Married to My Playboy Boss

The church aisle felt much longer than when Hannah had first walked down it.

Now, Hannah was walking beside Lucas. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. She could feel the stares clinging to her skin, her shoulders, and the white dress that suddenly felt like a costume.

*‘Don't look down. Don't cry.’* Hannah repeated the words over and over in her head.

They stopped in front of the pastor. The old man looked at Lucas, then at Hannah, and back to Lucas again. His brow furrowed.

"Are you sure?" the pastor asked softly.

"Yes," Lucas replied, his expression showing not a shadow of doubt.

Hannah did not answer. Her throat suddenly tightened, and her tongue grew completely numb.

The pastor cleared his throat, opened the book, and began to speak. The words flowed, but Hannah didn't catch a single one. All she could hear was her own heartbeat—loud and fast, like someone was pounding against her chest from the inside.

*This was supposed to be Ethan.*

The thought surfaced uninvited. It was supposed to be Ethan standing here, with his nervous smile and his perpetually crooked tie. Ethan, who had said he would weep with emotion the moment Hannah appeared at the end of the aisle.

But in reality?

A sharp pang went through Hannah's chest.

She shifted her gaze and stared at the floor. The black leather shoes beside her were polished to perfection. The shoes whose care she ordered every single month. The shoes she had only ever seen from behind a desk for five years.

Now those shoes were right beside her.

"Hannah Brooks."

Her name sounded as if it were coming from far away.

"Hannah," the pastor repeated, gentler this time.

Hannah raised her head. Everyone was waiting for her.

"Do you take this man to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health..."

*In sickness.*

The word pierced her. Hannah thought of her mother, and her hand clenched behind her bouquet of flowers.

"I do," Hannah said, her voice trembling slightly. She hated this forced reality.

The pastor turned to Lucas. The same question was asked.

Lucas didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. "I do."

Too fast. Too easy.

Hannah glanced at Lucas's face out of the corner of her eye. His jaw was sharp, his expression neutral. There was no smile. Yet there was something at the edge of his eyes that Hannah couldn't quite read—like a man holding his breath.

*‘What are you hiding?’* She didn't voice the question. It remained locked in her head.

"You may now exchange rings."

Hannah startled. She had forgotten. Her wedding ring was in the pocket of Ethan's suit jacket.

Her hands turned instantly cold.

Lucas reached into his suit jacket pocket.

Hannah assumed he was going to ask someone to fetch replacement rings for them. But Lucas pulled out a small velvet box, flipped it open with one hand, and revealed a pair of plain bands inside.

Hannah stared at the items without blinking.

"Where..." Hannah's voice was low. "Where did those come from?" she asked, barely audible.

"I always keep one on me," Lucas said flatly. "A gift for women who need a little solace."

Hannah looked at him with sheer disgust.

The corner of Lucas's lips twitched slightly. "Just a joke."

"Not funny," Hannah muttered.

"I know." Lucas was far too casual for an event as momentous as a wedding.

Lucas took Hannah's left hand. His fingers were warm—far too warm compared to Hannah's freezing hands.

The ring slid onto her finger. A perfect fit. Almost too perfect.

Hannah looked at the ring on her finger, then at Lucas's hand still holding hers. She pulled her hand back gently from his grip.

Hannah picked up the other ring and slid it onto Lucas's finger. Her hands were shaking so much that the ring nearly dropped.

"Slow down," Lucas whispered.

"Don't say too much, sir." Hannah was nervous, wanting to snap at him, but the man in front of her was the boss keeping her and her mother alive.

"I was just saying." One corner of Lucas's mouth curled up slowly, enjoying the nervousness Hannah was experiencing.

"Don't say anything." Hannah's voice was faint.

Lucas remained silent.

The ring was finally on. Hannah immediately released his hand.

"By the power vested in me," the pastor said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The applause sounded awkward. One or two people clapped, then stopped. There were no cheers. No smiles. Only the whispers rising back up.

"You may now kiss the bride."