Page 23 of Unbreak Me

"Anyway, that’s my story in a nutshell," I said, attempting a sarcastic grin. "And hey, I can promise I won’t be handing out business advice to anyone in the future."

The joke fell flat.

Their awkward expressions said it all. So I quickly added, this time more seriously, "And just to be clear, I’m not looking for another surrogacy contract. If Mr. Wilson is still interested, then…" I took a deep breath, bracing myself. "I agree to Eternal."

Boom.

The words were out. I’d said it.

I came to this fair with a clear and perfectplan. And it crumbled. With the FIRST GUY who showed interest. Beyond pathetic.

But here we were.

Jan looked at me for a moment, and our eyes met. I felt a strange tremor inside, and I held my breath. Why did I start to care if he agreed too?

Maybe I could try to sound a bit friendlier for a change? After all, it was a marriage proposal!

"And… to be forward about it, I won’t be such a bitch as the contract allows me to be. I just want a normal life, not to be a parasite," I added. Success. This time I managed to sound like a human being, not like a prickly hedgehog dripping with venomous acid.

"Yes, I'm still interested," Jan said softly.

As if by the wave of a magic wand, Strom Nolan immediately brightened up and straightened. The fucker practically jumped up! Yuppi yay, a win for his stupid company.

But, hopefully, also a chance for me. In the midst of it all. A small ray of hope.

"Well, that's excellent! Splendid! I'm sure both of you haven't had it easy in life, but maybe that's why you'll get along better. I see enormous potential here!" He enthusiastically gestured between me and Jan. "And I sense that this will all end well!" His smile was broad, even though Wilson and I still had the same, unspecified facial expressions, as if we both had trouble believing what just transpired.

"I'm very glad, yes, yes!" Nolan fumbled, folding stools. "So, I invite both of you to the office because there's no point in waiting. Right? Let's finalize this quickly," he babbled, already fidgeting and rubbing his hands together, clearly overjoyed to close another case.

Slowly, I also stood up. The height difference between me and Wilson was moderate—not as pronounced as it usually was with omegas and alphas—only about 3 inches separated us. Supposedly the ideal difference for a successful kiss. Um… What a stupid thought!

Of course, the most striking contrast was in our build. I was narrow and thin, and he was broad, with his massive chest and powerful, bulging muscles.

As we stepped out of the glass booth, the little red-haired omega greeted us outside. He seemed annoyingly radiant. Storm leaned down and pecked him on the forehead, which probably wasn't very professional considering he was in his workplace.

But I had already noticed that Nolan wasn't exactly the top professional employee of Fate’s Choice. I was still entertaining the thought of filing a complaint about him for snapping at me, but in the end, it didn’t really matter. I had other things on my mind now. Like getting married!

"I'm glad you've reached an agreement," the omega said to Jan, his smile wide.

Jan nodded politely. He thanked the guy and followed Nolan.

…Jan.

I started calling him by his name pretty quickly.

The four of us had to push through the crowd of visitors before we finally reached the small office I had been to before. All the time, I had the impression that it was all a dream—incredible, strange, but only a dream.

Just as we were about to enter, Nolan cleared his throat and slowed down.

"There’s another client of mine inside right now, on his lunch break. He… isn’t allowed to eat in the cafeteria because of his, um, special situation. I can’t go into details due to privacy reasons, but please don’t be alarmed—he’s… handcuffed."

"What?" I blurted out, completely taken aback.

Nolan looked uncomfortable. "Yes, well, Salt is part of the Second Chance program. It allows people with a criminal past to enter into marriage agreements under specific conditions. He is one of them. Please don’t let the situation bother you—Salt’s here consensually and has agreed to the terms of the program."

Neither Jan nor I said a word. The redhead just watched us with a subtle smile.

We entered the office, and the scene inside immediately hit us like a slap to the face.

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