After I Gave My Husband Away, He Begged Me to Stay Chapter 01
On the day Ethan and I were supposed to get married, I waited forty minutes in the lobby of the county courthouse.
He never showed.
Then my best friend, Megan Foster, posted a courthouse photo on Instagram. She and Ethan stood side by side, holding their signed marriage paperwork.
The caption was one line:
【For the kid. We did what we had to do.】
In the photo, she leaned against Ethan’s shoulder.
They were both wearing white shirts.
The navy tie at Ethan’s collar was the one I’d ironed for him that morning.
I stared at the photo for a few seconds, then called him.
He didn’t answer the first time.
He picked up on the second.
“Claire, where are you?”
“At the courthouse.”
There was a beat of silence.
“Go home first. I’ll explain tonight.”
“You got married?”
“…Yeah.”
***
I looked down at the folder in my hands.
Inside were my driver’s license, our appointment paperwork, the documents for the ceremony, and the gold ring my mother had left me.
“To Megan?”
“Claire, don’t start this over the phone.”
I let out a laugh.
“I asked if you married her.”
He lowered his voice. “Yes. But it’s just paperwork.”
“Noah starts first grade this year, and enrollment closes in three days. Megan couldn’t establish residency through his dad, and my condo is in Westbridge Elementary’s attendance zone. The district needs proof that Noah actually lives there with a parent or guardian. They can even verify the address in person.”
“Megan and I are only doing this for a year. Once Noah’s enrollment is secure, we’ll get divorced.”
“Our wedding is still happening.”
The number display behind me chimed.
“B107, please proceed to Window Three.”
That was our number.
I pulled the appointment slip from my folder.
“So before you were supposed to marry me, you married her instead.”
“One day earlier. That’s all.”
“And me?”
Ethan was clearly getting impatient.
“What do you mean, what about you? You’re still my fiancee.”
“We’re not canceling the reception or the photos. Everyone’s already been invited. Changing everything now would only make things messier.”
“Just give us a year, okay?”
I said nothing.
He must have thought I was crying, because his voice softened.
“Claire, this isn’t about Megan. It’s about Noah.”
“He’s called you Aunt Claire for six years. Can you really watch him get sent to a terrible school when we can help?”
“I knew you’d understand.”
Before he hung up, I heard Megan ask from beside him,
“Is she mad?”
Ethan said,
“It’s fine. She’ll calm down.”
I lowered the phone from my ear.
The clerk at Window Three called B107 again.
I walked over and handed her the appointment slip.
“I need to cancel this, please.”
The clerk glanced at it. “Cancel the appointment for both parties?”
“Yes.”