Chapter 4
It was March 17th, six years ago.
Desmond and I got our marriage license on April 2nd.
Two weeks after he married Macey in Montavia, he came back and married me.
When I married him, he was already someone else's husband.
I spent 10 dollars on our marriage license, and we marked the occasion with two bowls of pasta in our rented apartment.
So I was the "other woman".
I couldn't help it and laughed out loud.
Mason walked in with a tray of coffee, and when he saw me laughing like that, he actually stopped in his tracks.
Soren stayed quiet, waiting for me to finish.
"Soren," I said.
"I'm here," he replied.
"Sue him. Go for the jugular."
Soren closed his briefcase and stood up. "Bigamy and fraudulent asset transfer—hit him with both. He's got nowhere to hide."
"Don't make a move yet. Hold onto the evidence and let him stew," I said.
Soren gave me a long look. "Ms. Murphy, you're not like you used to be."
"How so?"
"You never used to keep your cool like this."
I picked up the coffee Mason had brought.
Back then, I never knew I could keep my cool.
Back then, I thought if I was good enough to him, he'd stay.
We had been together for six years. I gave him 8 million dollars and was pregnant with his baby.
But and all I got in return was leaving with nothing, and just a casual, "You can stay if you want."
I didn't have the luxury of falling apart anymore.
*****
That night, my dad returned.
Over dinner, he broke the silence and asked, "Emmaline, how far along are you?"
I froze for a second, surprised.
"Three months," I said.
"Does Desmond know?" Dad asked.
"No."
Dad fell silent for a few seconds and then said, "Good. He doesn't have the right to know."
"Ms. Murphy, there's a Bentley outside," Mason called.
On the third day after the lawsuit was filed, Mason shouted from the kitchen window.
I walked over to the second-floor window.
Desmond was standing outside the iron gates of Windmere Estate, holding his phone.
He was on a call.
He couldn't get through because I'd blocked his number.
He tried calling from another number, but still couldn't get through. Soren wouldn't answer his calls either.
He stood outside the gate for five minutes.
Two security guards stood inside, not moving an inch.
Desmond looked up, his eyes following Silverleaf Lane all the way to the main house, the half-hidden walls, and the perfectly manicured lawn.
His expression changed.
He looked frustrated and then confused.
And then that confusion turned into something he couldn't even put into words.
He didn't try to push past the gate and didn't shout or make a scene.
He stood there for a bit, then got in his car and pulled away.
As the taillights disappeared around the corner, the baby in my belly gave a little kick.
"Don't be scared," I said, rubbing my belly. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
That night, Soren messaged me. [Did he show up?]
I replied: [He came, then left.]
Soren: [Ms. Murphy, he's probably digging into who owns this estate right now. Give him a couple of days, and he'll figure out who your dad is.]
"Not a chance. The estate's in my mom's name. Her maiden name is Watson," I replied.
Soren let out a laugh. "Let him keep guessing."
"Soren, what's he been up to these past few days?" I asked.
"After he got the summons, he made a dozen calls. First, he called up some lawyer friends to get advice, then tried to dig up your new address. He even had his mom call and chew you out."
"I know."
"But there's one thing that really stands out."
"What is it?"
"He put an emergency freeze on one of the company accounts. There's about 1.5 million dollars in there."
"Is he stashing cash?"
"Pretty much. He's worried the court will freeze his assets, so he's trying to beat them to it by freezing the account himself."
"Can we lock it down?"
"I've already filed to freeze his assets with the court. He's not going anywhere."
I set my phone down on the windowsill.
Outside, the sky was darkening, and the laurel trees were just shadows in the twilight.
Desmond still had no clue who my father was.
He thought I had nothing when I married him.
He had no idea my dad owned twelve private hospitals, three wellness centers, and a pharmaceutical company in this city.
He had no idea that the "angel investor" who saved his company was his wife's father.
He never knew that because he never asked.
Six years ago, he asked me once what my family did.
I said, "They're gone."
He just went, "Oh."
And he never asked again, not once.
I was loading groceries into my car when Macey appeared at the entrance of my usual supermarket.
"Emmaline." she called out.
She was standing by the fruit stand in a white dress, smiling at me.