The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 290

"Petty, you’ve never been legally married. This marriage certificate isn’t valid."

The words hit her like a punch to the chest. Not valid? That couldn’t be right.

Three years ago, she and Franco had gone to register their marriage at the city office. It was pouring rain that day, and Franco was late. She’d waited forever in the dreary lobby, starting to worry he wouldn’t show up, convinced he’d leave her hanging. She could remember exactly how it felt to write her name on the certificate, letter by careful letter.

She remembered how giddy she was leaving with the certificate clutched in her hands, and how her grandmother had beamed when she brought it home. "That's wonderful," her grandma had said, her eyes crinkling with pride.

"Are you sure there isn’t some kind of mistake? I really am married… how can my certificate not count?" Petty hadn’t wanted to drag her private life into this, but at this point, she had to be upfront about who she was. "You might have seen me trending online, or maybe even my husband’s statement."

The clerk recognized her right away. She had noticed the faces on the certificate during Petty’s paperwork check. She’d seen the news, remembered how it blew up online.

Still, the clerk shook her head, just as confused. "I'm sorry, but there’s just no record of your marriage. Not a single one."

The clerk started to turn away, to get back to her desk. That’s when a sudden image popped into Petty’s mind—one of those tiny photo IDs, the kind used for official documents. She remembered the island, that strange room, and Franco once saying it belonged to a contact from his undercover days a decade ago.

A weird uneasiness settled over her. "Excuse me, could I ask one more thing?"

"Of course," the clerk answered.

Petty hesitated, suddenly queasy, but forced herself to get the words out. "Could you check… is my husband registered as married right now?"

The clerk looked uncertain, then gave a regretful shake of her head. "I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to check that kind of information."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify