Divorced, Now Watch Me Rise novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: The Wedding We Chose

We married in my father's print shop on a Saturday in April, with the big black press behind us.

Brogan had washed the windows himself.

He had also, without telling me, hung my father's apron on its hook again, because it had come down in the dust and he could not stand to see it on the floor.

I found that out when I came in and had to sit down on a crate.

Hattie stood at the front in a purple dress, holding a printed card.

"I got ordained online," she said to the room. "It took four minutes. Nobody tell the state of Illinois."

Lydia sat in the second row with her baby son asleep on her shoulder.

Beside her sat the old lawyer, in his dark overcoat, with his leather case on his knee.

Brogan's crew from the freight company filled the folding chairs, and they all looked terrified of the press.

Our daughter lay in a sling against my chest, awake and frowning, in a white cap Hattie had knitted badly.

"Dearly beloved," Hattie began.

"Hattie."

"Fine. Get on with it. I'll cry later."

Brogan stood in front of me in a dark suit with no tie, and his hands were not steady.

"There's no paper tonight," I said. "I told the county we were done with theirs. This is only us."

"I know."

"I picked my own ring."

I opened my hand.

It was a plain gold band, a little scratched, with nothing set in it.

"I bought it on Cicero Avenue," I said. "From the same pawnbroker who told me my first one was glass. He said the gold is real. He let me watch him test it."

Brogan laughed, and his eyes shone.

← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend