Page 35 of The Marriage Narrative
Her skin was as velvety soft as he remembered, and holding her palm to palm eased the discomfort rumbling deep inside his chest.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she prompted. “Start with who knows what.”
He nodded. “Well,weknow why we got married. Everyone else believes we eloped because of the whirlwind eight-day love story I made up.”
“Real marriage. Fake backstory. Got it.” The sudden sullen look in her eyes made him hesitate. She obviously didn’t like that. Understandable.
“Zaffre Hoursis Sadie’s creation, beginning to end. She left my mom in charge of storylines. I didn’t agree with her choices, so I made my own, which I told you about. That was the truth. Sadie volunteered to secretly help us—Mabel too. They’re going to make sure ourNewlywedsstoryline is everything it should be.”
“Estranged Son. Secret Wife. Newlyweds. Got it.” Her expression sharpened into wariness. “I overheard some of your conversation earlier. It seemed like Amber would’ve been willing to go with a different storyline if you’d been honest with her.”
“Maybe at first. But somehow, someway, Istillwould’ve ended up in a storyline to marry my ex-girlfriend. I told you—it’s curated but it’s also real. She’s convinced we’re soulmates.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. If she ever finds out we have a business marriage, she’ll probably have me killed after all.”
“What?Did shethreatenyou?”
“Oh no, that’s just a joke.” She chuckled. “She did offer me money to divorce you, though. I’m sorry to report that you’re not worth a billion-dollar bribe in her eyes.”
“Because we don’t have it. We’re notthatrich.” Despite how awful he felt, she still managed to make him laugh. “A billion dollars, Zinnia? Really?”
“Are you saying you think you’re worth less?”
“No, I just…um…I…” He forgot his words as Zinnia stroked the length of his thumb, from fingertip to wrist, with her own.
“The thing is, I don’t want to get divorced. It’s not something my family really believes in,” she whispered as if confessing a secret. “No amount of money can convince me otherwise, butyoucan. What you and your family are doing—lying and plotting and it’s like you’re all trying to outsmart each other—I don’t like that. I don’t want to be treated like an opponent to be conquered. Don’tdo thatwith me.”
“I won’t,” he vowed with every beat in his heart. “Never.”
Zinnia began breathing faster, like she was nervous, and she was staring at him in a way she never had before. It made him feel powerless and unable to look away, forcing him to face the exact moment she made up her mind.
“I’m not in love with you, Jordan, but I’ll lie to the world for you until they believe I am.”
His heart and lungs seized again, just like they had the day before when seeing her crouched in the corner had sent him spiraling. Could lying be an act of love? Jordan thought it might be for someone like Zinnia.
Right then and there, he made an unbreakable promise to himself: he would never lie to his wife again. Not by omission. Not by accident. Never.
Three loud knocks sounded from behind them. Zinnia screamed, nearly jumping into his lap. Mabel was standing at the living room window watching them with a dead-eyed stare.
“Is she for real? Is sheokay?”
“Her job is stressful. We’re making it worse,” he said.
“Oh. I need to call Grace and Fiona first, then we can go.” She was about to stand up, phone already in her hand.
“Or we could stay here,” he said quickly. “It’s technically thefirst day of our honeymoon. What did you have planned originally?”
“Bondingmoon.”With an uncomfortable grimace, she purposefully turned her back on Mabel. “We would’ve potentially been on our way to New Zealand. I’ve been saving up for almost a whole year. I want to go on the Hobbiton tour and see as manyLord of the Ringsfilming locations as possible.”
“Oh yeah? I’ve never seen those movies. Are they any good?”
“I think so.” She shrugged. “They’re my comfort movies.”
“Do you want to do that today? Order food and relax. Maybe give me a tour primer for our future trip while we watch?”
“Not if she’s going to stand there the whole time.” She gestured over her shoulder. “I think there’s something wrong with her.”
Mabel was now pressed against the glass, fogging it up with angry breathing.
