Wedding

Silence hung between them after this as Attorney Truman finished," So, in short, if you do marry Miss Melanie, you have to be a devoted husband..."

Melanie's hands curled into fists beneath the table. What kind of an ultimatum was this? It felt like a ridiculous decree from another era. She had expected there would be complications, but this? This was absurd. It would be better to fight things out in court than be forced into this version of marriage. Sir Collins had really played well! The only reason she had easily accepted the marriage was the arrangement to live alone. He'd planned to return to wherever he had come out from and she would live on her own. 

With the new conditions, however this would be impossible! Living with Adam for three years! No! She was about to push back her chair and walk out when, to her complete surprise, Adam's hand closed over hers under the table.