Husband With Benefits-Chapter 787: Wedded

Rafe stared down at the signature line, a strange chill crawling up his spine, like a cold whisper brushing against his soul—as if someone had just walked over his grave. With the pen poised in hand, he leaned forward to sign, ignoring the feeling, when suddenly, the room erupted with a loud, jarring noise. The sound of a door slamming forcefully against the wall echoed around him, breaking the silence. Startled, he turned around sharply, only to see Kael striding inside with hurried, determined steps, followed closely by Dora, her face etched with concern.

Rafe let out a slow, amused grin at the dramatic entrance, shaking his head as he called out, "Slow down! You’re too late—it’s already done. We’re wedded..."

In his happiness, Rafe failed to notice the subtle shift in his bride’s demeanor. Her once vibrant complexion had drained of color, her skin growing pale as an unsettling calm settled over her. Without drawing attention to herself, she began to inch slowly behind him, her movements deliberate yet casual, as if trying to escape notice. Her fingers deftly caught hold of the wedding certificate, clutching it tightly. It was official now—they were married.

No one could undo it, no matter what happened. At least, not unless they wanted to cause a major scandal. And of course if Rafe discovered the truth now—that she was the one behind Dora’s kidnapping, she would still be secure in her position as his wife. But that was nearly impossible... or so she hoped since she had been extremely careful.

"What are you doing here, Kael?" She asked in a shocked voice.

It was Rafe who answered her, almost making her head spin that this time she’d escaped by an inch. " It was I who invited them. To be witness on our wedding. But of course, they are too late now. It was supposed to be a surprise for you."

Rafe watched as Kael’s expression shifted from worry to something more dangerous, making Rafe frown. Without warning, Kael took a step forward, his posture rigid and threatening, eyes blazing with accusation. "What do you think you’re doing, Emma? I am going to make you pay!" he said, the words dripping with disdain.

Rafe instinctively moved to block Kael’s advance, placing himself protectively in front of Emma. "What do you mean by this behavior, Kael?" he asked, "What’s going on? Have you lost your mind? I invited you here for our wedding and you are threatening my bride?"

I am not threatening her uselessly! She has been playing us! Emma has been lying to all of us from the very beginning. She claimed that the past was just an accident, but it was no accident. She committed murder, Rafe! She is also the one behind Dora’s kidnapping. And now she’s here, marrying you so that no one can touch her. She thinks that by becoming your wife, she can evade arrest for what she’s done!"

""What are you talking about? It was you who believed that it was an accident. That she hadn’t meant to. And isn’t Dora’s kidnapper already under arrest?"

This time, before Kael could continue, Emma spoke up," Kael! Dora was kidnapped? When? How?" She turned to Dora then," Are you alright?" But before Dora could reply, she immediately turned her attention back to Kael," And what do you mean that I was the one who kidnapped her? I did no such thing."

"Your act really is up, Emma. We’ve already matched your finger prints. You see, you’d been pretty careful about cleaning your traces from everything. But you made a tiny mistake... You left the camera in the docks. And on that camera, we happened to discover a miniscule finger print... that just matches you according to the Petrovinian data base.. So, just confess now and answer me! Why are you doing all this?"

This time, Rafe too turned to Emma, shocked at the turn of events," Emma? Whatever he is saying? Is that really true? Were you behind Dora’s kidnapping?"

For a moment, Emma thought about denying the charges and continuing to argue. It was impossible that she’d left a print on the camera! She’d definitely wiped it off! But even if she had... she could deny and claim that Kael was trying to implicate her for his own vengeance.

But then, the certificate in her hand, gave her a rush of power and she raised her chin," Yes.I did it. So what?"

Rafe was shocked at this and watched as Emma continued," What? Prince Rafael? You look too shocked. What happened? Are you really finding it so hard to believe? Well, what did you expect? The two of you would play with my feelings and I would simply forgive you? Of course I was not going to rest easy without extracting my revenge! And now, now I have the ultimate revenge! I have now successfully wedded into the Royal Family of the Ignis, the rulers of Petrovia. Going forward, I will be your doting wife in public and make your life a living hell in private. This is going to be such a perfect revenge..."

She started to walk away but Rafe quickly caught her shoulders tightly, questioning her, "You... you actually did all that? Including committing murder? Wasn’t it a mistake? If you didn’t want to forgive me, it was upto you. But why resort to this? Why harm anyone else?"

She simply shrugged off his questions, turning away from him with an air of indifference. "Behave yourself, Prince Rafe. Take off your hands from my shoulders. This isn’t how you should treat your wife. If word gets out that Prince Rafe is a man who commits domestic violence, it won’t be good for your precious reputation."

As she began to walk away smugly, Rafe clenched his jaw, "Wait!" he called out, his voice sharper than intended. "Just check the certificate again."

Emma hesitated, frowning as she glanced down at the document in her hand. She scanned it, and a flicker of confusion crossed her face. "What do you mean?"

He gestured at the blank space where his signature should be. "Look closely. I haven’t signed yet."

Her brow furrowed as she noticed the dot of ink where Rafe had only barely touched the pen to the paper and her world tilted.