3: 3

3

I spun around, staring at Irma in disbelief, then turned a cold, hard look on Abner.

She couldn't seriously be asking me to apologize to an animal, could she?

Besides, I hadn't done anything to it.

Abner frowned, glanced at the cat curled up in Irma's arms, and said hesitantly,

"Glenn, Kiki understands people. You really did frighten it just now. Why don't you calm it down, say a word of apology? You can see it's still sick."

I froze where I stood, a clap of thunder going off in my head.

Abner and I had known each other a full twenty years. Betrothed since childhood, we'd grown up together, and we cared for each other.

I had no idea when his mind had twisted this far, that he would make his own fiancée, the rightful heir to Harmony Group, apologize to a cat.

Irma scooped up the kitten and thrust it in front of my face.

"Look how adorable Kiki is. Come on, sis, just coax it a little, say something nice to it."

I drew a deep breath and dug my nails hard into my palm to keep myself from losing control.

My hand stroked the cat gently, the words stuck in my throat.

Then, all at once, the kitten reacted as if startled, its mouth clamping down hard on the back of my hand, a tearing pain shooting through my whole body.

On pure reflex I flung my hand out and threw the cat off, then stood there shaking, clutching my hand.

Before I could even react, Irma let out a wail and threw herself down.

"Kiki, wake up, don't leave Mommy and Daddy!"

"Abner, save Kiki, hurry, he's the child we love most in the world!"

Abner's face went white in an instant too. He rushed over and gathered Kiki up.

"Kiki, open your eyes and look at Daddy. Daddy's taking you to the hospital right now."

With that, cat in one arm and Irma tucked under the other, he strode for the door.

The moment he crossed the threshold, Abner turned and gave me a sinister look.

"Glenn, I never thought you'd still be this incorrigible, still can't stand the sight of Irma."

"Today, unless you sign a written pledge handing twenty percent of the company's shares over to Irma, I will never marry you, not in this lifetime, and I certainly won't put my name on that worthless document as your spouse. You can just wait to be thrown out of Maxwell Group."

Then he added, his voice low and menacing,

"A hundred billion in Maxwell assets. You wouldn't want to end this year still unable to inherit the company, would you? Watch the equity slip through your fingers?"

I looked at Abner, hypocritical and sickening, lowered my hand, and straightened my spine, my voice resolute as I reminded him,

"Abner, don't forget whose backing built the Delgado family. Without Grandpa's help, without twenty years of Maxwell support, would the Delgados have ever clawed their way into the second tier?"

"Abner, do you really want to destroy Delgado Group, and take your father back out onto the streets digging sewers?"

Abner, this is the last chance I'm giving you.

Your father once saved Grandpa's life, so I don't want to wipe you out completely and leave Grandpa restless in the grave.

4: 4

4

Called out on where his family's money really came from, Abner flushed dark red and snapped back, humiliation cracking through his voice.

"Glenda Maxwell, don't you dare use my father to scare me. The Delgados got where we are because my dad is smart and has a head for business. Your family did nothing but throw us a few contracts."

Then something seemed to occur to him, and his expression hardened.

"If anything, it's your family that owes mine. If my dad hadn't pulled old Joshua Maxwell out of that sewer, the Maxwells would've been finished long ago."

"Everything the Maxwells have today, you owe to my father. What exactly do you have to be so proud of, Glenda Maxwell?"

He shoved me to the floor and spat out,

"Glenda Maxwell, you sit here and think hard about what you've done. I'm taking Kitty to the vet."

"And if you keep this stubborn, domineering act up, forget about me ever marrying you. You can forget about the trust shares too."

With that he slammed the door, and a moment later I heard the lock click from the outside.

I pounded on the door, then threw myself at the window, hammering at it.

Through the glass I watched Abner gently wipe Irma's tears.

I watched him bend down, tenderly help her into the driver's side, lean across to buckle her seatbelt for her.

As the car tore off, I wiped the wet from the corner of my eye, turned, grabbed a chair, and drove it hard into the windowpane.

Thank God we'd bought a place on the third floor, with an osmanthus tree right beside it.

I pushed the window open, climbed onto the sill, caught hold of a branch outside, shut my eyes, and jumped.

I landed on the trunk, and I ignored the pain and slid down it as fast as I could.

The instant my feet hit the ground, I didn't stop to check the scrapes on my body. I took off running for the courthouse.

The moment I burst into the courthouse lobby, a mess, the clock read four forty-five.

Stewart hurried over at once, tense.

"Glenn, I thought you'd changed your mind and weren't coming. What happened to you—"

"Never mind that. Where's your ID? We're getting the license right now."

"Okay. I've already pulled a number three times. We're next in line."

Four forty-eight, and Stewart and I were sitting at the courthouse window, signing, stamping. Four fifty, and the marriage certificate, red and fresh, was in my hand.

I didn't even glance at Stewart grinning ear to ear in the certificate photo. I grabbed him and rushed us out of the lobby.

"Stewart, I'm giving you nine minutes. Can you get us to Harmony Group headquarters?"

Stewart dropped the easygoing look, hit the ignition, and worked the clutch.

"Glenn, if you need it, I'll have you there in eight."

He floored it, the car threw up a cloud of dust, and we shot off toward Harmony headquarters.

The whole way there, watching the hard set of Stewart's face, watching the streets fly backward past the window, my heart went quiet all at once.

Having someone who'd drive himself to the edge just to get you there. It felt good.

When Stewart slammed to a stop in the Maxwell parking lot, he grabbed my hand and we ran for the elevator. Inside, the clock read four fifty-eight.

Stewart held my hand tight, watching the floor numbers flash by, and said in a low voice,

"Glenn, don't worry. Whatever you want to do, I'll break my neck getting you there. Not one minute late."

My eyes went hot for a second, and I gave him a firm nod.

When the elevator stopped on the thirty-second-floor headquarters, I drew a breath and smoothed my clothes, then slipped my arm neatly through Stewart's.

"Let's go, husband. They still need your signature."

Arm in arm with Stewart, I strode into the meeting room, and the moment the door swung open, every face turned to me in shock.

The witness committee was packing the documents away, sliding them into a filing box.

I let a small smile show, looked up at the clock, and said slowly,

"Four fifty-nine and ten seconds. Fifty seconds left. I think there's still time for us to sign."

The committee members stopped and looked up at me.

"Ms. Maxwell, even if there's time left, your fiancé Abner Delgado isn't here. Without his signature, you still can't claim the trust shares."

He shook his head with a look of regret.

Stewart walked forward, smiling, and slapped the marriage certificate down on the table.

"Everyone, Ms. Maxwell has a lawful, legitimate husband. I don't think we need some worthless fiancé's signature, do we?"

Every eye went wide and swung to the fresh red certificate.

Stewart, showing it off, picked it up, flipped it open, and held it high for the whole room to see.

The shareholders came alive.

"Good, good. Sign, sign."

The lawyers quickly handed over the agreement for Stewart to review.

Stewart dropped it straight back onto the table, walked up to the witness committee, and said in a clear voice,

"I don't need to read any agreement. Whatever Glenn wants, I agree to it. Can I just sign now?"

The committee members exchanged a glance, took out the file, and laid it in front of Stewart. With one hand holding mine and the other holding the pen, he signed his name in quick, sweeping strokes.

The moment the pen passed into my hand, I smiled.

Stewart held me, wrapped his hand over mine, and together we signed the three characters of my name once more.

The instant we stood and looked at each other and smiled, the clock struck five o'clock exactly. Not a second over.

I turned the certificate on the table toward me, snapped a photo, and posted it to my feed with the caption,

"I didn't fail Grandpa's charge. I finally have a home to belong to."

The second it went up, a message came in from Abner.

"Glenn, Irma's crying so hard, I can't leave her home alone. I won't make it over to sign this year."

"Don't worry. Next year I definitely won't be late. I'll marry you in real style."