For the first time in years, I felt like I had a choice.
Not one forced on me. Not one manipulated by fear or obligation.
A real choice.
I looked at Claire—not as a stranger I had made a deal with, but as someone who had just handed me the truth I didn’t even know I needed.
And suddenly, the idea of this marriage being “just on paper” didn’t feel so simple anymore.
Because nothing about this felt fake anymore