I followed him halfway, furious. “You think I’m some groupie who planned this? I have a kid at home waiting for me, asshole. I’m not here for your autograph or your dick.”
He paused at the doorway, turned. “Then why the fuck are you yelling at me instead of leaving?”
“Because...” My eyes caught something glinting on my left hand. Thin gold band. Fake diamond chip. Same as the one on his finger.
We both stared.
He looked at his hand. Then mine. Then back.
“What the fuck is that?” he said, voice flat.
I lifted my hand, trembling. “I don’t… I don’t know.”
He stepped closer, grabbed my wrist, not rough, just firm, and held both our hands up side by side. Matching rings. Cheap. Vegas cheap.
His face went pale. “No.”
I yanked my hand back. “This isn’t real. This can’t be real.”
He started pacing. Short, angry steps. “This is your fault.”
“My fault?”
“You were the one all over me last night. Whispering shit. Laughing like it was cute.”
“I was drunk! You were the one saying ‘let’s make it real’!”
He stopped. “I said what?”
“You said you wanted to marry me. Called me the prettiest girl in the world. Then you....” I gestured wildly toward the bathroom. “You dragged me in there, then we left, then… chapel. Elvis. Rings.”
He laughed, short, bitter. “You’re delusional. Or a gold-digger with a good memory. Which is it?”
“I’m not delusional. And I’m sure as hell not after your money. I have a brother to feed. Rent. Meds. I don’t need your rockstar bullshit.”
He paced faster. “This is a nightmare. My team is gonna kill me.”
A paper on the bed caught my eye, crumpled, bright blue. I snatched it up.
Marriage certificate.
State of Nevada.
Our names. Our signatures, sloppy, drunk, but ours.
I shook my head. “No. No no no.”
He snatched it from me. Read it. Face went gray.
“Fuck.”
We stood there, staring at the paper like it might catch fire if we glared hard enough.
The door burst open.
Holland first, then Jake, Kei, Zariah, wearing Holland’s band tee, way too big on her, and Sydney.
Zariah’s eyes went wide when she saw me. “Had? Oh my God, you’re alive.”
