NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: The Morning After Disaster
Cora stared at the ring on her finger, the sunlight glinting off the diamond like it was mocking her. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream. A very, very bad dream.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Let's just… stay calm. There's no need to panic."
Jace, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, let out a humorless laugh. "No need to panic? We're married, Cora."
"Technically," Cora said, holding up a finger, "we might be married. We don't know for sure. Maybe this is just a really elaborate prank. Or… or a misunderstanding. Or—"
"Cora," Jace interrupted, his voice firm. "We're in a hotel room. There's a marriage certificate on the nightstand. And I'm pretty sure I remember an Elvis impersonator officiating."
Cora groaned and flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Oh my God. My brothers are going to kill me."
"My father's going to have a heart attack," Jace muttered.
There was a long silence as they both processed the situation. Cora's mind was racing, trying to piece together the events of the night before. There had been champagne. A lot of champagne. And dancing. And… oh no.
"Did we…?" she started, then trailed off, her face heating up.
Jace glanced at her, then quickly looked away. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably."
Cora buried her face in her hands. "This is a disaster."
"You already said that," Jace pointed out, his tone dry.
"Well, it's worth repeating!" Cora snapped, sitting up again. She glared at him, but there was no real heat behind it. How could she be mad at him when she was just as much to blame?
Jace sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Look, we need to figure out what to do. We can't just sit here and hope this goes away."
"Why not?" Cora asked, only half-joking.
"Because," Jace said, giving her a look, "we're adults. And adults deal with their mistakes."
"Speak for yourself," Cora muttered, but she knew he was right. As much as she wanted to pretend this hadn't happened, they couldn't just ignore it.
They spent the next hour arguing—er, discussing—their options. Cora was all for annulling the marriage and pretending it never happened, while Jace insisted they needed to think about the legal and financial implications.
"What if someone finds out?" Jace said, pacing the room. "Do you have any idea what kind of scandal this could cause? My company's reputation—"
"Oh, please," Cora interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Your company's reputation will survive. My brothers, on the other hand, will literally murder me."
Jace stopped pacing and turned to look at her. "Why are your brothers so overprotective, anyway?"
Cora sighed and leaned back against the headboard. "Because I'm the baby of the family. And the only girl. They've been smothering me my whole life. It's like they think I'm made of glass or something."
Jace raised an eyebrow. "And you don't think getting married in Vegas is going to make that worse?"
"Obviously it's going to make it worse!" Cora said, throwing up her hands. "That's why we need to keep this quiet. At least until we can get a divorce."
Jace frowned. "A divorce?"
"Yes, a divorce," Cora said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What, did you think we were going to stay married?"
Jace didn't answer right away. He just stood there, his expression unreadable. Cora felt a flicker of unease.
"Jace," she said slowly, "you do want to get a divorce, right?"
"Of course," Jace said quickly, but there was something in his tone that made Cora wonder if he was telling the truth.
As the morning wore on, they found themselves talking more and arguing less. Cora learned that Jace was a self-made CEO who'd built his company from the ground up. He was a workaholic, a perfectionist, and—according to him—completely out of his depth when it came to relationships.
"I don't do… this," he said, gesturing vaguely between them.
"What, marriage?" Cora asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I mean… spontaneity. Fun. Whatever you want to call it."
Cora grinned. "Well, you're doing a great job so far."
Jace shot her a look, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "You're impossible, you know that?"
"So I've been told," Cora said, leaning back with a satisfied smirk.
In turn, Cora told Jace about her family—her overbearing brothers, her distant father, and her dream of opening her own art gallery.
"An art gallery?" Jace said, sounding genuinely interested.
"Yeah," Cora said, her eyes lighting up. "I've always loved art. It's the one thing my family can't control. But they don't take it seriously, you know? They think it's just a hobby."
Jace nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Well, for what it's worth, I think it's impressive."
Cora blinked, surprised by the compliment. "Thanks," she said, feeling a warmth spread through her chest.
By the time they'd finished talking, the sun was high in the sky, and Cora's stomach was growling. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, and the thought of room service was incredibly tempting.
"So," she said, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "What's the plan?"
Jace sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I think… we keep this quiet. For now. We'll figure out the legal stuff later, but for now, we don't tell anyone."
Cora nodded, relieved. "Agreed. My brothers would lose their minds if they found out."
"And my father would never let me hear the end of it," Jace added.
They sat there for a moment, both lost in thought. Then Cora stood up and held out her hand.
"Partners?" she said, grinning.
Jace looked at her hand, then up at her face. For a moment, she thought he might refuse. But then he took her hand and shook it firmly.
"Partners," he said, his lips curving into a small smile.