Chapter 9

When Belly walked out of the courthouse with the marriage certificate, it finally hit her—this was real. She was married, just like that, to her college professor. She turned to look at Leon, only to find him snapping a photo of the marriage certificate. Of course, she wasn’t naive enough to think he was planning to post it on social media. After she added him on Facebook the other day, she’d snooped through his profile and realized he’d never posted anything.

Leon dealt her a glance and explained, “I’m sending it to my parents.”

Her gaze flickered. “Shouldn’t I meet Mr. and Mrs… But…” She ached her brow at her slip. Her face flushed crimson, and she hurriedly corrected herself. “Shouldn’t I meet your dad and mom?” God, that sounded so weird coming out of her mouth. Even she got goosebumps.

“Not right now,” Leon said, keeping the marriage certificate in a folder. “They’re overseas on vacation right now and won’t be back anytime soon.”

“What if they don’t like me?” she asked, worried. Leon was so accomplished, and she… what if his parents thought she wasn’t good enough for him?

“They won’t. They already said you seem very sweet.”

“Really?” Kelly looked up at him, her eyes lighting up.

Leon explained, “I’ve sent them a picture of you. They said you look adorable and told me not to mistreat you.” Her cheeks instantly burned. Noticing the blood rushing to her ears, he smiled. “Do you have any plans after this? I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

When she followed Leon into a quiet residential complex, she was confused. The real estate agent walked ahead of them and explained, “This unit faces southwest, so you’ll be able to see the sunset from the balcony. The best part is it’s fully renovated, so you can move in right away. All you need is to add some personal touches. Come, I’ll show you around.”

Kelly followed Leon closely. When he abruptly stopped in his tracks, she almost bumped into him.

“Careful,” he said gently, as he reached out to steady her. “What do you think?”

“What about?” Kelly looked confused, almost dazed. “You like this place?”

“I—I don’t know…” she murmured.

Leon looked at her solemnly. “Well, you should know because this is going to be our home. Didn’t you say you wanted a place to call home?”

Her heart skipped a beat. He had taken her words to heart. The things she had said in passing, when she was upset, had stayed with him.

Noticing she was still staring at him blankly, Leon took her hand and led her to a room. “This is the master bedroom. It’s pretty spacious, and the wardrobe is big, but it’s missing a vanity. You can look for one online later.”

“We can turn the second bedroom into a nursery, and when the baby gets older, they can use it. The smallest room could be converted into a study—where you can read, and I can work. If we ever have a second child, we can either move to a four-bedroom place or turn the study into another bedroom.”

His calm voice filled the space around her, and as she listened, her mind started painting pictures of their life together after marriage. She pictured herself with Leon, reading together in the study, playing with their child, and sitting on the balcony watching the sunset—just the thought of it made her feel warm inside.

“Let me know if there’s anything you want to get for our home. I’ll handle the larger pieces of furniture, but I’ll always check with you first. We’ll probably be living here for the next few years, so if you don’t like something, please let me know.”

Kelly nodded obediently from the passenger seat.

“We should be able to move in within two weeks. You should go ahead and get permission to live off-campus.”

“Wait, what?” Kelly turned to him, wide-eyed. She was moving in with him that soon?

Leon seemed to have read her mind because he explained, “You’re pregnant. I won’t be able to take care of you if you stay in the dorms.”

“I can take care of myself…” she muttered.

“I’ve asked around. Your dorm has bunk beds with desks underneath. It’s not safe for you to climb up and down.”

Kelly fell silent.

Leon glanced at her and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I just… I’m worried people will find out we’re married.”

He cocked his brow: “Are you ashamed of being married to me?”

“No!” Realizing he’d gotten the wrong idea, she hastily shook her head. “It’s just… a lot of pressure.” Leon was well-known at school. If the students found out she was married to him, her peaceful campus life would be over.

Leon studied her expression before sighing. “Once you start showing, it’ll be hard to keep our marriage a secret. But if it’s too much pressure for you, we can keep it under wraps for now. Still, you do need to move out. That’s not optional.”

Stopped outside the school gate, Kelly was about to open the car door and get out when she turned around and noticed him handing her a credit card. Startled, she immediately waved her hands.

“Take it,” he insisted, shoving it into her hand. “Think of your unborn child and now. It’s part of my responsibility.”

The card felt like a ticking time bomb in her hand. “I can’t accept that!”

Noticing her unease, he reassured her, “There’s only so grand in it. You can use it to buy whatever you want. When you’re older, I’ll give you all my salary—food, clothes, anything. You’re still young, but when…”

The thought of holding onto his salary was unimaginable to Kelly. The PIN is the last six digits on the back. When you get the chance, withdraw the money and transfer it to your own account. I’ve also heard of other payment apps. I’ll look into it another day.” His actions sent her heart into a frenzy.

“Alright, off you go. Take care of yourself.”

With that, Kelly got out of the car and watched as Leon’s car disappeared into the distance. This day was far more exciting than anything she’d experienced in the last 21 years. She pinched herself again. It hurt. It wasn’t a dream.

When she snapped back to reality, she looked at the card in her hand, looked around cautiously, and stuffed it into her bag. There was a pep in her step as she walked toward the school.

Kelly was sitting at her desk in the dorm when Melissa walked over and noticed her browsing vanities on Amazon.

“Kelly, why are you looking at vanities?” Melissa asked.

“I want to get one for my place,” Kelly mumbled.

“For your little room? You’re lucky if you can fit a desk in there. Yet, you want…”

“Way too much vanity. It’ll be a total waste in that cramped space.”

Kelly ignored her remark and asked, “Which one do you think looks better?”

“A whole vanity set? Melissa glanced at the types she was browsing. “That one’s nice,” Melissa pointed to a soft-toned design. “This one, but it’s kind of pricey. It’s not really necessary for your room.”

Kelly liked that one too. She took a screenshot and thought the price didn’t matter. After all, a home that beautiful deserved furniture this pretty; it wasn’t too much to spend her own hard-earned money on something she liked.

“By the way, where did you go after taking the day off yesterday?” Melissa asked out of nowhere.