It took a lot of time and effort to care for a child, get groceries, cook, and manage house chores. A man, who had never been through it himself, would think their wife had it easy at home with the child-minding, cooking, and cleaning.

Since she and Zachary had never met prior to signing the papers, Serenity would feel more at ease if they went halves.

Without a second thought, Zachary replied sullenly, “I have the means to support my wife and our little family. No need to share the costs.”

Serenity smiled. “Alright then.”

She was not one to freeload without contribution.

Whatever was needed in the house, Serenity planned to pay it out of her pocket.

Serenity was already saving on rent anyway.

It was all about the give-and-take as well as mutual understanding to live together in harmony.

Zachary lifted his left arm to look at the time before saying to Serenity, “I need to get back to work. You can take my car home or hail a cab. I’ll reimburse the fare. I’ll drive Nana to my brother’s.”

“That reminds me. Let’s exchange numbers to reach one another.”

Serenity took out her phone and saved his contact. “I’ll get a cab. I should leave you to your work.”

“Okay. Call me if you need me.”

Prior to leaving, Zachary gave her two hundred bucks for the cab, to which Serenity refused. However, she immediately grabbed the money when he scowled.

Zachary walked on ahead instead of stepping out of City Hall together with Serenity as newlyweds.

He made a beeline to his car.