The Marriage Without A License Chapter 2

Ten years ago, at the Montgomery family estate in Boston, I had just finished celebrating my twenty-third birthday.

I was heading to my room to finally rest when my cousin, Taylor, blocked my path.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she gripped my arm hard.

“Sloane, you have everything. Can’t you just give Elias up to me?”

My smile froze. The flush of champagne instantly faded.

“Elias is my husband. We’ve been married for three years.”

“What are you talking about?”

Taylor’s tears finally spilled over.

“I’m pregnant.”

She added in a low whisper, “It’s Elias’s.”

In that moment, my mind felt like it had been split in two by an axe.

A roaring sound filled my ears, and even breathing became a struggle.

I didn’t hear the rest of her frantic, rambling explanation. A cold numbness began to spread from my chest.

I pushed Taylor away with trembling hands, only for her to stumble, falling backward.

“Taylor!”

A pair of strong arms caught her instantly.

I clearly saw her slightly protruding abdomen for the first time.

Elias held her tightly, his eyes wide with a mix of panic and overwhelming concern.

When he looked up, the only emotion he directed at me was raw fury.

I realized Taylor hadn't been lying.

“Sloane, I’m already with you. What more do you want?”

The way he protected Taylor was exactly the same way he had protected me the year I was brought home from the hospital.

All traces of the evening’s intoxication had vanished. I could even see the white knuckles of his hand as he tightly secured Taylor in his embrace.

I forced myself to speak, maintaining a composure I didn’t feel.

“Get rid of the baby. I can pretend none of this ever happened.”

The words felt like someone had violently squeezed my heart.

After a long silence, Elias finally looked up, his expression hardening with a clear resolution.

“Sloane, we only had a wedding ceremony. We never actually signed the marriage license.”

“In the eyes of the law, it doesn't count.”

My throat felt clogged, and I spoke in a voice barely a rasp.

“Taylor is Father’s private daughter. Your child with her is also destined to live in the shadows.”

“And this, in case you forgot, is the Montgomery estate.”

To my surprise, Elias let out a bitter, cutting laugh.

He ignored my words, instead helping Taylor gently onto a nearby chair.

“Sloane, I told you I would take care of you for life, and that wasn’t a lie.”

“But Taylor is pregnant. I can’t be an irresponsible man.”

Finally, he looked directly into my eyes, his face calm.

“I thought you would have understood the unwritten rules of our social circle by now.”

“Stop creating a scene, and just listen to me. Be a good girl.”

In that moment, I felt like I had never known Elias Prescott at all.

After that night, I fought him every single day.

At first, Elias would use a soft voice to coax me.

“Sloane, you’re the one I love most. I thought you understood my heart. Please, just be reasonable…”

Gifts of all shapes and sizes began to appear, piled up in my room.

But I felt no happiness at all. I started trying to hurt myself.

The first time I cut my wrist, he rushed me to the hospital, terrified and heartbroken.

The doctor, after confirming the wounds were shallow, gave me a meaningful look and said:

“Young people shouldn’t make such a fuss over love and emotions.”

Later, as Taylor’s pregnancy progressed, no matter how much I screamed that I was going to kill myself,

Elias never stepped foot in my room again.

The last time I cut my wrist was the day Taylor gave birth to twins.

We were both rushed to the hospital at the same time.

When I woke up, only my wrist, throbbing with pain beyond words, was there to comfort me.

Elias had stood vigil outside Taylor’s delivery room for over twenty hours.

My father even hosted a lavish celebration for the two new lives.

Everyone of note in the Boston social circle sent their blessings.

They had already decided that Taylor, the illegitimate daughter, had successfully claimed her place.

Elias held the twins, planting a kiss on Taylor’s forehead that overflowed with tenderness.

He looked like the perfect husband and father.

But when his eyes fell on the blood-soaked bandage on my wrist, his look of disgust was absolute.

“Sloane Montgomery, do you look like a society wife right now?”