She Got the Marriage License and I Got 99 Broken Promises Chapter 03
“Ms. Quinn, Mr. Hayes has arranged another apartment for you,” the driver said. “Would you like me to take you there now?”
I bit down hard on my lip and almost laughed.
So that was what they all thought.
That I was just the pampered little pet Nolan had kept in that mansion, and now that Sabrina was here, I was supposed to step aside and disappear.
No one wanted to believe that I had been the real girlfriend all along.
In their eyes, I was just another mistress being purged by the ‘rightful’ Mrs. Hayes.
After Grandma was cremated, I took her ashes back to her hometown and laid her to rest in a quiet corner of the cemetery.
Then I made up my mind to cut Nolan out of my life for good.
Grandma would never have wanted me tangled up with a married man.
Not after everything.
Not after the way she had raised me.
Seven years was enough.
It was time to end it.
When I went back to the house Grandma and I had lived in, I had barely opened the door before I heard Nolan on the phone, his voice low and gentle as he said, “All right, that’s it for now,” and hung up.
The second he saw me, the tension in his face eased. He stepped forward and wrapped both arms tightly around my waist.
“Why didn’t you go to the apartment I arranged for you? You weren’t there, you weren’t at the hospital, and you weren’t here. I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was losing my mind.”
I pulled myself out of his arms and said flatly, “I was with my grandmother. I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
The moment I mentioned Grandma, the memory of my ninety-nine pleas finally hit him. He winced, guilt washing over his features like a physical weight.
He parted his lips, then reached into his coat and pulled out a red velvet box, looking at me with something close to hope.
Inside was a diamond ring, brilliant and cold.
“In two more days,” he said, “two days, and I can finalize the divorce with Sabrina. Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten a single promise I made to you.”
” Once we get the marriage certificate, Grandma will finally be able to stop worrying. I already booked the honeymoon too. When the time comes…”
Exhausted, I walked into the bedroom and cut him off. “Okay. I got it. You should go.”
He caught the door before I could shut it, blocking it with his shoulder. His composure was slipping, the cracks of panic beginning to show.
For the first time, he seemed to understand that my indifference was real.
He opened his mouth to explain, but his phone started ringing. He glanced at the screen and killed the call without hesitation. The ringtone came back immediately, stubborn and relentless. He shot me a nervous look, then shut the device down completely.
The next second, the front door opened from the outside.
Sabrina walked in wearing a crimson body-con dress that clung to every curve.
The instant she saw Nolan, her face lit up.
She hurried over and wrapped herself around his arm, pressing close enough that all he had to do was look down to see exactly what she wanted him to see.
Her voice turned sweet as syrup.
“Nolan, why did you hang up on me? Since Tessa’s back, you can stop worrying now, right? I’m tired. Let’s go home. We’ve been away for hours, and the baby is getting fussy.”
Nolan pulled his arm free at once and turned to me in a rush. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Sabrina just happened to run into me here.”
Then he stared at me without blinking, tense all over, like he was terrified I might believe what was right in front of me.
But the lie was so flimsy it collapsed on contact.
Just happened to run into him?
Sabrina had never been here before.
So how had she found Grandma’s house so easily? And why did she have a key?
There was only one explanation. Nolan had brought her here before. Nolan had given her the key.
Because I had given one to him.
I took a slow breath, then smiled like it didn’t matter at all. “She’s right. A baby needs his father. You should go.”
Nolan went still.
He looked as if he couldn’t believe I wasn’t fighting to keep him there.
The old me would have had tears in my eyes by now. I would have been angry, jealous, saying things I didn’t mean, all while secretly hoping he would stay.
But this time, I didn’t.
He stared at me for a long moment, lips pressed tight, as if waiting for the explosion that never came.
He started to reach for me, but Sabrina stepped between us and maneuvered him toward the exit.
Just before she pushed him all the way out, he looked back at me, guilt written all over his face.
“Tessa, the day after tomorrow,” he said hoarsely. “I swear, the second the divorce is final, we’re going to the courthouse.”
He paused, then added softly, “We’ll give Grandma a surprise. We’ll make her feel at peace.”
