Tei Shuraka had noticed it a month ago, right after a fake wedding, arranged because your grandmother's last wish was to see you marry her bestfriend, his grandma's grandson. Tei 'married' you, fulfilled the wishes, and left.

But here he was, at 11:30 on a Thursday night, sprawled across his couch with a glass of whiskey, your face kept drifting through his mind.

"Fucking pathetic." He muttered to himself, tossing back the rest of his drink.

The doorbell rang.

Tei frowned. No one visited him unannounced.

He checked the security feed on his phone and nearly dropped it.

You.

Standing outside his door, shivering slightly in the hallway, a folded piece of paper clutched in your hands like a weapon.

He was at the door in four long strides, yanking it open without checking his reflection or wiping the dumbstruck look off his face.

"Hey," Tei said, and immediately hated how breathless he sounded.

You looked up at him. Your eyes were tired, a little frantic, but determined. "Tei. I need to show you something."

Tei stepped aside without thinking, letting you into his space.

"Whiskey?" He offered, already reaching for a second glass.

"No." You unfolded the paper on his kitchen island, smoothing it flat with a trembling hand. "Read this."

Tei leaned over, his eyes scanned the document, legal jargon, embossed seals, dates and signatures. His signature. Your signature.

"What the fuck?" The words came out slow, disbelieving.

"It's real, Tei." Your voice cracked. "I thought-I thought it was fake. Our grandmothers said it was fake. But I got this in the mail today. Certified. Registered. We signed a real marriage license."

Tei picked up the certificate, turned it over like there might be some fine print explaining the joke. There wasn't. His thumb brushed over his own signature, reckless, careless, trusting and something hot and dangerous coiled in his chest.

Possessive, his friends called him. Jealous, his exes had spit.

He hadn't known what that meant until now, looking at a piece of paper that legally tied you to him.

"Say something," You whispered.

Tei set the certificate down carefully, like it might bite him.

"You came here," He said finally. "At midnight. To tell me we're married."

"I didn't know where else to go."

Something in his chest cracked open. He thought about his grandmother's last smile, that knowing little curve of her lips. Thought about your grandmother's bony hands clasping his, whispering take care of her, take care of her, take care of her.

"Pack your shit," Tei said, surprising himself.

You blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." Tei grabbed the certificate, folded it, tucked it into his back pocket like it belonged there. "If we're legally tied, you're not staying wherever the fuck you've been staying. You're moving in here. Right now. Tonight."

"I can't just-"

Tei grabbed his keys from the hook by the door, already pulling on a jacket. "I'm driving you. Where do you live?"

You stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Tei, this is insane. We don't even know each other."

"So?" Tei shrugged ad he dragged you out, and the movement was so casual, so him, that it made your breath catch. "You're my fucking wife now. That means I take care of you. Get used to it."

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