She Got the Marriage License and I Got 99 Broken Promises Chapter 01
Before Grandma Evelyn died, she wanted to see me married.
I had begged my boyfriend, Nolan Hayes, ninety-nine separate times before he finally agreed to pull the trigger on a marriage license.
But on the very day we were supposed to do it, his old flame posted wedding photos on Instagram, the two of them holding a baby in matching white smiles.
[It might’ve been a shotgun wedding, but he still gave me every bit of the romance I deserved. My husband is the best.]
That was when I found out that during our five years together, he had been cheating on me the entire time.
When I confronted him, panic flashed through his eyes.
“Tessa, it only happened because I was drunk. I slept with her by accident. The marriage was just to put my name on the baby’s birth certificate. The marriage certificate might’ve gone to her, but you’re the one I love. Just give me one more month, and I’ll divorce her.”
A month later, he stood outside the City Hall in a suit, roses in hand, waiting for me.
What he got instead was the wedding invitation I mass-texted to everyone.
By the time the white sheet was pulled over Grandma’s body, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.
It had always been just the two of us. Ever since I was little, Grandma and I had been all each other had. And in the end, I still couldn’t grant her last wish.
She had worried that after she was gone, I’d be left drifting alone. She wanted to see me ‘taken care of,’ to know someone would be there to hold my hand when hers let go.
So I had begged Nolan ninety-nine times.
He was never free.
The first time, Sabrina had twisted her ankle, and he ditched me halfway there to take care of her.
The second time, she got into an argument with someone over a cup, and he was afraid she’d get the short end of it, so he told me we’d do it another day.
The third time, he had tickets to a concert with her.
……
By the ninety-ninth time, Sabrina had burned her fingertip on a curling iron. He rushed her to the ER like it was a life-threatening injury, terrified she’d have a microscopic scar.
If she hadn’t posted that photo of herself, Nolan, and the baby, I never would’ve known he was already married.
My phone kept ringing.
When I picked up, his low, smooth voice came through the line. “Missed you. Where are you?”
I lit a cigarette and let out a silent, bitter smile.
Before, just hearing from him first would’ve made me happy.
I would’ve pretended to be mad, complained that he’d vanished for days again, then thrown myself into his arms to reclaim whatever scraps of intimacy he’d offer.
Now all I felt was disgust.
It was rare for me not to respond right away, and after a few seconds of silence, his voice tightened with unease.
“Tessa? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
I exhaled slowly, watching the smoke curl in front of me.
“The hospital morgue. Basement level.”
He went quiet, as if he had only just remembered that I’d been staying there to take care of Grandma.
“Wait for me,” he said quickly. “I’m coming right now.”
Two hours passed. I packed up Grandma’s belongings by myself, and he still never showed.
It wasn’t until I got into a cab that he finally sent a text, like he’d barely managed to spare a second.
Nolan:[Sabrina came down with a bad cold. I didn’t feel right leaving her home alone. I’ll visit Grandma when I have time.]
I wasn’t surprised.
Every time he came looking for me, Sabrina somehow had another crisis that required his attention.
For years, the phrase Nolan used most with me had been the same one.
[When I have time.]
When I have time, I’ll go back to your hometown with you and visit Grandma.
When I have time, I’ll spend your birthday with you.
When I have time, I’ll go get the marriage license with you.
……
He was always too busy, and he knew I would always understand.
That was why he kept brushing me off, over and over, as casually as if my patience were an infinite resource.
I could’ve waited for him a hundred times. A thousand. But this time was Grandma’s last time.
She didn’t get to wait for him.
And neither would I.
When I got home, I dropped onto the couch and let the silence swallow me.
My phone lit up and went dark all night long, then lit up again.
By the next morning, my notifications were a graveyard of ’99+ missed calls.’
Every single one was from Nolan.
I ignored them all and went straight to the mansion we’d lived in together for the past three years.
Back when he had first gotten into real estate, he’d been nobody, green and eager and easy to use. Someone had manipulated him, and without meaning to, he’d betrayed his boss. He got pushed out for it, just like that.
I gave up on my own dream and stayed by his side while he built himself back up, step by step.
Now he was a powerhouse in the insurance world, and the smell of grease on a chef’s jacket didn’t fit the ‘refined’ life he wanted to project.
I kept my head down and packed my things in silence.
Nolan appeared behind me without a sound. He watched me, puzzled, then asked in that same deep, gentle voice, “Why are you packing?”
I didn’t answer. I just zipped the last of my belongings into my suitcase.
Maybe he still hadn’t noticed how cold I’d become, because he reached for me, trying to corral me into a hug.
I slipped away before he could make contact.
