Not until they stepped out of the courthouse with the certified marriage papers in their hands did Corinne finally accept that Andrew hadn't been joking.
So this was what it felt like to marry in a rush.
"From this point on, we follow what's written in the prenup," Andrew said. "And let me make this clear one more time..."
"I remember," Corinne cut in, still turning the marriage papers over in her hands, as though she still hadn't gotten enough of the fact that she had become Jonny's uncle's wife overnight.
"You happened to need a wife, and after what happened last night, you felt responsible enough to marry me."
Then she looked up at him and added in a light tone, "And since we're clearing things up, let me remind you of something too."
Her voice stayed calm and easy.
"I'm not some con artist. I'm not after your money. I just happened to want to get married, and then I happened to meet someone I liked the moment I saw him. You. If you're still worried, we can add something else to the prenup about property."
To Andrew, money was the part that mattered least in this situation.
What caught him instead was that line about liking him at first sight.
He needed a wife, not a love story.
In fact, if Corinne had been chasing his money, this might've been easier for him to deal with.
"I have a meeting at ten thirty," he said. "Where are you going? If there's still time, the driver can take you there."
Back when she had still been hopelessly in love with Jonny, Corinne had always forced herself to be the easy one. She was always the one who understood, the one who stayed quiet, and the one who never made demands.
The familiar words almost slipped out by habit. "Don't worry about me. Go take care of what you need to do."
This time, she held them back.
"I don't have anything to do for the next couple of days," she said instead. "Why don't I go with you? We just got married. We should spend some time together."
Then she hurried to add, "Don't worry. I'll be good. I won't cause you any trouble."
Now that they were newly married, it only made sense for her to get to know her husband a little better.
Andrew never said yes, but he didn't refuse either, and that was enough for Corinne to climb into the car.
During the ride, she kept staring at the marriage papers, unable to stop looking at them.
Then her eyes landed on his full name. Andrew Olson.
Wait.
He was an Olson?
Wasn't Jonny's mother a Stevenson before she got married?
Shouldn't Jonny's maternal uncle have the same last name as Jonny's mother?
A sense of unease slowly rose inside her.
Corinne drew a quiet breath, then decided to test the subject carefully. "Do you... have an older sister?"
Andrew glanced at her, clearly unsure where the question had come from, but he still answered, "Yes."
A good part of the tension in Corinne's chest eased right away. After that, she asked, "And your father's last name is Olson too?"
To anyone else, it would've sounded like a strange question.
Yet, Andrew answered her without any hesitation, "I use my mother's last name. Why?"
Jonny's grandparents had died young, and Corinne had never known much about that side of the family.
She definitely had no idea what Jonny's grandmother's maiden name had been.
Now his answer made enough sense.
Taking his mother's surname wasn't unusual, after all.
"I was only curious," she replied with a smile.
Then she quietly put the marriage papers away.
A little more than ten minutes later, the car rolled into the underground parking garage of an office tower.
"I don't make a habit of bringing family to the office. There are plenty of places around here if you want to shop, so make your own plans,"
Andrew remarked as he got out of the car. Then, while listening to his secretary go over his schedule, he headed toward the elevator.
"Wait," Corinne called out. She hurried out of the car and rushed after him, then threw her arms out to block his path. "Just give me a second."
Andrew lowered his gaze to her. After a short pause, he slipped a card out of his pocket and held it toward her. "Do you need something else?"
The moment she realized what he had assumed, Corinne pushed the card back into his hand.
"That's not what I meant." She curled her finger at him. "Hand me your phone."
Andrew checked the time. Impatience was already written across his face, but he still gave it to her.
Corinne moved fast across the screen, then returned the phone with a pleased smile. "Done."
Andrew glanced down at the contact list. A new number had been saved there. The name attached to it read "My Beloved." One of his brows lifted.
When Corinne signed that prenup, she had already made a decision in her heart.
A divorce in two years?
That was never going to happen. She hadn't gone through all that trouble just to become his wife for a little while and then let him go. If she was marrying Andrew, then she meant to keep that place for life.
That left her with only one path forward. She had to make him fall so deeply for her that he wouldn't even think of letting her go.
"Call me when you're done, alright... honey?"
Corinne lingered over that last word on purpose, pouring sweetness and flirtation into it. Then she rose onto her toes and looped her arms around his neck, making it obvious she meant to leave him with a goodbye kiss.
Andrew towered over her. He was so much taller that, without heels, her head barely reached his shoulder.
If he didn't lower himself, there was no way she could reach his lips, no matter how much she stretched.
As though he had measured the distance perfectly, he tipped his chin a little higher.
That slight movement did exactly what it shouldn't have done. It stirred her competitive side.
Corinne shot a meaningful glance at the secretary nearby.
The secretary understood at once and quietly stepped away.
"I don't have time to indulge this here," Andrew said. "Let go."
His meeting was about to begin, and he stepped back twice.
Corinne had no intention of giving up that easily.
A cunning smile curved across her lips, and instead of backing off, she moved even closer.
Andrew clearly hadn't expected her to be that bold. The back of his calf struck the front of the Rolls Royce behind him, and his balance gave for a brief moment.
That small opening was all Corinne needed. She closed the distance in an instant.
With both hands braced against the cool metal on either side of him, she trapped him neatly between herself and the car.
She had him now.
Victory flashed through her, and without giving him even a second to recover, she lifted herself onto her toes and kissed him.
This wasn't like the night before. There was nothing hesitant about her now. At least to her, she had learned fast in a single night.
The instant surprise parted his lips, she seized the chance.
Instead of fumbling, she moved with much more intention this time, teasing him with a confidence she hadn't shown before.
Somewhere in the middle of it, she caught the lingering bitterness of coffee on his mouth.
That only made her bolder. She moved even closer, pressing herself against him until she could feel the sudden change in the rhythm beneath his chest.
At the same time, she caught the hand he had planted on the hood and brought it to her waist, firm and deliberate, leaving him no room to refuse.
Very little stood between them, and the warmth of his palm nearly came through the fabric.
Her waist was still aching from the way he had handled her the night before.
Compared to that, this felt like a tiny bit of payback.
That thought had barely crossed her mind when she brushed against him again, ready to draw the kiss out even more, and then a familiar figure caught her eye. She went rigid, her eyes flying wide open.
What was Jonny doing here?
He couldn't have picked a worse moment to appear.
Yes, she was already Andrew's wife on paper.
But the truth was, her place beside him still wasn't secure.
Before anything else, she needed time to build something real with him.
If the three of them ran into each other now, and Andrew learned about her past with Jonny...
What if Andrew lost his temper and ended the marriage before it had even truly begun?
No. She couldn't allow that.
