“Will you put it on for me?” he asked, his voice low and gentle.
“…Okay,” Whitney replied after a pause.
‘Wasn’t this supposed to be just a marriage of convenience? Why is he so into the whole ceremony thing?’ Whitney wondered, a little thrown off.
Whitney slowly slid the ring onto Klein’s finger, her palm starting to sweat from nerves.
Klein laced his fingers through hers, lifted their hands together, and snapped a quick photo with his phone.
“Alright, let’s head home. Mrs. Harris, time to help you move in,” Klein said, his tone playful and full of anticipation.
While Whitney was in the bathroom, Klein posted on his social media.
In the photo, his hand, adorned with a wedding ring, held the marriage papers.
[Who’s still single these days?]
Lena had just woken up when she saw the post. “God!” She shot upright in bed.
She kept zooming in on the photo, again and again, her eyes widened. ‘Could that really be Uncle Klein?’ she thought.
“This is freaking wild,’ she thought.
‘I haven’t even met his girlfriend, and now he’s pulled a shotgun wedding?’ she thought.
She immediately commented. [Uncle Klein, where’s your wife? Not even gonna let us meet her?]
She wasn’t the only one shocked. Dustin, Oliver, and Eric’s group chat was blowing up.
The group name was “Did Klein Act Like a Decent Human Today?”
[Eric: This brat actually got married?]
[Oliver: Well, looks legit. I bet he wouldn’t show off with fake marriage papers.]
[Eric: Is it that girl from the birthday party? His nephew’s ex-fiancée?]
[Eric: Is James really gonna let him get away with this?]
[Oliver: @Dustin, you’re the one who’s closest to that brat! What’s really going on with him? Is he seriously trying to blow things up at home?]
Dustin was speechless.
‘When has Klein ever been afraid of anyone?’ he thought.
‘After being single for so many years, now that he’s finally found someone he actually likes, of course he’s going a little crazy,’ he thought.
Wait, Dustin felt something wasn’t adding up.
He had to admit, Whitney was gorgeous, definitely one of the top heiresses in Ravorport.
But no matter how stunning she was, he found it hard to believe Klein would fall for her at first sight.
‘If it wasn’t love at first sight… Dustin wondered, his thoughts spinning.
He started connecting the dots. Klein’s sudden return from abroad, always backing Whitney up, bringing her to his hospital, and making a statement by taking her to the birthday party.
‘Wait, there might be even more going on here that I don’t know about, Dustin guessed.
‘Could all this really be just because of love at first sight?’ he wondered.
Dustin gasped. ‘If it wasn’t love at first sight, then has Klein been secretly in love with her all along?’ he thought.
He remembered when Klein suddenly left the country five years ago, and that just happened to be when his nephew got engaged to Whitney.
Dustin didn’t dare speculate any further.
[Dustin: I seriously have no clue. If you guys want to know, I’ll just add him in. Go ask him yourselves.]
A gray system message appeared. Dustin invited K.H to the group chat.
[Oliver: Dustin, who the heck did you just add?]
Eric changed the group name and now it was “Did Dustin Act Like a Decent Human Today?”
[K.H: Can someone explain? Was the group name seriously “Did Klein Act Like a Decent Human Today?” just now?]
Oliver said nothing.
Eric said nothing.
[Dustin: Congrats, Klein! Wishing you a Happy marriage!]
Oliver and Eric were speechless. ‘Damn, Dustin, you really are something else! they thought.
They had no choice but to force a smile and chime in with their own congratulations.
Klein didn’t miss a beat. He sent the video of today’s wedding vows straight into the group chat.
[K.H: Any of your wives ever promise to love you forever?]
[K.H: Oh wait, I forgot. You are all single, except me.]
As expected, embarrassed, the three of them bailed from the group chat without hesitation.
Klein snorted. ‘Man, these guys are hopeless,’ he thought.
*****
Whitney had just stepped out of the bathroom when her phone started blowing up with calls from her bestie.
“Whit, Uncle Klein got married, do you know that?”
Whitney froze for a second, and then asked, “Lena, how did you even find out?”
Feeling a bit uneasy, she checked Klein’s social media. Sure enough, he’d just posted a photo of their marriage papers.
“Uncle Klein posted it on social media! You have no idea how wild he is. He posted the marriage papers and even asked if anyone’s still single these days!” Lena exclaimed.
Whitney was listening to Lena rant when she glanced at her phone, Bam, there was Klein’s post, totally flexing on everyone.
“Whit, are you even listening? This is nuts! Did Uncle Klein get body-snatched or what?” Lena blurted out.
“And he just made it official with his girlfriend less than a month ago! Now he’s suddenly married? That’s a total flash wedding!” Lena added.
Whitney stayed silent for quite a while, and Lena started to get suspicious. “Whit, why are you so quiet?” she asked.
Whitney finally forced the words out, her throat dry, “Lena, I need to tell you something. The one who married your uncle… was me.”
With a thud, Lena’s phone hit the floor, and Whitney could hear Lena’s shocked yell echoing from the other end of the phone.
The receiver sounded all muffled and bubbly, like it was underwater.
Feeling guilty, Whitney hung up, worried Klein might come looking for her. And as expected, as soon as she stepped out, Klein was already waiting for her outside the bathroom door.
“Everything okay?” he asked softly.
Whitney shook her head and said, “No worries, let’s just get in the car.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.