Sienna wasn’t even sure why she wanted to cry. Perhaps it was a relief. Perhaps it was gratitude. Or perhaps she was simply overwhelmed by how dramatically her life had changed in such a short time.

"Zach..." she murmured softly.

"Yes?"

Zachary immediately noticed the change in her expression. Tilting his head slightly, he looked at her more carefully, and the moment he saw the redness gathering in her eyes, his smile disappeared.

"What’s wrong, Sienna?" he asked with concern. "Why are you crying?"

"I’m fine."

She smiled and shook her head, hoping to reassure him, but the moisture gathering in her eyes betrayed her.

Seeing her force a smile only made Zachary more worried.

"Sienna..."

"I’m really fine," she said softly before taking a deep breath. "I just feel like this is all too overwhelming for me."

Her fingers tightened around his hand.

"You probably don’t know this, but I’ve spent years worrying about debt. Every month, I had to think about payments, loans, and whether I could keep everything under control. There were days when I couldn’t sleep because I was scared of what would happen if I failed..."

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

"So when I suddenly see all of this..." She glanced at the documents resting inside his briefcase before looking back at him. "It’s hard for me to believe it’s real. A part of me keeps thinking that I’ll wake up and discover this was only a dream."

The concern in Zachary’s eyes slowly softened.

Without saying anything immediately, he reached over and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.

"Sienna," he said quietly, "look at me."

She lifted her gaze.

"This isn’t a dream."

His thumb lightly stroked her cheek as he continued looking into her eyes.

"You don’t have to worry about those debts anymore. You don’t have to carry those burdens alone anymore, either."

The warmth in his voice made her throat tighten.

"From today onward, whatever happens in your life happens to both of us. Your worries are my worries. Your problems are my problems. That’s what it means to become husband and wife."

A tear finally slipped down her cheek despite her efforts to hold it back.

Zachary immediately wiped it away.

"So don’t be afraid," he whispered. "You have me now."

The tenderness in his voice finally broke through the last of her defenses, and although she tried to smile through her tears, her heart felt fuller than it ever had before.

"Thank—"

Sienna stopped herself midway through her words. She had been about to thank him again, but she immediately remembered how much Zachary disliked hearing those words from her whenever he did something for her.

A soft smile appeared on her lips.

"I love you, Zach."

The effect of those four words was immediate.

Zachary’s smile widened, and the happiness in his eyes became impossible to hide. For a man who was usually so composed and controlled, he suddenly looked genuinely pleased, as though hearing those words from her was worth more than everything else that had happened that morning.

"I love you too, Sienna."

Without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms. His embrace tightened around her, and a moment later, he rested his head against her shoulder as though he simply wanted to stay there for a little while longer.

Sienna naturally wrapped her arms around him as well.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds. The silence between them felt comfortable and warm, filled with a happiness that words could not fully describe.

Eventually, Zachary broke the silence.

"Let’s go legalize our marriage."

"Hmm... let’s go."

This time, there wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in her voice.

The worries that had haunted her for days suddenly seemed much smaller than before. She no longer cared about what the Sterling family might think if they eventually discovered her identity. As long as Zachary stood beside her and loved her, she believed she could face anything.

As for her own family, she had stopped worrying about them as well. Zachary had already promised that he would protect her if they ever tried to interfere with her life again, and for some reason, she trusted that promise completely.

...

City Hall.

Everything went more smoothly than Sienna had expected.

The paperwork was completed without any issues, and before either of them realized it, nearly two hours had passed.

Now they were leaving City Hall together with their marriage certificates safely in hand.

As they walked toward the car, neither of them seemed capable of stopping their smiles. Their fingers remained intertwined the entire time, and even after they settled into the back seat, the happiness from the ceremony still lingered between them.

Zachary glanced at her and smiled.

"Congratulations. You’re officially my wife now, Mrs. Sterling."

Hearing those words still felt surreal to Sienna.

Mrs. Sterling.

The title sounded so unfamiliar and yet strangely right at the same time.

Instead of answering him, she simply smiled and lowered her gaze to the marriage certificate resting in her hands. She had already read it several times, but somehow she kept opening it again and again as though she needed constant reassurance that it was real.

Because of that, she completely failed to notice the change in Zachary’s expression.

Several minutes later, when she finally looked up from the document, she noticed that the atmosphere beside her felt different.

The excitement that had filled his face earlier seemed to have faded.

At first, she thought she might be imagining it, but the longer she studied him, the more certain she became. The smile he had worn at City Hall was gone, replaced by a thoughtful expression that seemed weighed down by something.

Leaning closer to him, she lowered her voice.

"Do you regret marrying me?"

The question startled Zachary so badly that he immediately turned toward her.

A frown appeared on his face.

"Don’t joke like that, Mrs. Sterling," he said quietly.

Although his tone remained gentle, she could hear the tension beneath it.

"Why would you think something like that?" He added.