Page 75 of Fake Wife

I hate this man.

“And?”

“And what?” I ask, mind going numb. My mouth isn’t only rubber, but my legs are. I grab the counter to stay standing.

“Will you sign it, angel?”

No doubt, no question in his voice, just hopefulness?

“Yeah.” I clear my throat. It’s gone dry. So much for not letting Franklin get to me. “Yeah, I’ll sign it, Corbin.”

“Great. We’ll celebrate at dinner. I’ll be home by six, okay?”

I think I respond. I’m sure I do, because Corbin hangs up with his deep voice rumbling that he can’t wait to see me.

I set the phone on the counter and face Franklin. “Thank you for bringing this by. You can see yourself out.”

“Have a great day, Miss Lane.”

He turns and leaves, shocking me again without any more commentary on the state of how I spread my legs.

And as soon as he’s gone, so am I. The prenuptial isn’t unusual. I’m certain it’s not.

Our entire relationship is based on a contract, for crying out loud, but this feels like a betrayal as I look through it, the pages blurring.

I see that there’s absolutely nothing mentioning our previous contract. Not a single sentence or line or anything about the money he’s promised to give me, the financial assistance to go to school. Within a whole stack of legal jargon I understand just enough to know what’s missing: There’s absolutely nothing written about the $250,000 he’s promised me.

Only that when we divorce, I leave the marriage with nothing. Nothing. He has signed an agreement stating I will take nothing from him, from clothing or vehicles or any tangible items from the date of our marriage through the period of our marriage.

He is fucking me over at the exact same time he’s thinking of fucking me later.

And I can’t handle it.

I crumble to the floor, prenuptial agreement spilling all over my lap, and sob.

Another man who promises me the world only to rip it away when it no longer suits his purposes.

I knew I should have protected my heart from him.

I fling the ring off my finger and watch it bounce across the tiled floor until it slides onto the carpet.

And that’s how Caitlin finds me, crying in a corner of the kitchen, crumpled into a ball, arms over my knees, head on my arms, bawling my eyes out because this hurts.

And I am done falling for men, allowing them to hurt me.

Chapter 25

Corbin

I stare at my phone as I set it on the table and look up. Trey is sitting across from me in the sports bar where we’re grabbing lunch after I stopped at the courthouse.

The phone call with Teagan has left a thick, dirty taste in my mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Trey asks.

“Nothing.” But something is. “She didn’t sound right.”

“You probably surprised her. It’s not every day a woman gets a marriage certificate couriered to her front door.”

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