Vegas, Baby!

17: Mr. & Mrs.

For two weeks, I had thought about what Laura had said. It made sense and seemed logical and in addition to that, I couldn't deny that I had fallen for Benito. Sure, I could've ignored my feelings and pulled through with being cold towards him until the end of this day but I had decided against it. My heart was longing for him every single second of the day and even though he had hurt me, I just knew deep down that I couldn't imagine being married to anybody else. The formal outfit I was wearing was anything but flattering but I didn't care about my looks in that moment. Benito's lawyer had set a date for us to meet and sign the divorce papers - in our case it was two; one for Germany, one for the states. He had suggested to do so in Munich because of the attention Benito caught in America whenever he went somewhere and my lawyer had agreed. I felt weird entering the office building where my lawyer had her office in. She had informed me that Benito was already there. As I was walking towards the elevator the sound of my heels connecting with the stone floor echoed through the lobby. I was nervous because I had no idea what I had to expect, so naturally I had sweaty hands. As I entered the elevator, I started fumbling around with the top button of my blouse; it somewhat calmed my nerves a little bit. One minute later, the doors slid open. I stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the reception desk. The woman behind it greeted me with a friendly smile, when she noticed me.

"Hello, Ms. Cole. You'll be in the conference room today." she told me. I nodded in response and started walking towards the room at the end of the hallway. The door was still open, so I could see my lawyer hurry around. Slowly I walked through the door and was greeted by her with a hand shake. Benito and his lawyer were already sitting at the big table. Both of them stood up to greet me as well and then I sat down opposite of them. It was the first time that I saw him in person after the incident in August. He looked skinnier than the last time. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin looked pale and the spark that I had admired so much in his eyes was no longer there. I watched him while our lawyers were talking, not really paying much attention to them. It looked like he had zoned out, staring blankly at the papers in his lawyer's hands. Basically our lawyers were going over the divorce papers, checking every single agreement we had made and if there were any errors in the documents.

"Is there anything you would like to add?" my lawyer then asked me. I responded by shaking my head, then they asked Benito who didn't respond directly. Apparently he had zoned out so much that he didn't even hear them until his lawyer slightly shook him. He snapped out of whatever he was thinking and shook his head as well.

Benito was chewing on his lower lip with the pen in his hand. I watched him sign both of the papers hesitatingly. His hands were shaking as he slid the documents over to me. I took the pen my lawyer held towards me and hesitated as well. If they had given me this opportunity one year prior, I would've immediately put my signature next to Benito's. I thought about the conversations I had had with him on Puerto Rico.

"I'll be honest, I don't want to get divorced anymore." he had told me, while we had been chilling at his pool.

"Why?" I had asked him.

"I don't know, I got used to saying that I'm married and to being married in general." Benito had responded, shrugging. I had raised my eyebrow at him and chuckled. "And my family would start asking questions again." he had added.

When the memory slowly faded, I looked down at the paper. Benito had not read through it but I did and I took my time with it because I wanted to stretch this out as long as I could. The two lawyers were patiently waiting while Benito was looking at me like he wanted it to be done quick to end his suffering. As I reached the end of the English document, I put it aside and started reading the German one. After 15 minutes, I slowly started shaking my head.

"I'm not gonna sign this." I said and put the cap of the pen back onto it. Benito immediately looked over to me in confusion.

"Is there something wrong with the papers?" my lawyer asked concerned. I started shaking my head once more. Benito was looking between me and our lawyers.

"Then why aren't you going to sign them?" his lawyer questioned.

"I don't want to sign them." I responded and leaned back in my chair. I could see the corners of Benito's lips twitch up. Suddenly the spark I had been missing in his eyes returned.

"Ms. Cole that would mean the divorce wouldn't be finalised." my lawyer explained slowly.

"It's Mrs. Martínez and I know that." I gave back.

"You want to stay with him?" Benito's lawyer asked. I scanned their faces. My lawyer looked concerned while his had confusion written all over his face. Benito was the last one that I looked at and I locked eyes with him.

"I do." I responded, not breaking eye contact.

I had apologised for the inconveniences I had caused by making them come into the office but I had not made up my mind up until the moment I had entered the building.

"We need a prenup though." I said, causing the two lawyers to stare at me in disbelief. Benito had a happy look on his face as he listened to them explaining how they would need to write one first. My lawyer was the first one to leave the room. When his had left as well, Benito got up from his chair.

"How come?" he simply asked, walking over to me.

"I kinda got used to being married as well." I responded, getting up and grabbing my bag in the process. When he reached me, Benito pulled me into a hug so tight that I thought he would break me in two.

"Thank you." he mumbled into the crook of my neck.

"Don't thank me, thank Laura. She kicked my ass." I told him as he let go of me. Benito nodded and smiled.

"Do you still have the ring?" I asked hopeful. I noticed that he was still wearing his and it warmed my heart a little.

"Of course I do." he gave back, reaching for the pocket of his jacket.

"I'm sorry that I didn't trust you." I said as I watched him pull the little red velvet box out of his pocket.

"No, don't apologise for my mistake. I should've told you. Your reaction was just natural and I hadn't thought about the consequences." he countered, opening the box and pulling the ring out. My heart skipped some beats, when he put the ring on my finger. I smiled up at him, when he moved my hand up to his lips, so he could kiss it. After that, he let go of my hand, cupped my fave with his hands and smashed his lips into mine. The kiss was gentle but it held so much emotion that it almost overwhelmed me.

"Just to be clear, I want an actual wedding." I mumbled, when we let go of each other, causing Benito to chuckle.