Page 127 of The Truth of Our Secrets

“Yes, Daddy.” Emmet winks and sways his ass on the way to the couch.

Jayce shakes his head but watches Emmet’s ass with fire in his eyes, making me wet.

Jayce

Emmet gets me out of my head and in the right frame of mind. It’s a heavy topic, but it should all be good.

We pile on the couch, a tangle of arms and legs.

I clear my throat to get the nerves out. “My lawyer called and after consulting with a judge, he convinced Peter to sign the divorce papers uncontested. I’m officially divorced.”

“J-Bear,” Emmet whispers, wrapping me in his arms. “That’s fantastic news.”

“Daddy.” Madyson nuzzles in under my chin, fighting for space with Emmet’s arm. “This is such good news. Why aren’t you happy?”

That takes me aback. “I am happy,” I say. “It’s all good, but after the year we had, I’m afraid it’s too good and something will happen.”

“Tell me,” Madyson demands.

“My attorney is friends with a few of the family court judges and he asked hypothetical questions and they all gave him the same answer. If a spouse sues for support and emotional trauma but has been convicted of theft and financial fraud against the other spouse, they aren’t entitled to anything.”

“He’s suing you!” Emmet shouts, rage rolling off him.

“Not formally, but he’s threating to if I don’t pay him what he’s owed and I quote ‘for his emotional distress, emotional abuse, and forced infidelity.’ But his case won’t hold up.”

“He’s such an asshole. You should sue him for emotional distress and being a cunt during your marriage.” Madyson snarls.

“I bet there’s even a fancy legal term for being a cunt.” Emmet kisses my ear.

“We’re hoping he’s convicted of hacking and online fraud. Those carry sentences of twenty to thirty years.”

“But that’s good, right?” Emmet asks tentatively.

“It is, but it’s going to take time to build a case. Years even. Shane volunteered to testify against him if it comes to that. But it might not because Peter used his city account, and the government is not happy when you weaponize their system.”

“Thank God he didn’t get our money.” Madyson wilts. “Most of it is yours, but he could’ve left us with nothing. I hear banks frown on that.” She gives a half-hearted laugh.

“Been there.” Emmet waves his hand to emphasize his point.

“About that.” This is going to take some finessing. “I paid Shane a percentage for moving our money into untraceable accounts. He’d like to pay you a referral fee.” I stroke Emmet’s hair.

“I don’t need no referral fee.” Emmet reddens.

“It’s not about need. It’s about doing the right thing. Shane didn’t expect me to pay him. He did it as a friend, but he legitimately saved all our money, so I paid him a standard administration fee. He only agreed to the payment if he could pay you a one-percent referral fee.”

Madyson’s twirling her hair again, aware of our net worth. But thankfully, Emmet isn’t. He’s never felt entitled to it, so he’s never checked the balances in our bank accounts.

“I mean, sure, one percent is like what, ten grand or so?”

“Or so.” I laugh. “I’ve paid Shane, so don’t make me a liar. That man’s brain scares me and I don’t want him on my bad side.”

“I’ll protect you, J-Bear.” Emmet licks the side of my face. “I’m staking my claim so Shane stays away.”

There’s a strange buzzing sound and Madyson jumps up and runs to the kitchen. I stand and listen. “It’s the buzzer to our apartment?” I say it as a question because no one should be in the building. They need the code.

“Oh right.” Emmet mouths, “Sorry,” to me and says, “I have a surprise too. Firecracker, why don’t you get the door?”

She skips to it, hearing who’s on the other side. The door flings open and bounces off the wall as Alec yells “surprise” and pretends to jump in her arms. Emmet grins ear to ear.

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