To combat plummeting birth rates, the government had passed a new law: any unmarried citizen over thirty would be forced into a government-matched marriage.
I'd been married to Lance James for nearly a year, so when the City Clerk's Office called, my first instinct was disbelief.
"You must have the wrong person."
The clerk's tone was certain.
"Our system shows you as unmarried."
"This concerns a major life decision. We verify personal records multiple times. There's no mistake."
I hung up in a daze, dug the marriage certificate out from the bottom of my suitcase, and rushed to the City Clerk's Office.
The clerk saw through it at a glance.
"This is a forgery. The official seal is fake."
As I turned to leave, they called after me.
"The match our system selected for you has already been sent. You have two days. Be here on time to collect your certificate."
——
The fake marriage certificate was destroyed right in front of me, reduced to a pile of ash.
My throat tight, I asked to look up Lance James's marital status.
The clerk's fingers clattered across the keyboard, then turned the screen to face me.
Married.
Spouse: Caroline Harding.
Date of registration: eight months ago. The exact same date printed on my forged certificate.
The day I'd taken that certificate from his hands, Lance must have watched me smile like a fool, spinning in the palm of his hand the whole time.
A chill swept through my entire body. The room tilted.
By the time I came back to myself, I was standing at our front door.
Lance James sat on the couch, his voice as gentle as any other evening.
"Where'd you go? Why are you back so late?"
My eyes were bloodshot. I walked up and slapped him across the face.
"Why did you lie to me?"
"Why her?"
He froze for a moment, then a strange, unreadable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He caught both my wrists and pulled me, trembling with fury, into his arms.
He already knew exactly what I was asking about.
"Caroline isn't as bad as you make her out to be."
Every ounce of strength drained from my body.
One breezy sentence. That was all it took to erase everything I'd suffered.
But when I'd passed out crying at my mother's funeral, when Caroline's little gang of followers had cornered me against a wall and beaten me, Lance had held my hand and sworn an oath.
"Your enemies are my enemies, Ruth Harding. I will always have your back."
I'd believed him. Every word.
Now he stood in front of me, and when he said Caroline's name, his eyes held a tenderness that cut me to the bone.
I wanted to grab him by the collar and demand to know when it started. I wanted to ask what else he'd lied about.
But all I could do was dig my nails into my own fingertips and force myself to stay calm.
If I could find someone to register with within three days, the government match would be canceled.
Other than Lance, I had no one.
I wiped my tears and felt a desperate spark of hope flare in my chest.
"Could you... could you divorce her?"
He let out a low laugh and reached over to tap the tip of my nose.
"Now's not the time to throw a tantrum."
I opened my mouth to say something else, but his finger pressed against my lips.
"Caroline is pregnant. I have to give her that security."
"Don't worry. Once the baby's born, we'll divorce immediately."
"Ruth, just wait for me a little longer."
I swayed on my feet, shaking my head through blurred tears, wanting to tell him there was no more time.
In three days, I would be married to a complete stranger.
But my throat felt stuffed with cotton. I couldn't get a single word out.
Lance kept talking.
Now that everything was out in the open, he seemed to figure he had nothing left to lose.
