Chapter 10

The Annulment

‘TAXI!’ Kate yelled, standing in front of the Bellagio driveway.

She was beyond furious. Not only had her itinerary been derailed, but her entire life was also on the brink of collapse. She was due to marry Norman in five days and here she was, married to her toxic ex after a drunken night of debauchery that she had zero recollection of.

How had she let herself get so crazy? It was completely out of character. These kinds of things simply didn’t happen to Kate, at least not any more. A part of her still felt like this was a nightmare that she would wake up from any minute, but she had to accept the reality of the situation if she had any hope of fixing it.

‘We don’t need a taxi,’ Trevor said, in his calm, smug demeanour. ‘My driver is here.’

A black Mercedes Benz pulled up and Trevor opened the door, signalling for Kate to get in. She let out a grunt of frustration as she got into the back seat.

‘How are the newlyweds?’ Trevor’s driver said.

‘Don’t call us that,’ Kate said, unimpressed. ‘Take us to the Little White Wedding Chapel.’

‘Renewing your vows already?’

‘Actually, Lorenzo, my wife wants an annulment. Can you believe that?’ Trevor said.

‘Of course I want an annulment,’ Kate snapped. ‘You married me while I was blackout drunk!’

‘I was just doing what you asked, wifey.’

‘Do not call me that!’ Kate snapped.

‘Okay . . . Freckles,’ Trevor said, knowing exactly what he was doing.

Kate felt like screaming until her lungs gave out. It was the nickname he had given her that summer. The nickname she despised more than anything. ‘Don’t even think about calling me that either!’

‘Well, it’s one or the other,’ Trevor smiled.

Kate wasn’t sure which one she hated more. She couldn’t stand to be called wifey but on the other hand, Freckles drew attention to her biggest insecurity. It was a nickname she had spent so many years trying to forget, and she wasn’t about to let it be resurrected.

‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Wifey will do.’

‘Freckles it is,’ he said, a wicked grin dancing onto his face.

Rookie mistake. She should have seen it coming. Christ, he was infuriating.

‘Look at you two,’ Lorenzo said, looking back. ‘You’re like an old married couple already.’

‘Could you keep your eyes on the road please!’ Kate said. ‘How much longer until we get there?’

‘Are you in some kind of hurry?’ Trevor asked, knowing well the question would drive her insane.

‘YES, I’M IN A HURRY!’

‘Fitting, considering your new name is Mrs Rush.’

‘That is NOT my name because we are NOT really married. My actual wedding is in five days!’

‘Two weddings in less than a week. That’s gotta be some kind of record. We should call the Guinness Book of—’

‘We’ll be doing no such thing! In a few minutes, this marriage will be erased from history just like it was erased from my memory!’ Kate said, folding her arms.

When they finally arrived at the Little White Wedding Chapel, Kate flung the car door open and gunned it towards the chapel. The building itself was blindingly white against the clear cerulean sky. It was like she had just arrived at the pearly gates of heaven, except she was currently living in a hellscape of her worst nightmares. In the driveway, she instantly recognized the bubblegum-pink convertible from the Polaroid. This was definitely the place. She pulled open the front door, practically ripping it off its hinges and saw an elderly man at the front desk, half asleep.

‘EXCUSE ME!’ Kate yelled, ringing the desk bell to wake him up.

The man jumped up, startled by the sudden intrusion. ‘My God, woman, that’s no way to wake up an old man!’ he said.

‘Trust me, I had a far worse wake-up call this morning,’ she said. ‘Do you recognize me?’

The old man put on his glasses and squinted at Kate’s face. ‘Of course! The Irish beauty from last night! Mazel tov!’ he said.

‘Vinnie!’ Trevor said warmly as he walked in.

‘Trevor! So great to see you!’ he replied.

‘You two know each other?’ Kate asked.

‘Honey, of course we know him. This is Vinnie, our officiant from last night!’ Trevor explained.

‘You were the Elvis impersonator?’ Kate said.

‘He’s not just any old Elvis impersonator, darling. He’s the best in the business!’

‘Thank you very much,’ Vinnie said, putting on his Elvis accent. ‘The two of you are just in time. Your wedding merchandise is here.’ He turned around and headed into the back room.

‘I’m sorry? Our what?’ Kate said, horrified.

Vinnie came back in from the storeroom carrying a gargantuan cardboard box that he could barely lift. He slammed it on the counter and began taking out an onslaught of tacky wedding memorabilia.

‘Okay, let’s see, we’ve got your wedding album, your wedding video, your wedding keychains, your wedding snow globes, your wedding tote bags, your wedding fridge magnets, your . . .’ Vinnie went on.

‘Please stop talking,’ Kate said, distraught at the mountain of merch. She was trying to erase this mistake, yet it seemed to be plastered on every possible object with a printable surface.

‘Ah, this one is my favourite. Your wedding T-shirts that say #TeamTrevor,’ Vinnie said, holding up the clothing.

‘There is no way I ordered that. Or any of this!’ Kate said. Surely she didn’t.

‘Well, the T-shirt was your friend’s idea. She was wearing a sash that said Maid of Dishonour.’

‘Siobhan,’ Kate muttered. She made a mental note to murder her later. ‘Look . . . Vinnie. There’s been a big misunderstanding. I don’t want any of this crap.’

‘You have got to be kidding me,’ Vinnie said. ‘You were the one demanding I print your wedding photo on every single piece of wedding merchandise I have!’

‘He’s right, Freckles. I tried to tell you we didn’t need any of this stuff to express our love. But you said you never wanted to forget the happiest day of your life,’ Trevor explained.

‘The happiest day of my life is going to be my actual wedding next Friday!’ Kate said, adamantly. ‘There’s no way in hell I wanted any of this junk!’

‘I can show you the CCTV footage if you want,’ Vinnie shrugged.

Kate had no intention of watching that footage. She’d seen enough cringe-worthy videos of herself in a drunken state. How the hell had she lost control like that? Even as a lightweight with a track record of embarrassing herself while drunk, she had never lost herself this badly before.

But she had to remain optimistic. Norman hadn’t seen what had happened. And what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. All she needed to do was sign an annulment, and last night would never have happened. One signature from Trevor and this nightmare would be over. It was time to get the show back on the road so she could return home and marry Norman.

‘Vinnie . . .’ she said calmly, trying to get on his good side. ‘You see, I was very, very drunk last night and I woke up this morning with no recollection of what happened. Naturally, I’m very eager to move on and put this entire ordeal behind me. So thank you very much for all this merchandise but the only thing I really need is an annulment.’

‘An annulment? You want to annul your marriage to this guy? Are you crazy? He’s Prince Fucking Charming!’

‘Well, I have no interest in being Cinderella. All I want is to sign an annulment and never see this man again!’

‘Yeesh, this chick really doesn’t know who you are,’ Vinnie said as he shook his head. ‘Well, first things first, there’s the bill for all this merchandise. You ordered it, you gotta pay for it.’

‘I’ll pick up the tab, Vinnie. Put it on my card,’ Trevor said. He reached into his wallet and took out an American Express Black Card. Kate had only ever heard of this mythical object in rap songs. It was supposedly the only card in existence with no limit. She never thought she’d see one in real life.

‘Total is $1,350,’ Vinnie said.

‘Dear God, that is a complete rip-off!’ Kate said.

‘You can’t put a price on memories,’ Vinnie smiled.

‘Except you literally did just put a price on it.’

‘Ignore her, Vinnie – she’ll be glad of the merch one day,’ Trevor said, swiping his card.

‘Okay, so now that the merch has been paid for, will you please TELL ME HOW TO ANNUL THIS MARRIAGE!’ she roared, slamming her hands on the counter.

‘Yikes. Irish redheads, always such firecrackers,’ Vinnie winced.

‘NOW!’

‘Alright, alright. Well, getting an annulment depends on a few things. Firstly, was the marriage consummated?’ Vinnie said, giving Trevor a cheeky wink.

‘Absolutely not!’ Kate said, folding her arms.

‘But not for lack of trying on her part,’ Trevor said. ‘Am I right, Vinnie?’

‘Very right,’ Vinnie recalled. ‘I couldn’t keep her off you during the ceremony. She was like a cat in heat!’

‘And now she hates my guts. Mixed messages, right?’

‘Eh, excuse me! I’m standing right here!’ Kate said, throwing her arms in the air. ‘You may think this is all one big joke, but this is my life you’re messing with. I have 200 people coming to my wedding in Ireland on Friday!’

‘Need any merch?’ Vinnie said, pushing his luck. ‘We ship interna—’

‘Enough about the merch, Vinnie!’ Kate snapped. ‘Now, shut up and talk!’

‘I see what you mean about those mixed messages,’ Vinnie said to Trevor.

‘Tell me how to annul this marriage or so help me God . . .’

‘Alright, alright, jeez. Well, sometimes annulments can be complicated. But no consummation makes it all easier. You can file for an uncontested annulment,’ Vinnie said, taking out a stack of papers and putting them down on the counter. ‘With an uncontested annulment, you both need to be in agreement that the marriage should never have happened. You just give the reason why the marriage is voidable and then you both sign that neither party will contest the annulment in court. If you go down that route, you won’t even need to appear in front of a judge.’

‘That sounds perfect,’ Kate said, seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. ‘How long does it take to be approved?’

‘I can handle everything if you give me power of attorney. I can submit it to the judge on your behalf. It’s all done online now. I scan the papers and submit them to the courthouse. All going well, the judge gives it their stamp of approval tomorrow morning and BOOM, you’re unmarried. The marriage never happened.’

Kate felt as if a crushing weight had been lifted off her chest. In a few hours, this drunken mistake would cease to exist, with no record of it ever having happened. Talk about a miracle. She had mixed feelings about giving Vinnie power of attorney, but what choice did she have? There was no time to research how to scan and submit the papers herself. She needed this nightmare to end now.

‘Give me a pen,’ she said.

Vinnie reached into the box of merch and took out a pen that had a photo of Kate and Trevor kissing on it. Kate rolled her eyes and began to flick through the papers.

‘Okay, let’s see . . . power of attorney . . . signed,’ she said, writing her name.

Trevor stood there in silence as she completed each section.

Next up was ‘Reason the marriage is voidable’. There was an option that read ‘One or more parties were not of sound mind at the time of wedding ceremony and have since regained their sanity’.

‘Yep, that’s the one,’ Kate said, ticking the box. There was a part of her that loved filling out the form. She was a sucker for any kind of paperwork.

‘No children, check. No property to divide, check. No debts to divide, check,’ she said, flying through the papers. ‘Affidavit . . . signed.’

She got to the final page and saw two places for signatures. She signed the annulment – Kate O’Connor – and the form was practically complete.

It was just missing one thing.

Trevor Rush’s signature.

‘Okay, your turn,’ Kate said, handing Trevor the pen.

His face appeared stoic. His body didn’t move. He looked at the image of them kissing on the pen and then looked back at Kate.

‘No,’ he said, a crooked smile creeping onto his lips.

‘Excuse me?’ Kate said, certain she had misheard.

‘I’m not going to sign this.’

‘I’m sorry, WHAT?’

‘Thanks for the merch, Vinnie,’ Trevor said, picking up the box and turning to leave.

‘My pleasure!’ Vinnie shouted after him.

Kate looked around in disbelief. Had Trevor just refused to sign the annulment?

‘Can he do that?’ Kate asked Vinnie, in shock.

‘He just did,’ Vinnie shrugged.

Kate grabbed the papers and chased after Trevor. He was not getting away with this. When she flung the door open once again, she saw him putting the box of merch in the boot of the Mercedes.

‘Who do you think you are?’ Kate said, storming up to him.

‘Oh, I know who I am, Freckles. It’s you who’s having some kind of identity crisis,’ Trevor said.

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

‘So last night, we finally meet again after nine years, and you start kissing me on stage. Then just a few hours later you tell me you’re not in love with your fiancé because you never stopped loving me. Then you get down on one knee to propose, and one hour later we’re hitched. Then you wake up and say it was all a mistake? Sorry, Freckles. I’m not buying it.’

‘I was drunk!’ Kate roared.

‘Drunk in love,’ Trevor winked.

‘You can’t do this! I have a wedding in five days!’

‘So I’m supposed to just let you go home and spend the rest of your life unhappy with Nigel?’

‘It’s NORMAN!’

‘Sorry, he’s just so forgettable.’

‘No, he’s not!’

‘Well, you were quick to forget about him last night.’

‘Trevor, I’m literally begging you to sign that annulment.’

He looked her up and down, revelling in the moment.

‘You call that begging?’ he smiled. ‘I think you can beg a lot better than that, Freckles.’

Kate was blind with anger. She was so hungover that her brain couldn’t quite process the situation. Not only had Trevor Rush married her, but now he was refusing to release her from the marriage?

‘This has to be some kind of joke!’ Kate said, still stunned. ‘Are you honestly refusing to sign the papers?’

‘Yep,’ Trevor said, slamming the boot. ‘I can’t let you go home and marry someone else when you’re clearly in love with me.’

‘I most certainly am NOT in love with you!’

‘Okay then,’ Trevor said, a devious glint twinkling in his eye. ‘Prove it.’

‘How?’ She knew from his face he had some nefarious idea.

‘I’ll sign the annulment. Under one condition.’

‘What condition?’ she asked, terrified of the answer.

‘You have to go on three dates with me,’ Trevor said with relish.

‘That’s three conditions!’

‘Those are the terms.’

Kate had no words. Was this actually happening?

‘This . . . this is beyond ridiculous!’ she said. ‘Are you trying to ruin my life?’

Trevor’s lips twisted into a devilish smirk. ‘I see it more as giving you what you deserve.’

‘Oh, so that’s what this is? Some kind of revenge plot for me dumping you nine years ago?’

‘Something like that,’ he laughed.

‘Trevor, I’m due to fly home tomorrow!’

‘Yeah, you won’t be making that flight. You’d better call what’s-his-name and tell him you need two extra days in Vegas. One date tonight, one on Monday and one on Tuesday. Then, if you still want to ruin your life, I’ll fly you and the girls home first-class on Wednesday morning.’

‘My wedding is on FRIDAY!’ Kate shrieked. ‘You can’t just hold me hostage here!’

‘Can’t I?’ he said, knowing well that he could. ‘Three dates. That’s it. Then you’re free.’

Kate was in a state of shock. Her hangover had gone from bad to worse to somehow even worse again. He had no right to keep her in Vegas. Her wedding was on top of her. She needed to get home on schedule to make all the final arrangements. She saw right through his motives. Forcing her on three dates as retribution for being dumped. Yet, even for him, this was toxic.

But what choice did she have? Trevor held all the cards. And he wasn’t bluffing.

‘So three dates and we’re done?’ she said.

‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘That is, if you can get through the three dates without admitting you’re in love with me.’

‘Well, you’re wasting your time because there is ZERO chance of me ever saying that!’

‘This should be easy for you then. But I think by the end of the third date, you’ll be begging me not to sign that annulment,’ he said with his infamous smirk. ‘Come on, get in the car.’

‘Does the car ride back count as our first date?’ Kate said.

‘No.’

‘Then I’ll walk, thanks.’

‘Not happening. It’s over an hour’s walk to the Bellagio and this area can be sketchy. You’re my wife now, Freckles. And it’s my job to keep you safe.’

‘I don’t need a man to protect me, thank you very much.’

‘Get in the car before I put you in the car,’ Trevor said, deadly serious.

Who did Trevor think he was? She wasn’t his property! If she wanted to walk, she had every right to. But then again, it was 40 degrees Celsius, and walking for an hour in her dehydrated state could possibly kill her.

‘Fine,’ Kate conceded. ‘But I’m not obligated to speak to you on the way back.’ She wanted to prove she still had some power over the situation, even if she didn’t.

Kate got into the car and Lorenzo drove them back to the Bellagio. She remained scornfully silent for the drive.

About halfway there, Trevor took out his phone to make a call. ‘Charlie, it’s me,’ he said. ‘I have a favour. Could you move my set at Omnia from Monday to Tuesday? I know it’s last minute, but I’ll be on my honeymoon for the next few days. Remember that Irish girl, Kate? We got hitched last night. Yeah, turns out she never stopped loving me.’

‘THAT IS A LIE!’ Kate snapped, breaking her vow of silence.

‘I thought you weren’t talking to me?’ Trevor teased before turning back to his call. ‘Oh Charlie, don’t be mad. I didn’t have time to invite you to the wedding, it all happened so fast. Tell you what, why don’t you swing by Omnia on Tuesday and meet my beautiful bride? But keep your hands off her, you horndog! I know what you’re like. Ciao.’

‘Who do you think you are telling half of Vegas we’re married?’ Kate said, furious.

‘Relax, it’s just my manager, Charlie. And Lorenzo won’t tell anyone either, will you, Lorenzo?’

‘My lips are sealed, Mr. Rush,’ Lorenzo said from the driver’s seat.

‘That reminds me. I’m not talking to you,’ Kate said, resealing her lips.

When the car finally pulled up outside the Bellagio, Kate flung the door open.

‘Not so fast, Freckles,’ Trevor said. ‘I’ll be waiting here for you at 8 p.m. tonight. Prepare for the best date of your life.’

Kate got out of the car and turned around to him. ‘Well, prepare for the worst date of yours,’ she said as she slammed the door in his face.