She Got the Marriage License and I Got 99 Broken Promises Chapter 05

She Got the Marriage License and I Got 99 Broken Promises Chapter 05

After the plane landed, I let myself sleep in the 

hotel for two full days. 

I had a long dream. 

In it, I went back to the beginning. 

Nolan had been a year behind me in college, a boy terrified of losing me to the ‘real world‘ before he could graduate and claim me. 

So he showed up outside my office with a bouquet of roses and confessed in front of everyone. 

“Tessa, those men aren’t right for you. Look at me.” 

Then he smiled, nervous and earnest and young, and said, “Be with me. I swear I’ll make you happy.” 

Maybe back then, he really had loved me. 

But love changed fast. 

One day it was yours. The next day it belonged to 

somebody else. 

My phone rang. 

An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen. I 

hesitated, then answered. 

“Tessa, why did you block me?” Nolan’s voice. 

came rushing through the line. 

“Where are you? I waited for you at the County 

Clerk’s Office all day. Why didn’t you come? Please, 

stop being mad at me, okay? When are we getting 

the marriage certificate?” 

A faint smile tugged at my mouth, cold and 

joyless. 

I had begged him ninety–nine times, and he had 

put me off all ninety–nine. 

Even the last time, I still had to come after 

Sabrina. 

Seven years together had meant less to him than Sabrina’s burned fingertip. 

Less than a concert. 

All the lies, all the deception, had worn away every feeling I had left for him. 

Before Grandma died, her cloudy eyes had been full of worry for me. 

“Tessa… Grandma can’t leave in peace if I’m still 

worrying about you.” 

Then she held my hand and whispered, “Take care of yourself. Promise me that, and I’ll be able to 

rest.” 

I lowered my eyes as tears slid down my face and splashed onto the screen. 

This time, I was truly exhausted. 

I didn’t want any more ties to Nolan. No more explanations. No more waiting. No more chances. 

On the other end, his breathing was uneven, his voice hoarse with strain, like he hadn’t slept. 

I didn’t listen any longer. 

I hung up and blocked that number too. 

Back at the mansion, Nolan was a statue of a man holding a dead device. 

Then he tried calling again. 

It didn’t go through. 

He stared blankly at the screen, then slowly 

slumped against the wall, his composure finally 

breaking. 

“Nolan.” 

Sabrina appeared in front of him, dressed in 

something soft and expensive, her face carefully 

made up, but the jealousy in her eyes was raw. 

“What exactly is so special about Tessa Quinn?” 

she demanded. 

“What does she have that I don’t? Forget her. That 

bitch is probably wrapped around some other man 

right now. She’s not coming back. Look at me 

instead, okay? Don’t divorce me.” 

Maybe it was one sentence. Maybe all of them. 

Whatever it was, something snapped. 

Just as her hand lifted toward his face, Nolan 

slapped her hard enough to send her reeling. His 

voice came out rough and cold as he stared her 

down. 

“Didn’t I warn you not to go after her? Did you think 

I was joking? Ninety–nine times. Every time Tessa 

needed me the most, something happened to 

you.‘ 

“Either the baby was sick, or you had some new 

emergency. Don’t think I don’t know exactly what 

you were doing.” 

The room went dead quiet. 

The house staff had gathered silently in the corners, none of them daring to make a sound. 

Sabrina pressed a hand to her burning cheek and stared at him in disbelief, both furious and 

stunned. 

“So now you’re blaming me? Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to take care of me and the baby?” 

“When she was around, you didn’t act like this, like you’d die without her. Who are you putting on a 

show for now…” 

“Shut up!” 

Nolan hurled his phone at her feet with a roar. 

It shattered on impact. The broken case skidded 

across the floor and knocked loose a paper that 

had been half–hidden beneath the table. 

A document. 

His hand shook as he picked it up. 

The moment he saw the name on the cremation 

certificate, his pupils contracted.