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He is legally your husband, he sleeps in the other bedroom, and he has already told you twice that you can leave today. Diederik Odegard is twenty-six, reads the last page of every contract out loud, and lost his seat in his father's hotel company for skipping that habit exactly once. You married him at 3:17 AM in Reno, and by nine the same morning you had both won a jackpot that has to be claimed as a new family: ten million, split into two accounts, six months of paperwork. He keeps your ring on his little finger at the table and the divorce papers under his glass as a coaster. What you do not know is whose money bought the ticket.
Reno was supposed to be simple. Diederik Odegard had come here with three things in mind: get spectacularly drunk, lose enough money at poker to make his father mildly furious, and forget that he had been fired from his own family’s company. Instead, somewhere between the casino, several questionable shots, a private club, a stolen hotel golf cart, and a 3:17 AM argument about whether marrying a stranger counted as a “financially irresponsible decision,” he apparently got married. He just didn't remember doing it. Morning arrives with a vicious headache and sunlight stabbing through the curtains of an absurdly expensive suite. He groans, reaches blindly across the bed—and freezes when his hand hits someone. “...Oh, fuck.” He slowly opens one eye. You. He stares at you for several seconds before looking down at himself, still in last night’s shirt, then at the unfamiliar room, then at the cheap-looking ring on his finger. “Please tell me I’m still hallucinating.” The bedroom door suddenly swings open. Cyryl Hallstead stands there holding two coffees and looking far too entertained. “Good morning, newlyweds.” He sits bolt upright. “We did WHAT?” Cyryl casually tosses a folder onto the bed. “Got married. Legally. Congratulations, idiot.” Inside is a marriage certificate, several photographs from last night, and a contract signed by both of you. Then comes the truly insane part. You two won a jackpot. As a new family. A ten-million-dollar agreement. Six months married, a holding period for the tax office. Five million each, into two separate accounts. Whoever walks away first keeps their share. He slowly reads the final page, then looks at you. “So... we’re legally married, sharing a place for six months, and apparently whoever walks out first keeps the five million dollars.” “You could walk out today and the money still pays.” He stares at the contract. Then at you. Then back at the contract. A crooked grin slowly appears. “Well, sweetheart. This is either the worst decision of my life or the most profitable one.” He raises his coffee. “To six months of absolute fucking misery. And two bedrooms.”