The chapel went silent, save for the creak of the wooden pews and the faint hum of the air conditioner. Lily’s heart jackhammered in her chest as the man in the suit; middle-aged, balding, clutching a piece of paper like it was a grenade, stood in the doorway, his face flushed with urgency.

“Stop the ceremony!” he repeated, waving the paper. “There’s been a mistake with the marriage license!”

Lily’s knees wobbled, and she gripped Ryan’s arm to stay upright. The bouquet of lilies slipped from her hands, hitting the floor with a soft thud. A mistake? Her mind raced. Did he know I’m not Mia?

Ryan’s easygoing smile faltered, his hand tightening on hers. “Uh, what kind of mistake, Mr. Grayson?” he asked, his voice steady but laced with nerves.

The man; Mr. Grayson, apparently, strode down the aisle, ignoring the murmurs from Ryan’s family in the pews. Jaxon, still leaning against a pew like a storm waiting to break, straightened, his blue eyes narrowing. Lily felt his gaze like a physical weight, pinning her in place.

“The license,” Mr. Grayson said, thrusting the paper at Ryan’s cousin, the officiant. “It’s got the wrong names. It says Jaxon Wolfe and Lily Evans, not Ryan Carter and Mia Thompson.”

Lily’s stomach plummeted. “W-what?” she stammered, her voice barely a squeak. Her real name. On the marriage license. With Jaxon’s? How?

Jaxon’s head snapped toward her, his expression shifting from suspicion to something darker, sharper. “Lily Evans?” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Who the hell is Lily Evans?”

Mia, who’d been lurking behind a pillar, burst forward, her face pale. “Okay, okay, let’s not panic!” she said, her voice too loud for the tiny chapel. “It’s just a clerical error, right? We can fix this!”

Mr. Grayson shook his head, his jowls wobbling. “Not that simple. This license was filed with the county yesterday. As far as the state’s concerned, Jaxon Wolfe and Lily Evans are legally married unless you file for an annulment, which takes weeks to process.”

Lily’s vision blurred. Married? To Jaxon Wolfe? The officiant looked like he wanted to disappear. Ryan’s jaw dropped. Jaxon, meanwhile, stared at Lily like she’d personally rewritten the document just to screw with him.

“Hold on,” Ryan said, stepping forward. “How the hell did Lily’s name even end up on the license?”

Grayson adjusted his glasses. “From what I could piece together? The wrong paperwork was submitted. Someone filed a marriage form that had Lily Evans listed as the bride. And it had all the required signatures.”

Lily blinked. “What?! I didn’t sign anything for a marriage!”

Mia winced. “No, but... remember when you helped me with the application packet? You filled out that backup contact form; name, ID number, all of it, and signed as the emergency witness?”

Lily stared at her. “You’re telling me the clerk mistook that for a bride’s signature?!”

“Well, Ryan’s handwriting was as bad as a toddler's handwriting,” Mia said, only half-joking. “And I might’ve accidentally grabbed the wrong folder when I dropped everything off. The forms were almost identical. I didn’t double-check. I didn’t know the clerk would just type up the license from the first readable names they saw.”

Lily’s stomach bottomed out.

Jaxon stepped forward, his tall frame casting a shadow, then he cleared his throat before speaking, “So let me get this straight,” he said, voice deadly calm. “I’m legally married to her”—he nodded at Lily, who flinched—“some random girl pretending to be Mia, just because someone at the clerk’s office couldn’t read Ryan's handwriting, and your friend here submitted the wrong file?”

Lily’s cheeks burned. “I’m not a random girl,” she snapped, then immediately regretted it when Jaxon’s eyes locked on hers, intense and unyielding. “I mean, I’m Mia’s friend. I was just… helping.”

“Helping,” Jaxon repeated, his tone dripping with skepticism. He crossed his arms, the fabric of his suit pulling tight across his shoulders. “By faking a wedding? That’s a new one.”

“It’s not what you think!” Mia interjected, stepping between them. “Lily was covering for me because... because of reasons. Hockey reasons. You wouldn’t get it, Jaxon.”

“Try me,” Jaxon said, his voice flat. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Lily, and she wished the floor would swallow her whole.

Ryan’s cousin cleared his throat, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. “Uh, maybe we should pause the ceremony? Figure this out?”

“No kidding,” Ryan muttered, running a hand through his hair. “This is a mess.”

Mr. Grayson held up his hands. “Look, I’m just the messenger. But there’s another problem. The license is tied to a state grant for married student housing. If it’s not corrected by Monday, the system will process Jaxon and Lily as the recipients, and the housing funds for Ryan and Mia will be voided.”

Mia gasped. “The housing grant? That’s how we’re paying for our apartment! Ryan, we can’t lose that!”

Lily’s head spun. “Wait, so if we don’t fix this, Ryan and Mia lose their apartment? But if we do, it takes weeks?”

“Exactly,” Mr. Grayson said, looking apologetic. “The county’s backed up. Annulments take at least a month, sometimes two. And the housing office won’t wait.”

Jaxon let out a low, humorless laugh. “So, what, I’m stuck married to her”—he nodded at Lily—“and we get a free apartment out of it? That’s the deal?”

Lily bristled. “You don’t have to sound so thrilled about it.”

His lips twitched, almost a smirk. “Trust me, I’m not.”

“Okay, everyone, calm down!” Mia clapped her hands, like she was herding kindergartners. “There’s a simple fix. Lily and Jaxon, you just… pretend to be married for a bit. Like, six months, tops. Live in the married student housing, keep the grant active, and then get an annulment when it’s all sorted. No big deal.”

“No big deal?” Lily’s voice hit a pitch she didn’t know she could reach. “Mia, I can’t live with him!” She gestured at Jaxon, who raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?” Jaxon asked, his tone deceptively casual. “Afraid you’ll fall for my charm?”

Lily’s face flushed hotter. “You wish,” she muttered, then clamped her mouth shut. Why did I say that?

Ryan snorted, trying to hide a laugh. “Okay, this is weird, but Mia’s right. It could work. Jaxon, you need a place, right? You’ve been crashing on my couch since your lease ended.”

Jaxon’s jaw tightened, and Lily caught a flicker of embarrassment in his eyes. “That’s temporary,” he said curtly.

“Not anymore,” Mia said, her voice brightening. “You and Lily can share the married housing! It’s a two-bedroom apartment, fully furnished. You’ll barely see each other. It’s perfect!”

“Perfect,” Lily echoed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She glanced at Jaxon, who was studying her like she was a play he needed to memorize before a game. “You’re okay with this?”

Jaxon shrugged, but his eyes didn’t leave hers. “I’ve dealt with worse. Question is, can you handle it?”

Lily’s stomach flipped. Handle living with Jaxon Wolfe, the university’s ice hockey god, who looked at her like he could see through her every defense? She wasn’t sure she could handle standing next to him for five more minutes.

“I can handle it,” she said, lifting her chin, though her voice wobbled. “Can you?”

His smirk returned, slow and dangerous. “Guess we’ll find out, wife.”

The word sent a shiver down her spine, and not entirely from dread. Lily turned to Mia, who was beaming like she’d just solved world hunger. “You’re dead to me,” Lily muttered.

Mia grinned. “You’ll thank me later.”

Mr. Grayson cleared his throat. “So, uh, are we finishing the ceremony or…?”

“No ceremony,” Jaxon said, his voice final. “If I’m married, I don’t need a show to prove it.” He glanced at Lily, his eyes glinting. “Right, Lily?”

Lily swallowed hard. “Right.”

Ryan’s cousin looked relieved. “Great. I’ll file the paperwork as is. You two are officially married. Congrats, I guess?”

The room erupted into murmurs; Ryan’s family whispering, Mia clapping excitedly, Ryan shaking his head like he couldn’t believe this was his life. Lily stood frozen, the weight of the moment sinking in. She was married. To Jaxon Wolfe. For six months.

As the others started to disperse, Jaxon leaned down, his breath warm against her ear. “Meet me at the housing office Monday morning, 9 a.m. Don’t be late, Mrs. Wolfe.”

Lily’s heart skipped, and she glared at him, ignoring the way her pulse raced. “Don’t call me that.”

He chuckled, low and rough, and walked out of the chapel, leaving her standing in a wedding dress that wasn’t hers, in a marriage that wasn’t real, with a man who was already getting under her skin.