The elevator jolts to a stop. Already we’re on the ground floor of the courthouse and already Walt is taking off again, walking like he has a million places to be.

“As the eldest grandson, I’m the trustee put in charge of overseeing the trust’s assets. That job just became much more difficult as of five minutes ago.”

“Because of our marriage,” I assume.

“Yes. Our marriage was the trigger for releasing the assets to all of the beneficiaries. Well…any marriage between a Jennings and a Brighton would have sufficed. I could have married any one of your sisters and you could have married my brother, but well…here we are, wed.”

How ridiculously outdated.

“That makes no sense though. What would have happened to all that money if none of us had married?”

He sighs again and checks his watch. There’s another shake of his head. “Your parents did you a disservice by keeping this information from you.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“In a week, if we’d failed to marry, Diomedica would have become an institutional trustee and the company would have then overseen the administration of the trust. In other words, the rules would have changed.”

“And our families would have lost all that money,” I reply, connecting the dots.

“Exactly. The shares would have been reabsorbed by Diomedica. Our grandfathers might have wanted to help set us up, but ultimately, their true loyalty was always to the company.”

“Right.”

He offers a curt nod before turning back toward the main set of doors.

I hurry to catch up to him.

“You never answered my question though. What’s in it for you? On a personal level, I mean.”

He smiles, but it’s not the least bit sincere. “There is no personal level, Elizabeth. This is all business. I happen to believe in the future of Diomedica too. I’m the CEO, and I’d like to remain in power to carry on our grandfathers’ legacies.”

Nothing personal. Right. There’s that pang of disappointment again. I know where it stems from: the utterly ridiculous part of my psyche shaped by my childhood. My Achilles heel. I suspect, deep down, it’s the true reason I’m here today.

He pushes the door open, and outside, the wind is a slap across my face, a wake-up call I appreciate.

Less than half an hour has passed since I was last out here, and yet now, I’m a newlywed. A laugh bursts out of me like champagne fizz. This is insane. Truly.

“So what now?” I ask in disbelief.

“Tell your parents they’ll receive a wire transfer by the end of the day. They should be able to pay off the bulk of their debts as we discussed.”

Jesus. Does he have to be so frank about all of this? It’s like the weirdness of marrying a stranger doesn’t even register with him.

He heads straight toward a black Escalade parked near the curb. Mason is standing beside the door. When he spots Walt, he quickly opens it for him and moves back to allow him to step inside. Before Walt does, he looks back at me.