𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

𝘍𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯

"I've... I've never said this before, Aurora. To anyone." The look in his eyes makes Aurora's heart race. Oh my God. Is Granit about to tell me he... loves me? Aurora can practically hear how fast his heart is pounding. But before he can say anything more, her phone starts to ring. The screen reads Talia. "Why the hell is our lawyer calling this late?" She asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it must be serious." Granit said. Aurora picks up the phone and puts it on speaker.

Aurora: "Talia? What's going on?"

Talia: "I need you and Granit to meet me tomorrow at my office."

Aurora: "Uh-oh. What did my uncle do now?"

"It has to be related to uncle dick." Granit said in the background.

Talia: "I'll tell you everything in the morning. Just meet me there at 9 am."

*

Aurora and Granit exchange a panicked look. The following morning, they meet Talia as planned. "So here's the deal. Your uncle is definitely planning on taking this to court. He wants to prove that your marriage is illegitimate, and he's very good friends with the judge." Talia said. "What?! We can't let him get away with this!" Aurora said.

"You're right. We can't. But no matter what, we'll have to see him in court. The judge is moving forward with the case." Talia said. "I'm going to kill him." A muscle ticks furiously in Granit's jaw. Aurora reaches over to intertwine her fingers with his.

"Please don't. Then we'll just have a whole new legal problem on our hands." Talia said. "Can I at least punch him in the nose?" Granit asked. "We don't condone violence." Aurora said. "Babe, I'm literally a fighter on the pitch." Granit said. "Yes, but that's different than punching my family members." Aurora said. "But he's so punchable." Granit said.

Talia claps her hands to get their attention. Aurora and Granit both give her sheepish looks. "Listen. It's time to buckle down. If we can't prove your marriage is real to the judge, we'll lose this case. We need hard evidence. Sappy social media posts won't cut it this time." Talia said. "Okay. What do we need to do?" Aurora asked.

"First things first. Do you have any proof of shared expenses?" Talia asked. "Well... we're living together." Aurora replied. "Hm. That's not quite enough. But it is a start." Talia said. "What else can we do?" Aurora asked. "What you really need to prove is that you two have history. That means birthday cards, valentine's day gifts." Talia said.

"Holidays together, text messages, shared holidays." Aurora and Granit look at each other. "But we don't have any of those things." Aurora said. "So you'll have to make them up. ASAP." Talia said. "You want us to whip together a bunch of fake birthday cards and holiday gifts?" Aurora asked. "That's exactly what I need you to do. And it needs to be convincing." Talia said.

"This needs to be a priority. Either I get this evidence, or we lose this case. And that means you lose your bakery and gym." "That's not going to happen." Granit said. "All I have to do is shower Aurora with gifts and sappy love letters? Please. I've been dying to do that anyway." Granit winks at Aurora, making her stomach cartwheel.

"I figured out how to back date social media posts, so we can pretend like you posted on the holiday. You can start with Valentine's Day." Talia said.

*

Armed with their new mission, Aurora and Granit head back to his apartment and recline on the balcony. "Let me take you back to 14th February. A cherub named Cupid shoots us with an arrow. I drown you in chocolates and flowers." Granit said. "Why is this Valentine's day so violent? I get shot? You drown me?" Aurora said.