Page 38 of The Marriage Narrative
Who knew something like dirty dishes could send her into a full-blown financial spiral?
Jordan’s watch began beeping. He silenced the alarm and said, “I have a surprise for you. Wait here.” He returned carrying his laptop, right as she was rinsing the last plate. “We have to be out of here at eight or Mabel might break the door down and drag us out, but that’s more than enough time to have a breakfast meeting.”
She rejoined him at the table. “And who are we meeting?”
“Grace’s messages have made it clear that my time on Earth is up. I asked if she and Fiona would be willing to have a little chat. I know you told them everything that happened, but I’d like them to hear it from me too. Before my untimely demise.”
Zinnia sighed becausedamn it, she liked him a lot.
But it was hard to feel excited hearing her best friends’ terse greetings and seeing the stone-cold expressions on their faces. Fiona was still in bed—her clover-covered comforter in full view—because she worked from home. Grace, however, went into the office every day. She was in full corporate glam with a giant window full of skyscrapers behind her.
They listened to what he had to say without interrupting, eyes laser focused on the screen. Once he finished, Grace immediately asked, “And how do you plan to protect Zinnia going forward?”
“Well, we—”
“Because you can’t,” she cut him off. “I assume she informed you of theSweetheartstoryline we devised.”
Fiona started giggling. Zinnia frowned and whispered, “Not thecorporatevoice.Come on.”
Grace ignored them both and continued to address Jordan directly. “It’s imperative that you maintain a neutral stance and stay in the middle for as long as possible. Zinnia isn’t a villain, and she isn’t a damsel either. We cannot allow Amber to use you as an excuse to twist the storyline any way she sees fit. A sweetheart is strong, kindhearted, and does not need a knight riding in on a white horse to save her.”
“If anything, my horse would be an Appaloosa because they’re my favorite breed,” he joked.
Fiona giggled again, louder this time. She liked to wake and bake more often than not and was likely high.
This meeting could’ve been much worse. Grace had beenadamant during their planning session that Zinnia had to get used to relying only on herself while filming. Jordan’s loyalty would always be with his family first.
But a true second chance meant honoring the blank slate she’d given him. She poked Jordan in the side to get his attention. “What she means is, we don’t expect you to save me, butIdo expect you to be there. You hang me out to dry again and I’ll end you myself.”
“No, she won’t,” Fiona chimed in, still giggling. “But she might let Grace do it!”
“We’re partners,” Zinnia said to Jordan. “We fight battles together, even if that means letting me struggle for a little bit. Just not for too long, okay?”
He nodded, eyes alight with sincerity. “What’s my bat signal? We should have a code, so I’ll know when you need me.”
She thought about it. “If I twist my wedding ring, you jump in and save me. If I roll my eyes, stand down.”
“You got it and me.”
“Thank you.”
When they turned back to the screen, Fiona’s eyes were rapidly flicking left to right as if she were reading something.
“What?” Zinnia asked.
“Nothing.” Her eyes stilled as her smile grew.
Chapter 11
Zinnia
After some less-than-heartfeltapologies from Wylie and Lulie, theNewlywedsstoryline was thrown directly into the domestic fire. Time passed in a blur of rules and failures as she settled into her newrepetitivelife.
Every weekday morning, a camera podescortedfollowed Zinnia andwatchedfilmed her alone for exactly four hours. The network specifically wanted to capture her process for creating new designs for Find Your Zin.
Thankfully, the estate wasn’t an entirely soulless creative black hole like she’d thought.
They’d given her a private corner in a pocket forest. Colorful and fragrant flowers, excellent shrubbery, and wild plants that she never knew existed. The critters were top-tier—bumblebees, ladybugs, hummingbirds, dragonflies, and not a single sociopathic yellow jacket in sight. There were even brown field mice running around, who were much cuter than screaming people gave them credit for. She sent pictures to the group chat, gushing about how cool it was, only to be met with—
