Page 51 of The Marriage Deal
"Is that where you got the money to pay off the investor goons! You did not win a goddamn lottery, did you?"
Elle muttered something.
"Is he forcing you to…" inaudible.
"No!" Elle screamed. "What! We…" inaudible.
So that's where the money went. It was a specific amount of money, and I often wondered why she wanted that exact figure. Part of me thought it was to pay off her student loans, but that had not squared with the fact that she got a full scholarship for her undergrad and was being paid by the college for her masters and her PhD. Now, a lot of things fell into place. She didn't buy a new home or one I am aware of. She gave it all to her sister. No wonder she didn't want people to find out. No wonder she was nervous in New York. She was afraid her sister would know. And the way her sister was reacting, I understood her. I wanted to go down and defend her, but the look she gave me when I left said, I will fight this battle on my own.
I went back to my bedroom to check my phone. If Effie knew, who else knew? Turns out everybody. The group chats were lit with messages. There were several missed calls. How many people subscribed to that god-damned town newspaper? I went to the family group chat. Tyler was the first to post the news. He too sent a screenshot similar to the one Effie showed us.
Sebastian: How come everyone is getting married at City Hall without telling anyone nowadays?
Ivy: Hey! At least I did it in Vegas. Congrats Bro!
My sister tagged me
Thalia: We're the only ones who did it respectfully, kkkk
Nolan: Lil bro got hitched! Congratulations! Who's the lucky girl! Or should I say unlucky?
Sebastian: Must be Connie.
Ivy: Idiots. It says Elvira Edwards right there.
Tyler: His assistant. I fucking knew it! You owe me a hundred Seb.
Ivy: Teacher's Assistant.
Raine: Holy shit. Spoke to Rebecca recently. She saw Elvira. He must have introduced her.
Thalia: ??????
Aire: Levi is so old-school it's cute! ??
Nolan: But not old school enough to tell his siblings.
Aire: @Nolan come on. You and I got married without anyone.
Nolan: That was different.
Aire: Forrest must have wandered into the kitchen. Go get him.
Nolan: Where are you?
Aire: In the studio. Head to toe in paint.
The group texts devolved into a personal chat between Aire and Nolan. I scrolled through several back and fourths that ended with:
Nolan: Not until I do that thing you like with my ??
Raine: Okay pack it up to the DMs you two. Bleh.
The chat ended there. There were some congratulatory messages in my DMs. Nolan wanted to talk. So did Tyler and Sebastian. And when I checked the call log, all of my siblings hadcalled me. I'll speak to them later. Right now I needed to deal with Elle's sister.
They were standing in the middle of the living room talking in hushed tones. Effie seemed to have calmed down when I rejoined them, but that did not mean she did not continue to eye me suspiciously. When she saw me reenter the living room, she straightened her back and gave me a tight smile.
"Elle tells me you are only currently dating, and that you asked her to marry you because of some archaic clause in your trust fund?"
