Standing in Line to Marry a Man Already Taken

This is the third time Seth Farrelly and I are heading to the courthouse to get our marriage certificate. The first time, his late friend's sister, Emma Lewis, loses her dog, and he spends the entire day helping her look for it. The second time, Emma says she isn't feeling well, and he spends the whole day at the hospital with her. I tell myself three's the limit. Today has to be the day we make it official. But then a sudden downpour hits. Seth shoves the only black umbrella we have into my hands. Then he takes off his suit jacket and runs into the rain toward Emma, wrapping the jacket around her and the Samoyed in her arms. "Emma isn't in good health. She can't be out in the rain. I'll take her home first. We can deal with the marriage paperwork another time." His voice is as cold and detached as ever. I stand there, gripping the umbrella handle, staring at the man who can't stand even a speck of dirt. Yet he lets the dog's muddy paw leave prints all over his white shirt. And he still holds Emma protectively in his arms. What Seth doesn't know is that this is the last time I'll ever wait for him. My phone vibrates, and a message from Emma pops up. "You lost again. That's three times now." Watching the two of them disappear into the rain, I reply calmly, "I know." Chapter 1 After sending that message, I opened my umbrella and walked into the rain. The wind was so strong that it snapped the umbrella's ribs. By the time I made it back to the house, I was soaked through. My trench coat clung to my body, my lips had turned blue from the cold, and my fingers were stiff and numb. When I opened the door, the living room was warm and brightly lit. Emma Lewis was curled up on the couch in my silk nightgown, holding a glass of warm milk. Her Samoyed lay at Seth Farrelly's feet while he gently dried her hair with a towel. At the sound of the door opening, he looked up at me. His brows immediately snapped together. "What happened to you? You know the house rules. You're not supposed to step into the house dripping wet." I looked down at my feet. Rainwater was dripping from the hem of my dress, leaving a small puddle on the marble floor. Yet right beside it, Emma's dog had left a trail of muddy paw prints. Seth had always been a clean freak. During the seven years we'd lived together, he insisted that I organize my clothes by color and leave no water spots around the sink. He would even give me flak over a single strand of hair on the couch. I'd always been careful to accommodate his habits, afraid of upsetting him. But now, he let that dog run wild in the living room. There were even muddy spots on his white shirt, yet he seemed completely unbothered. Emma set her milk down, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at me. "Audrey, don't blame Seth," she said softly. "I was freezing, so he rushed me home. I'm sorry you got caught in the rain. Let me run a hot bath for you." She hurried to her feet, but her ankle gave way, and she stumbled toward Seth. He dropped the towel and caught her by the waist. "Careful. What are you doing, moving around like this?" he scolded, though his voice was soft and full of concern. "You're not in good health, and you just had a scare. You need to take it easy." Then he turned to me, his expression cold. "Look at you. You're making a mess on the floor. Are you throwing a tantrum? "Emma's been worried sick about you. Can't you act like an adult for once? I left you an umbrella, yet you still got soaked like that. Are you really going to blame her for that?" I stood there frozen. The sheer unfairness of it left me speechless. To him, Emma getting caught in the rain made her a helpless victim, while my soaked clothes were just another pathetic stunt to get his attention. Chapter 2 Taking a deep breath, I tossed the broken umbrella into the trash outside and slipped off my wet heels. I looked at Seth and said calmly, "I'm not blaming her. I'm just a little cold." I stepped past them and headed upstairs barefoot, the freezing floor beneath my feet. Seth seemed caught off guard. In the past, whenever something like this happened, I'd argue with him through tears, demanding that he treat me fairly. He didn't realize that I'd been hurt so deeply that I didn't even want to argue anymore. After a hot shower, I collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes, completely exhausted. In the middle of the night, the rain must have caught up with me. I woke up burning with a fever. My throat hurt terribly. I reached for my phone and got up to get some water, but I froze the moment I opened the bedroom door. The living room lights downstairs were still on. Emma's dog was sprawled on the wool rug, gnawing on a bone. That rug had been Seth's birthday present from me two years ago. I'd spent six months having an old craftsman overseas make it by hand. I'd told Seth at the time that the rug was white and would get dirty too easily. He'd kissed my forehead and promised, "Don't worry. It's a gift from you. I won't let anyone dirty it." But now, the white wool was covered in grease stains and dog drool. Seth was sitting at the edge of the rug, looking down at Emma as she played on her phone. "Seth," Emma said sweetly. "That necklace is so pretty, but there's only one like it in the world. I heard you bought it at auction. Can I borrow it for a day? I'm meeting my friends tomorrow. They'll be so jealous when they see it." I stood at the turn in the staircase, my heart skipping a beat. The necklace was called Aurora. Seth had bought it on my birthday last month, but he'd never given it to me. I thought he was saving it as a wedding present for me. "It's just a necklace," Seth said casually, his voice indulgent. "If you like it, I'll have my assistant bring it to you tomorrow. You don't need to borrow it. It's yours." Emma cheered and threw her arms around his neck. "Seth, you're the best! I knew it. Even after you get married, you'd never stop looking out for me, right?" Seth didn't push her away. He just patted her back and said, "Of course. I promised your brother I'd take care of you for the rest of your life." What a convenient promise. Three years ago, Emma's brother, Jamie Lewis, had died in a car crash after saving Seth's life. With his last breath, he'd asked Seth to look after his 18-year-old sister. From that day on, that promise became a chain around my neck. Whenever I voiced even the slightest complaint, everyone around me, including Seth, would come down on me. "Audrey, Emma has no family now. Why do you have to hold a grudge against her?" "Her brother saved Seth, and she has no one to rely on now. What's wrong with spoiling her a little?" "If you're going to marry Seth, don't you think you should be a little more understanding?" I held onto the wall, dragging my weak legs down the stairs. Hearing my footsteps, Seth looked up. When he saw my pale face, he immediately frowned. "Why are you up in the middle of the night? What are you doing down here?" "Getting some water." I walked around the ruined rug and went to the kitchen island. Seth came over, took the glass from my hand, and filled it with water. "You look pale. Are you sick?" He reached out to touch my forehead. I instinctively stepped back, avoiding his hand. Chapter 3 Seth's hand froze in midair, his face darkening. "What's wrong with you?" he asked in a low voice. "I already told you I'd clear my schedule and get our marriage certificate tomorrow. "And about the necklace, Emma was already upset today. I was just trying to make it up to her. Do you really have to be so petty?" He had broken his promise and given away the thing that was supposed to be mine, yet he was blaming me for being petty. "I'm not petty," I said, looking straight into the eyes of the man I'd loved for seven years. My eyes were dry and aching, but I didn't even feel like crying. "Give her the necklace. Give her the rug, too. Give her whatever she wants. I don't want any of it anymore." Seth stared at me in disbelief. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly assuming this was just another passive-aggressive game of mine. "Audrey, there's a limit to these tantrums," he scoffed, slamming the glass onto the kitchen island so hard that water splashed out. "Do you even hear yourself? You never used to talk like this." Never used to? He was right. The old me would stay up all night fixing him something to eat whenever his stomach hurt. When his family had beaten him badly as punishment, I'd knelt outside his house, crying and begging them to stop. Every time he apologized, I'd wipe my tears and tell him it was okay. Back then, I was certain that I was the person he truly loved. But over the past three years, every time he chose Emma over me, he chipped away at the trust I had in him until there was almost nothing left. I ignored him, picked up the glass, and headed upstairs. Then I heard Emma's hesitant voice behind me. "Seth... If Audrey is so upset, I don't want the necklace anymore. Please don't fight because of me. I'll move out tomorrow." "Where would you go? With your heart condition, you can't put yourself through that kind of stress." Seth immediately comforted her, his voice soft. "She's just throwing a tantrum. Ignore her for a few days, and she'll get over it." So, he thought he could cross my boundaries, pretend nothing happened, and I'd just let it go. Back in my room, I locked the door. I picked up my phone and pulled up a chat with a completely black profile picture. There was no contact name, just a period. The chat contained a copy of the marriage agreement. I'd been thinking about it for the past month, unable to make up my mind. A month ago, Ronan Farrelly had approached me with two choices. He was Seth's uncle, a powerful man whom Seth feared and respected. "Seth's letting that girl completely derail him. He can't give you the marriage you want. If you stay with him, he'll only drag you down with him," Ronan had said. "Leave him, Audrey. I'll put you in charge of one of the Farrellys' major overseas ventures. In exchange, you'll have to marry me. Of course, it's only a marriage in name. Three years, and that's all." Back then, I had foolishly thought that once Seth and I were married, Emma would finally back off and Seth would come around. So, I never replied to Ronan's offer. But now, looking at the thermometer reading 102°F and thinking about the scene I'd just witnessed downstairs, the past seven years felt like a cruel joke. With my head pounding, I typed, "Can I sign that marriage agreement now? Is it too late?" The reply came almost instantly. "It's never too late. Whenever you're ready." A second message followed right after. "Are you sick? Did you take any medicine?" I stared at those words, then closed my eyes. A single tear rolled down my face and landed on the screen. "Tomorrow at 10:00 am, I'll come to see you with the signed agreement and everything I need to finalize it." After sending the message, I turned off my phone. Seven years. It was time to put an end to this rotten excuse of a relationship with Seth. Chapter 4 The next morning, my fever had gone down a little, but I was still weak. I pulled a black suitcase out from the bottom of my closet and started packing without waking anyone. Everything in the room screamed Seth—from the modest long dresses he'd insisted I wear to the scented candles I'd bought to help him sleep. I left all of it behind. I packed only my ID, personal documents, and a few bright-colored clothes I loved, but he always dismissed them as too flashy. As I zipped up the suitcase, the door opened. Seth walked in holding a glass of milk. He was dressed in a tailored suit, his hair perfectly styled. It looked like he really intended to keep his promise and go get our marriage certificate with me. When he saw the suitcase by my feet, his face fell. "Audrey, what the hell are you doing now?" He strode over and kicked the suitcase. The milk splashed onto the carpet. "I already gave in and told Emma she couldn't have that necklace. I even canceled my morning meeting. And now you're packing? Give me a break. If you don't want to get married today, just say it. Stop using these pathetic guilt trips to manipulate me." I looked at him, almost wanting to laugh. "Did you really cancel your meeting just so you could go get our marriage certificate?" I held his gaze. Half an hour earlier, while clearing the drawers, I'd stumbled upon a medical report tucked inside one of Seth's folders. It was Emma's. The report was dated six months ago. It clearly stated that all of her cardiac tests were completely normal. There was no evidence of any heart disease. In the bottom right corner was Seth's signature. That meant he'd known for six months that Emma had been faking her illness. He knew that every time she clutched her chest and complained of pain in front of me, it was all an act. He knew that she had deliberately staged a medical emergency every time we tried to get our marriage certificate. And yet, he'd gone along with it. He didn't mind hurting me to ease whatever guilt he felt toward Emma's brother. Maybe he even enjoyed having two women fighting over him. "What are you talking about?" Seth's eyes flickered with hesitation, but his voice remained stern. "You can stop pretending, Seth," I said coldly. I picked up the light suitcase and walked past him. "Deep down, you were relieved every time we failed to get our marriage certificate, weren't you? Because you never intended to leave Emma out of our lives. Her illness was just an excuse for you to walk all over me when it suited you. "So, I'm making it easy for you now. She doesn't have to pretend to be sick anymore, and you can stop pretending to be the devoted boyfriend." Seth spun around and grabbed my wrist, the veins on the back of his hand standing out. I pried his fingers off one by one. "This is the last time, Seth. Even if you came crawling back to me, I wouldn't waste another second on you." My calm expression seemed to unsettle him. "Fine. Fine!" He let out an angry laugh and pointed toward the door. "Audrey, once you walk out that door, don't expect me to come looking for you! Let's see how long you can keep this up! You'll be crying and begging me to take you back in three days!" I ignored him, dragged my suitcase outside, and walked away from the house. A black Maybach was waiting outside. The window rolled down, revealing a man's stern, striking face. He held the marriage agreement in one hand. His voice was low. "Are you sure about this?" I got in the car and said, "Yes, let's get married."