Chapter 885: Surprise
Arabelle rolled her eyes and opened the envelope, pulling out the contents carefully. On top was the marriage certificate. She stared at it for a moment, the weight of what she had just done sinking in a little deeper. She was married and pregnant. And now, she felt lightheaded and ready to faint. She’d jumped too deep into this well.
Beneath the certificate were a few printed photos from their earlier session. She flipped through them absently until one caught her eye. It was candid—unposed and unexpected. She was laughing as she stared up at Rafe with her head turned. She looked... almost like a woman in love. And beside her, Rafe was looking at her, his expression unguarded and filled with a warmth that made her heart skip a beat. It reminded her of the many pictures of Autumn and Gabe that she had grown up surrounded with.
She stared at the picture for a moment, her thumb brushing over the glossy surface. The world around her seemed to fade, leaving only that captured moment. Could they really turn out to be like Gabe and Autumn. She doubted that but a bit of hope made her feel warm.
"Found something interesting?" Rafe’s voice broke through her thoughts as he turned to look at her.
Arabelle blinked, quickly tucking the photo back into the envelope as if it were something shameful. "Just... surprised they managed to get decent shots of us," she said,
"It is good that you think the pictures are decent. A memory of our first day as husband and wife should at least be ’DECENT,’ my dear wife," Rafe replied smoothly, his grin returning.
Arabelle’s lips quirked into a small smile despite herself. "You’re impossible."
"And you’re stuck with me now," he replied smoothly, his grin returning.
She shook her head, turning her attention back to the window, but her thoughts lingered on that photo—the way he had looked at her, the way it made her feel. For a moment, the world outside blurred, and she allowed herself to wonder if this marriage, unexpected and unconventional as it was, might turn out to be something more than she had anticipated. But then, as quickly as the thought came, she buried it. She was being foolish. The day the truth was revealed, Rafe would push away from her faster than if she had poison ivy wrapped around her.
"So, we’re going for more photographs now?"
Rafe sighed and shook his head as his driver soon reached a hotel. And then he didn’t need to answer because standing right there were people she had not expected to see.
She turned her head sharply to glare at Rafe who quickly shook his head,"I swear on all my ancestors and future generations. This is not my doing. You can blame Dora and Cai."