Page 104 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
HARRISON
Iwoke before dawn, my internal clock refusing to let me sleep past six even on days when I had nowhere urgent to be. Sadie lay curled against my side, her breathing deep and even, one hand resting protectively over her stomach. The morning sickness had been brutal these past two weeks, but she'd finally managed a full night's sleep without waking up nauseous.
I studied her face in the gray light filtering through the curtains. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her cheekbones seemed sharper than they had a month ago. The stress of the depositions combined with early pregnancy had taken a toll, but she never complained. She just endured, the way she always did.
My phone sat on the nightstand, and I found myself staring at it. Blackwood had said he'd call as soon as he heard from the judge. That could be today, or next week, or next month. Legal proceedings moved at their own glacial pace, indifferent to the anxiety they created for the people waiting.
I slipped out of bed carefully, not wanting to disturb Sadie's rest, and snatched my phone to take with me. I padded to the kitchen, automatically starting the coffee maker and checkingmy email. Nothing from the lawyer. Nothing from the court. Just the usual administrative messages from Hawthorne that could wait until normal business hours.
The coffee had just finished brewing when my phone rang. The sharp sound cut through the quiet house, and I grabbed it quickly, my heart rate spiking when I saw Blackwood's name on the screen.
"Hello?" I answered, my voice still rough with sleep.
"Harrison, it's Theodore. I hope I didn't wake you. I know it's early, but I wanted to call as soon as I got word from the courthouse."
My stomach dropped. Early morning calls from lawyers rarely brought good news. I gripped the phone tighter, preparing myself for whatever blow was coming.
"What's the verdict?" I asked, moving to the kitchen window and staring out at the frost-covered lawn. We either went to trial or it got dismissed, but I prayed for the latter.
"The judge threw the case out."
I blinked, certain I'd misheard. "He what?"
"He threw out your sisters' challenge completely."
"I don't understand." I sat down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs, my legs suddenly unsteady. "On what grounds?"
"After what happened yesterday during Sadie's deposition—seeing how you cared for her when she was sick, learning about your intimate relationship as husband and wife, your joint care for her mother living in your home—he said the evidence of a genuine marriage was overwhelming."
The words washed over me, but I couldn't quite process them. After months of legal maneuvering and sleepless nights, it seemed impossible that it could be over this simply.
"The will stands," Theodore continued, his voice warm with satisfaction. "You've met all the terms. The inheritance is yours,the school is yours, and your sisters have no further legal recourse."
"What about the five-year requirement?" I managed to ask.
"Still in place, naturally. You can't access the full inheritance or make major changes to the school's governance until that period is complete. But the judge ruled definitively that your marriage is legitimate and that your sisters have no grounds to contest it."
Relief crashed over me in waves, so intense it was almost nauseating. I doubled over in the chair, pressing my free hand against my forehead as the tension I'd been carrying for months finally began to release.
"Harrison? Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here." I straightened up, running my hand through my hair. "I just… I can't believe it's really over."
"It's over," Theodore said firmly. "Your sisters can file appeals if they want, but they have no case. Any judge would laugh them out of court at this point."
"Thank you." The words came out rougher than I'd intended, thick with emotion I hadn't expected. "Theodore, I can't tell you how much?—"
"You don't need to thank me. You and Sadie did the work by building a real marriage. I just handled the paperwork."
After I hung up, I sat in the kitchen for several minutes, staring at my phone and trying to absorb what had just happened. No more depositions. No more lawyers dissecting every aspect of our relationship. No more wondering if my sisters would find some new angle of attack.
The relief was so profound it almost hurt.
I climbed the stairs slowly. Sadie was still asleep, but she stirred when I slipped back into bed beside her.
"Harrison?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. "Everything okay?"
"Blackwood called."
