Page 30 of Beautiful Lies


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That tiny kernel of empathy from a man I don’t know; one who’s been affected by our parents' actions just like me, but shows compassion instead of anger, is enough to unravel me, and a sob I can’t control breaks free.

“I’m sorry.” Apologizing for my weakness, I struggle to pull myself together. “I’m such a mess.”

“Hey, hey, hey…” Zack moves his chair around until he’s sitting next to me and puts a supportive arm around my shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong. Perhaps I can help. We’re in this together after all.”

Gabi was right. He is a nice man.

Sniffling, I try to explain. “I don’t really monitor the email address Gabi and I use. By necessity, our correspondence has always been brief and infrequent.” I wipe my eyes, certain my makeup is smearing, but I’m past caring. “But it seems my husband - the man I thought was my husband… does.”

Zack looks distraught and his eyes scrunch together as if he doesn’t like where his thoughts are taking him. I’m proven right with his next words.

“Emylyah, did he… are you…” He sucks in a breath. “Are you safe?”

His conclusion startles me enough to pull me out of my pity party. “Oh! Oh, yes. Niko would never hurt me, but…”

Damn, the tears are back. “He was so angry,” I whisper. “He said some horrible things. Told me I wasn’t really his wife and accused me of deceiving him. And then there’s …”

I don’t want to mention the baby. I can’t take any more of his pity. It’ll be my undoing, and I need to stay strong so I can get through this.

Zack blows out another breath; I guess he’s frustrated too. “Okay. There’s a lawyer right here on the island who can help us get this mess sorted out and notarized. My own legal team has already put together all the necessary documentation, and I contacted them to send it all to Mia on my way to see you. Then, when all that’s done, I’m going to transfer some money to you.”

Wait what?

“But why?” I ask, looking at him in honest confusion.

“I’m a very wealthy man, Emylyah. And you’ve been my wife for eighteen years.”

“But…”

He shakes his head. “No buts. Even though you were unaware, there’s a postnuptial agreement in place. I made sure of it after I found out about you. And if things turn out badly between you and your hus… ah, Niko, because of all this, I want the peace of mind knowing you’re taken care of. After all, he never would have found out if I hadn’t asked Gabi to get in touch with you on my behalf, so some of the fault is mine.”

“I…” My instinct is to refuse, but just as I open my mouth to form the words, I feel a fluttering in my abdomen and drop my hand to where my son just made his first kick known, like it’s some kind of sign.

Zack’s offer takes on new meaning. Haven’t I recently been fretting about how I’m going to raise this child without any means? I don’t know what sort of figure Zack has in mind, a couple of thousand dollars for each year of our marriage? Together with what I put in my safe deposit box, that would give me some much-needed breathing room, and the baby a solid start.

“Thank you,” I murmur, truly grateful for his thoughtfulness. It’s almost enough for me to wish I’d met this man under different circumstances. He’s one of the good ones. A stranger who’s shown more care than my own husband… except, Zack is my husband, isn’t he?

For a few more hours, at least.

I feel tears well in my eyes again and take a breath to force them back. Damn hormones.

With my allotted time on Elysium ticking away, Zack takes me to see the lawyer he spoke of. Mia Johnson is kind and goes to great lengths to explain everything to me, since I don’t have the luxury of taking all these documents home to read, or consulting another lawyer. Despite the circumstances, I trust her. She doesn’t seem to favor Zack over me, and I remember he said she worked for the resort, not for him.

A few signatures, and our marriage is officially annulled… because apparently Zack pulled some strings - and possibly greased a few palms - to make that happen, since an annulment is apparently more difficult to obtain after so many years have passed, and normally an arrangement like ours would have to be terminated by divorce.

But money talks. In the world I live in, I know that only too well. There’s also a surprising bonus for me.

“Zack already explained you married someone else, unaware of your child marriage to him,” Mia says kindly. “This annulment basically voids your marriage to Zack and removes the legal status of your first marriage. Essentially, what this means is, one...” She ticks her finger. “You don’t need to worry about being accused of bigamy, and two…” She ticks off another finger. “Your second marriage still stands, since there is no longer a prior marriage to be in violation of.”

“So…” There’s a lump in my throat. It’s almost too much to take in. “I’m actually legally married to Niko now?” The words come out as a raspy whisper.

Mia smiles. “That’s right.”

I miss a lot of what she says next, because this is just too huge. More than I ever dared hope for. It’s only when both she and Zack are looking at me expectantly, I realize they’re waiting for an answer from me.

“Sorry, what?”

Zack gives a wry chuckle. “Five hundred thousand,” he repeats, even though I have no idea of the context. Instead, I repeat it, inanely.