Husband With Benefits-Chapter 542: Married

With that, he held her wrist and grabbed the file from Bianca’s hand and started to walk along, while she felt her body follow him in a daze.

Finally, he stopped and guided her into a small waiting room. She saw him slip something to the doorman who nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. It was the closing of the door that jarred her from her shock. With a single inhale of her breath, she stumbled and collapsed onto the hard bench. As she sat there, trembling and disoriented, she felt the world closing in around her.

She saw as Gabriel Frost opened the file and glanced at the form. "You didn’t fill it out?"

She shook her head," No. I..."

"Why?"

"Why?" She repeated his question numbly.

"Why did you not fill out the form yet?"

"I... don’t know. I ... somehow it didn’t feel right."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Gabe went to open the door. It was the doorman who whispered to him. After a hushed conversation, the man stepped out again, closing the door behind him.

Autumn looked down at her fingers and clenched her fingers. What was she supposed to do now? She felt the walls closing in around her and started to have difficulty breathing. Her breaths came in shallow, rapid gasps as panic threatened to overwhelm her.

Just as panic started to engulf her, pushing her into a dark fog, she heard Gabe’s voice coming through. She opened her eyes and straightened, only to find him kneeling in front of her. She didn’t know what he was saying, but he seemed to be asking her something. She nodded and then shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

He extended the form he had just taken from her and she looked at it in confusion. Why did he fill it? What was the point? Did he not see the things they had... She looked up at him. Why was his name there on the form? And how did he know things about her?

"I read your resume just this morning, so I know all this. As for this, the people outside, who wanted to humiliate you, they are waiting it seems. They want to see if you really got married."

She gave a bitter laugh at that. What a joke. They’d carefully planned to strip her of dignity. But Gabe Frost’s timely arrival had saved her from that, thus thwarting their plans. However, they were not satisfied, with what they had already done? They were waiting to see if she had really been rescued or she had really planned to marry someone else?

Feeling a mixture of defiance and anger, running through her, she read the form with his name in the Groom’s place one last time and made a decision. She would marry Gabe Frost. Today and Now. She refused to let their cruelty win.

With a firm nod, she stood up and marched towards the door, ready to go out and marry this man. She would not let anyone else control her, least of all the two people who had stabbed her in the back.

Just as she reached for the door handle, a hand grasped her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. Startled, she turned around to find Gabe standing close. She flinched instinctively, but he shook his head gently, his voice a soothing whisper, "Wipe your tears, Autumn. You want them to believe that you won this round, and they lost it quite thoroughly."

It was at this moment, she realized the truth. She was crying. With trembling fingers, she wiped her tears, brushing away the remnants of the love she had felt. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and opened the door.

She looked down at the hand that was still holding her wrist and gently tugged at it. And when he did let go of her wrist, she slipped her hand into his. Without turning to look at him, she spoke softly, " Lets go."

It was as they stood in front of the marriage registrar, that Autumn felt fear. What was she doing? She had always planned everything carefully, then why was she taking such a big decision of her life on impulse. Why was she marrying a man she didn’t know. But even as the question resounded in her mind, a part of her mocked her. She’d known Pierce and Bianca all her life, it hadn’t helped her, had it?

Even so, the last bit of sanity warned her to not tie this knot with a stranger. She turned to step away from him but just then glimpsed Bianca’s reflection in the glass and stilled. No, she wouldn’t let her win.

She heard then, the registrar asking for their documents and she handed over her papers with trembling hands, her fingers brushing against Gabe’s as he passed his own documents. Why was he here? And why was he carrying her personal documents? They were questions that fleetingly entered her mind but she ignored them and continued to watch the registrar, as he checked the documents.

Finally, the man spoke up, matter of factly, "Everything seems to be in order," he then motioned towards a nearby register. "If you could both sign here, please."

Autumn hesitated for a moment, her gaze flickering to Gabe before she picked up the pen and scrawled her signature onto the page. Gabe followed suit, scrawling his name next to hers in bold strokes.

With the formalities completed, the registrar glanced up, "Do you have rings?"

She watched as Gabe looked at her expectantly. Of course he wouldn’t have the rings. But she did. She’d grabbed her father’s and mother’s wedding bands before coming here, hoping their love would..Shaking her head to push away the thought...she pulled out the set from the box in her purse..And they exchanged the rings quietly.

The registrar nodded then, "Very well, " gesturing towards a door at the far end of the room. "If you could proceed to the next room, you can have your photograph taken, and then you may collect your marriage certificate. You are now officially married. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Frost."