The details of their mutual betrayal – Part 3
4Tuesday, continued…
Hou Yi knew he had limited options and told Anna Jones, “I need to think.” He then turned slightly away from Anna Jones.
Anna stared at Hou Yi for a moment, then remembered she still had in her purse the papers from the Australian Embassy she needed to marry here. Given that Lu Jinhu had Australian citizenship, he would have needed the same. She realized that his actions with the telephone call to absent himself from the room when the paperwork was done was now deliberate.
Anna pulled out the paperwork to look at it and recall the shattered dreams it demonstrated. As she read, she noticed the space for her husband’s personal details was blank, but it contained his nationality. Anna recalled the Embassy Official saying that the letter he was providing with the paperwork would allow the Civil Administration Bureau Official to complete her husband’s details at the time of obtaining their marriage certificate.
The lawyer in her went back over the form and noted that, other than a slight error in her residential address, all the information was correct. Anna then read the letter from the Embassy Official, which indicated her fiancée had been briefly met by the official, but due to business commitments, he was unable to stay for the formalities to be completed. The letter failed to mention his name, but it commented that he was a respected businessperson, known to the official, and willing to complete all other formalities in his absence. It also requested that the Civil Administration Bureau Official complete the form upon issuing the marriage certificate.
Anna laughed to herself about the Embassy Official’s comment about trusting Lu Jinhu, calling him a respected businessperson. After a double check of everything, she realized that the paperwork and letter made no mention of Lu Jinhu. She thought that the man beside her could easily fit the embassy official’s general description.
While Anna was doing this, Hou Yi simply watched her, trying to think about how he could solve the problem he now faced with less than two hours left to get married before the Civil Administration Bureau closed for the day.
Anna interrupted Hou Yi’s thoughts, quietly stating, “Actually, I think I could help you.” She looked at Hou Yi, who appeared stunned.
“How could you help? You would have had paperwork with Lu Jinhu’s name on it, and that will not help me. I will have to try making some calls and see if there is someone I know who can help prevent an absolute disaster for my company’s employees.” Hou Yi’s tone made Anna realize that he was frustrated and barely keeping himself together, just like she was.
“Before you do anything, have a look at this paperwork. I think you will find something quite different,” Anna responded quietly while handing the documents she just read to Hou Yi.
Hou Yi shook his head. “It will not help if I look at the paperwork. I’m sorry, I have to make some calls, but I will help you to the extent that I can.”
Hou Yi stood up, ready to take a step, when Anna grabbed his arm. “Please, please look and then tell me I cannot help you. Simply by listening to what happened to me, you have helped me, and now I would like to try and help you.”
Hou Yi looked down at the hand that had grabbed his and decided that spending two minutes looking at documents he knew were useless to him would ultimately make no difference. He then sat back down, took the documents from Anna, and said, “Alright. I have nothing to lose in spending a couple of minutes looking at them at this stage.”
Hou Yi started to focus on the documents, quickly reading through them. When he reached the end, he was certain that Lu Jinhu’s name did not appear as the husband-to-be. He knew, from friends and staff who married foreigners, that the paperwork required their spouse’s details when issued by any embassy. He realized that the two minutes he thought might need to be longer and started to re-read the documents to see what was in them.
Anna watched Hou Yi as he skimmed through the documents. The look of concentration on his face deepened as he went over the details. When he reached the end, Hou Yi looked up at Anna, a mixture of hope and disbelief in his eyes.
“This… this doesn’t make sense,” he muttered, almost to himself. “It’s all correct, except for one detail.”
Anna leaned in closer, her heart pounding. “What detail?”
Hou Yi hesitated for a moment before saying, “The name—my name. It’s blank.”
“Blank?” Anna repeated, her mind racing. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” Hou Yi paused, looking down at the papers again. “It means, technically, you’re not marrying anyone. The paperwork is incomplete.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “You’re saying we can fill in your name here and it would be valid?”
“Yes, if we can get this done quickly,” Hou Yi said, looking up at Anna with determination. “The Civil Administration Bureau closes in less than two hours. We have to move fast.”
Anna nodded, quickly realizing what this meant. “We could use these documents, with your name filled in, to get married. It’s like a loophole.”
Hou Yi looked at the documents again, then back at Anna. “This might actually work. It’s risky, but it’s our only shot. Are you willing to do this?”
Anna took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, I am. But we need to act now. Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, Hou Yi grabbed his keys from the table and headed for the door. “Let’s go then, before they close.”
Together, they rushed out, ready to fight for their futures by seizing this unexpected option.
