Chapter 42

CHAPTER 42

VIVIAN

" I can't stay married to this man."

It had been two weeks since my shotgun wedding, and Var had barely let me leave the penthouse.

The man was a beast.

We'd fucked in every room. Twice.

Last night, I had awoken to him already inside of me from behind with his hand squeezing my breast.

It was amazing.

Heaven.

And hell.

I wasn't supposed to be enjoying being married to him.

If I didn't act soon, I would enjoy it so much, I wouldn't want to leave.

I tapped my finger against the official marriage certificate that had appeared on the kitchen counter a few days ago. "You have to fix this!"

I'd left the penthouse earlier, telling Var I was meeting Barb and Millie for lunch. Instead, I'd snuck off to a divorce attorney's office. I had no idea if he was a good one. He just happened to be the closest one I could find near where Barb and Millie were waiting for me.

I'd given them my new phone in case Var was also cloning that one, and fifty bucks for martinis until I returned. If Var checked the GPS, as far as he'd know, I was precisely where I said I'd be.

The divorce attorney put on his glasses and leaned forward, picking up the paper.

Before saying anything, he gave in to a fit of coughing that ended with a disgusting nose snort.

Gross.

Still, it didn't matter. It wasn't like I needed this man to be a pit bull. Var and I had been married less than a month. There were no kids or assets to divide up. If I got lucky, it wouldn't even be a divorce.

I spun the massive diamond ring on my finger. The attorney had shaken my hand a little too hard, crushing my fingers. There was now a red indent on the side from the cut diamonds.

The ring was so big and gorgeous, it was borderline gauche.

When he took me to Tiffany's, I thought I would put him off by selecting the largest ring they had on display. But Var simply shrugged and tossed his American Express Black Card on the counter. As if it were no big deal to charge a three-quarters of a million-dollar ring.

So I upped the ante and demanded that a few of the diamonds be replaced with black diamonds and then asked for a matching black diamond eternity band so the whole wedding set would have a chic Art Deco vibe.

Var looked the stunned clerk dead in the face and told him not only to make it happen but that he wanted it delivered to the Four Monks by the end of the day, no matter the cost.

We were having a private dinner that evening when the salesclerk and security guard arrived with the ring.

When he slid it on my finger, he leaned in and rasped into my ear, "Checkmate, beautiful."

Damn him.

He'd known what I was doing all along and out-played me.

Leaning forward, I tapped the edge of the desk. "I doubt the marriage is even legal." Not wanting to give too much away about Var's criminal enterprise, I simply said, "The judge seemed… incompetent."

The attorney nodded and continued to rummage through his drawers without looking at the paper. "One moment. I need to find my glasses."

"They're already on your head."

His hand went to his face. "So they are." He picked the paper up again.

My stomach twisted as the reality of what I was doing settled in on me.

Did I really want to leave Var? The first man I'd ever been with who could match my strong personality? Who actually found my stubborn bullshit endearing? Who was the best sex of my life? Who doted on and spoiled me? And bonus, who was super jealous and protective of me in that crazy, sexy hot way I'd only read about in romance novels?

Was I really going to toss all that away because he didn't get down on one knee?

Because society said it was too soon?

Because our meet cute was more of a meet fucked up?

This was a mistake.

Perhaps the attorney being an idiot was a sign.

And when it came down to it… did I really want a divorce?

Did I not want to be married to Var because I didn't want to be married to him, or was it more because he'd put my pride and nose out of joint by insisting without even proposing?

Was I doing what I always do?

Was I ruining something good out of spite?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd fucked up.

I'd fallen in love with my husband!

Crap.

Shoving the purse handle over my forearm, I rose. "I think I made a?—"

The attorney looked up. "An annulment may be possible. Was the marriage consummated?"

I thought back to our wedding day and without thinking blurted out, "Does anal count?"

"Anal always counts," came a dark voice behind me.

Pivoting so quickly I had to grab the back of the chair to not fall over in my high heels, I nearly fell over anyway.

There was Var leaning against the office door, looking like the embodiment of sin.

Behind me, a chair scraped. "Mr. Rubashkin! I had no idea she was your wife!" He adjusted his glasses and looked at the paperwork again, then frowned at me. "How dare you try and trick me!"

I pointed to the center of my chest. "Me?"

The attorney wagged his finger at me. "Yes, you! You didn't tell me who you were married to. I never would have even taken this meeting." He turned back to Var as he walked around his desk, his hands pressed together as if in prayer. "Please, sir. Please! You have to believe me. I didn't know!"

Ignoring the attorney's pathetic groveling, I placed my hand on my hip as I met Var's stare. "Is this how it's going to be with any attorney I approach?"

He straightened and offered me his arm. "Pretty much. You should probably know, the only reason why I'm not shooting him?—"

Var was interrupted by a high-pitched whimper from the attorney as he collapsed against the desk the moment Var mentioned violence.

Var raised an eyebrow, then continued. "As I was saying, the only reason why he's not dead is because you hadn't retained him yet."

Looping my hand through his arm, I said, "Is it fair to assume all the attorneys in Chicago now know that?"

He winked. "What do you think?"

As we emerged out into the sunshine, Var opened his car door for me.

I paused before entering. "How did you find me anyway?"

I stormed into the restaurant. "You told him?"

Barb and Millie both paused, a martini in both of their hands.

They then exchanged a look.

Barb shrugged. "He asked."

Var came up behind me and pulled my chair out before sitting next to me at their table.

Millie leaned over and presented her cheek, which Var dutifully kissed. "Hello, dear."

Millie blushed. "Hello, handsome." She then looked at me and gestured to Var. "Darling, what did you expect? Of course we told him. I mean look at the man. I'd tell him my social security number forward and backwards if he asked."

Just to annoy her, I snatched the dirty martini out of her hand. After tossing the toothpick with the olive out of the glass and onto the table, I drank the martini in one gulp.

They both cried out in unison, "Respect the olive!"