Chapter 5 - A Wedding Without Love
I reached the staircase before Daniel.
"Ava!"
My voice echoed through the house.
I ran up the steps, nearly slipping on the polished wood.
Mrs. Alvarez appeared at the end of the hallway.
"Sarah?"
"Where are the children?"
"In their room."
I pushed past her.
Ethan stood beside the window, holding a small silver flashlight.
Ava was sitting upright in bed.
Both looked startled.
"Mom?"
I dropped to my knees and pulled them into my arms.
"Are you okay?"
Ava began crying.
"Mommy, you're squeezing."
I loosened my grip.
"I'm sorry, baby."
Ethan touched my shoulder.
"I heard something outside."
"What?"
"A car."
I turned toward the window.
From the front gate, the upstairs light must have looked like someone moving across the room.
But Ethan was the person holding the flashlight.
No intruder.
Not this time.
Still, Nora's warning stayed with me.
Someone inside the house was reporting to Richard.
That night, I slept between my children.
Daniel placed two guards outside the guest wing.
He didn't argue when I locked the door.
By morning, the estate had changed.
Security cameras were being checked.
Visitor access was restricted.
Daniel had hired an independent attorney for me.
Her name was Olivia Chen.
She arrived shortly after breakfast, wearing a dark green pantsuit and carrying a briefcase packed with documents.
She shook my hand firmly.
"Sarah, Daniel is paying my initial fee, but I represent you alone."
"Can I trust that?"
"You should verify everything I tell you."
I liked her immediately.
Within an hour, Olivia confirmed that Caleb had never properly completed our divorce.
The documents he sent me had been altered.
My stomach turned.
"So I'm still married?"
"Legally, yes."
"Then Daniel and I can't marry."
"Not until the first marriage is dissolved."
Daniel stood near the window.
"How long?"
Olivia's expression was grim.
"Ordinarily, much longer than you have before the trust vote."
My heart sank.
"Then there's no marriage."
Olivia leaned forward.
"There may be another path."
She explained that Caleb had filed a separate divorce petition months earlier but deliberately left it unfinished.
His sworn filings contained contradictions, including an admission that he had abandoned the marital residence.
With proper notice and an emergency hearing, the court could consider expedited relief.
"Could it happen before the board meeting?" I asked.
"Possibly."
"How likely?"
"Not something I'll promise."
I appreciated that answer.
For the next forty-eight hours, I gave statements, signed declarations, and relived the worst years of my marriage.
I told the attorney about the children waiting by the window for their father.
About Ethan sleeping with his baseball glove.
About Ava asking why Daddy loved his new house more than us.
Olivia never interrupted.
When I finished, she closed her notebook.
"Sarah, the most important thing is protecting your children."
"I know."
"That includes protecting them from being used in Daniel's fight."
I looked at her.
"Do you think he's using us?"
"I think he has reasons to be afraid."
"That's not the same as being trustworthy."
"No."
She smiled faintly.
"It isn't."
Two days later, a judge reviewed the competing petitions.
Caleb's attorneys fought every request.
But when his previous sworn statements were introduced, their position weakened.
The judge declined to grant his emergency custody request.
And after confirming valid notice and the required legal grounds, the court granted the divorce decree Caleb had spent years manipulating.
I walked out of the courthouse holding a certified copy.
For the first time in years, I felt a door close behind me.
Daniel was waiting beside the car.
"How are you?"
I looked at the document.
"Free."
He smiled.
It was the first time I had seen a smile reach his eyes.
Three days later, we stood inside a small chapel on the Hayes estate.
There were no reporters.
No hundreds of guests.
Just Mrs. Alvarez, Olivia, Daniel's longtime friend Martin, and my two children.
Ava wore a pale yellow dress.
Ethan wore a little navy suit.
Mrs. Alvarez had spent hours helping me choose a simple ivory gown.
It had no diamonds.
No elaborate train.
But when I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized the woman staring back.
She looked like someone who had survived.
Daniel waited at the front of the chapel.
He wore a black suit.
When I approached, he leaned toward me.
"You can still change your mind."
I glanced at Ethan and Ava.
Then at the man standing before me.
"I'm not doing this because I'm afraid anymore."
His expression softened.
"Why are you doing it?"
"Because I want to know whether we can build something better than what we've survived."
Daniel held my gaze.
"So do I."
We exchanged vows.
When he slipped the ring onto my finger, his hand trembled.
I hadn't expected that.
After the ceremony, Ava threw herself into Daniel's arms.
"Does this mean you live with us now?"
He laughed softly.
"Technically, you live with me."
Ava shook her head.
"No."
Everyone smiled.
"This is Mommy's house too now."
Daniel looked at me.
"She's right."
For one beautiful moment, I let myself believe we were safe.
Then Martin's phone rang.
His smile disappeared.
He stepped toward Daniel and whispered something.
Daniel looked at me.
"Sarah, someone leaked the marriage."
I frowned.
"To the press?"
He nodded.
"And Richard has already issued a statement."
Martin handed me his phone.
The headline filled the screen.
BILLIONAIRE DANIEL HAYES MARRIES HOMELESS MOTHER DAYS BEFORE CONTROL VOTE.
Beneath it was a photograph of me standing beside the highway with my children.
A second headline appeared.
FORMER HUSBAND CLAIMS BILLIONAIRE PAID FOR FALSE MARRIAGE.
Then a third.
HAYES HEIRS MAY BE LINKED TO DECADES-OLD INDUSTRIAL FRAUD.
And at the bottom of the screen was a photograph that made my stomach twist.
Caleb.
Standing outside a courthouse.
May you like
Smiling.
Holding Ethan's old baseball glove.
