I stood in front of my parents’ graves, holding a small velvet box tightly in my hand. The grass was still wet from the night before, and the cemetery smelled heavily of earth and rain. “I’m going to ask her,” I said to the headstones, my voice sounding strange in the open air. “I’m finally doing it.” I had been coming to this spot every few weeks since I was eighteen, but today felt different. Today, I needed them to hear me.
Clara and I had been together for over two years. She was my anchor, my best friend, and the person who could make me laugh when I felt like crying. Just talking about her brought a smile to my face. Life had finally started to feel right. My parents had been archaeologists who died years earlier during an expedition in South America; they couldn’t resist a mystery, and one day, the mystery won. I was lost until Tom, my father’s old friend, stepped in to look after me.
Earlier that year, when I turned twenty-seven, I finally gained access to my inheritance. It was a large sum, enough to finally imagine a future with Clara that included more than just daydreams. I opened the velvet box, and the diamond threw tiny rainbows across my palm. “I hope you’ll bless this marriage,” I whispered. The wind picked up, rustling through the trees, and I chose to take that as a yes.
I asked Clara to meet me at City Hall. It wasn’t the most traditional romantic spot, but we had talked about marriage often and joked about skipping the big wedding to just make it official. I brought a bouquet of white roses and pink peonies, the ring, and every ounce of courage I had. She was standing on the steps in a blue dress, looking beautiful but confused.
“Andrew,” she said. “What’s going on?”
I got down on one knee right there. “Clara, will you marry me? Right now. Today.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, saying yes over and over. Hand in hand, we walked into the building. After all the loss and loneliness, I was finally getting something good.
We found the marriage license office on the second floor. “Hi, we’d like to get married,” I told the clerk. She pulled up her screen, her fingers moving across the keyboard with efficiency. Then, she paused. Her eyes narrowed as she read the monitor. She looked at me, then back at the screen, then at me again.
“Sir, according to our records, you’re already married.”
“What?” I stammered. “That’s impossible. I’ve never been married.”
The clerk’s expression softened. “I’m just telling you what the system says, sir. There’s a certificate here. You were legally married two years ago.”
Two years ago? That was right before Clara and I even met. I insisted it was a mistake, but she remained firm. “You’ll need to resolve this first. I can’t process a license when you’re already married to someone else.”
I turned to Clara, and the look of heartbreak on her face nearly destroyed me. “What does this mean?” she whispered. I had no answer. How could I be married to a woman I’d never met? “Was there someone else before me?” she asked, her head hanging low. I swore to her that I had no idea what was happening and promised to get to the bottom of it.
We left City Hall in stunned silence, a copy of the fraudulent certificate clutched in my fist. I spent the night in a daze of confusion, holding Clara while she cried. The next morning, I went to work, hoping for some routine. Tom, my boss and parents’ friend, had been steady for years, though lately, he’d been living a suspiciously lavish lifestyle despite the company struggling.
I found Tom in his office and told him everything. He listened seriously, but then his phone rang. He answered and put it on speaker.
“I finally got my revenge!” a woman’s voice laughed, making my skin crawl. “You tried to protect that boy from me, Tom, but you failed.”
“What are you talking about, Marla?” Tom asked.
“I paid someone to steal information from your employee files and stole his name. Then I went after the money. Andrew, I have ruined you. Payback for what your parents did to me. I might not touch the money directly, but I’ve taken out loans, credit cards, and a second mortgage in your name. It’s beautiful.”
The line went dead, and I stood there shaking. Tom sank into his chair and finally explained. Marla was a former business partner of my parents from before I was born. She had been caught embezzling, and my parents were the ones who turned her in. Though she wasn’t arrested due to a lack of evidence, she lost her reputation and career. She had waited decades for her revenge, striking the moment I inherited the money.
“How do we stop her?” I asked, my hands balled into fists. Tom pointed to paperwork on his desk. He had already spoken to his lawyer that morning. They were preparing to challenge the record, citing forged signatures and lack of consent. Tom called the lawyer back immediately to update him on the phone call, and the wheels of justice began to turn.
The next week felt like a year. Clara stayed by my side through the legal chaos. Finally, the marriage was ruled fraudulent. The signatures didn’t match, the loans were voided, and Marla was arrested. My credit would take time to repair, but the threat was gone.
The day after the marriage was officially dissolved, Clara and I stood in front of the clerk at City Hall once more.
“We’d like to get married,” I said.
“Congratulations,” the clerk replied. “Names?”
Clara squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. This time, everything went exactly as it should have from the start.
