CHAPTER 5 — CITY HALL
After the reception, Vivian Cheng pulled me aside and pressed a black card into my palm.
Her grip was firm.
Her eyes were sharper.
“This is yours,” she said. “Pre-marital. Put it away. Don’t let my son touch it.”
I tried to speak, but Ethan appeared like a storm.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, already taking my hand. “We’re going to City Hall.”
Vivian’s mouth twitched.
She looked pleased and furious at the same time.
“Go,” she said. “Before I change my mind.”
At City Hall, Ethan sat in the waiting area like he was at a deposition.
Back straight. Hands clasped. Face serious enough to scare strangers.
A couple near us whispered, amused.
“Is he here for an interview?”
I laughed.
Ethan shot me a glare that would’ve ended lesser marriages.
When our turn came for the photo, he produced a bouquet like a magician.
I stared at it.
“Where did you even—”
“I bought it,” he said, offended by the question. “It’s a wedding thing.”
Later, after the license was signed, I cornered him.
“You bought it from where?”
He looked away, embarrassed.
“A couple outside,” he admitted. “They had flowers. I wanted flowers. I paid.”
“How much?”
He said it like he was confessing to a felony.
“Five thousand.”
I pressed my lips together.
Ethan watched my face carefully, ready to defend his insanity.
Then he leaned in and kissed me, quick and satisfied.
“Worth it,” he said.