Marriage certificate

Flashback to a week ago.

Marie had taken her seat at the far corner of the bar, where the lighting was dim, and she was nearly invisible, not easily noticed. Yet, as soon as he entered, Raymond's eyes found her in an instant. He didn't need to look too hard—this wasn't the first time he had come to a bar late at night just to search for Mary, who would always be alone with a bottle and a glass of strong alcohol. And every time, she would be seated in a dark corner.

As much as Raymond wanted to roll his eyes and get frustrated by this habit of hers, he knew he couldn't. As much as he wanted to complain about his job, he couldn't. Mary wasn't experiencing life like everyone else. With a mad stalker tailing her every two nights, and with no one to tell or run to for protection, she could only come here and drown herself in alcohol until Raymond came around to look for her.

Raymond remained standing where he was, watching Mary from a distance. This was how it had always been. He would watch from afar and only come to get Mary when she had passed out from drinking too much.

But it wasn't the same tonight.

Mary, who had been drinking, suddenly turned to Raymond and beckoned him over with a crook of her index finger. Though surprised, Raymond went to her, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion. He pulled a chair and sat opposite Mary, patiently waiting for her to tell him the reason she had called him. He didn't need to be a genius to know that she hadn't called him to be her drinking buddy.

With her index finger tracing circles on the rim of the glass, Mary looked up at Raymond and smiled slightly. "Why do you look so surprised?" she asked, her little smile growing wider and wider with each passing second.

Raymond leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He wore no expression and watched Mary smile at him as if something were funny. He knew she was drunk—her flushed cheeks, red-rimmed eyes, and closing eyelids told him that. So instead of answering her drunken question, he kept silent and waited for her to pass out from the alcohol.

But this wasn't what Mary wanted. What she wanted was someone to talk to, at least for tonight. What she wanted was a solution to her problems—a permanent solution—but she wouldn't find it if the person she had called over for help was being silent and sitting like a bored god watching his miserable creation with no intention of giving help whatsoever.

She had only two people in her life: her father and her older brother. She could swear they would come to her rescue if she so much as said the word, but she couldn't bring herself to bother them with her problems. Her father was old and not as healthy as he used to be when she was younger, while her older brother had just gotten married and was on his honeymoon. It was as though her biggest problem came alive when it found her alone and defenseless, when she could do nothing but run in fear.

But that was also when Raymond came along. He came in as her secretary but had become a full-time bodyguard in addition to being her secretary. No one asked him to do it, yet he did. He fought for her and protected her from her mad stalker, and Mary thought of him as her angel. He became her shield when she thought she was done for.

No one had to tell her that Raymond was tired and frustrated with this because she could see it written boldly on his face. The man might be quiet, reserved, and only speak when spoken to, but his face was highly expressive. His face said more than his mouth ever could. She knew when he was angry, confused, uninterested, surprised—everything. She barely knew him, but she could already read him like an open book.

She never meant to do this, but she just couldn't help taking an interest in the man who had suddenly appeared on a night when she thought she was done for and had badly beaten up her mad stalker without question. The same man had driven her home that night and had told her to always call him to take her home if she worked late into the night. He had done all this without question. It was safe to assume that Mary now considered him her guardian angel.

"Do you feel like quitting?" The sudden question threw Raymond off balance, and Mary laughed when his face contorted in confusion, a big question mark hanging over his head.

Raymond watched her laugh and wondered what was so funny. "I'm sorry, Miss Moore, but I'm afraid you can't fire me. I was hired by your brother to work for you, which means he alone has the power to send me away. If you find me lacking in any way, please tell me so I can improve."

Mary nodded gently, holding back the smile that threatened to reveal itself as she watched Raymond defend his job. "On the contrary, Raymond, I don't mean to fire you. I was only wondering if you were tired of all this. I mean, juggling your job as my secretary and a bodyguard." As she spoke, Mary peered at his face, trying to catch every expression he made.

Raymond shook his head in response. "I admit, it's tiring and off-putting, but your brother pays me well, so I'm fine with it."

His perfunctory response caused Mary to nod again, and she thought for a while before sighing. "You might be fine with it, but I'm not. Which is why I've come up with a solution." Under Raymond's confused gaze, Mary unzipped her bag, brought out a white envelope, and gave it to him. She watched him open it, and when his shocked gaze met her serious and resolved one, she said, "I've already signed it. Just find someone trustworthy enough to be my husband."