“Let’s get back to our story,” he suggested. With his emphasis on the word our, my anger quickly disappeared.
“OK. But now I’m too pissed off to remember where we were,” I admitted.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I allowed him to pull me close. “We were talking about Gran and Gramps. Don’t be mad at me. ”
My breath hitched. “Fine,” I relented, feeling my annoyance fade with his nearness. I hated how he affected me sometimes. “So, how long did you stay there with them?”
He inhaled a long breath before releasing it against the top of my head, causing strands of my hair to fall in front of my eyes. I pushed them away as I waited for his response. “A lot longer than I intended. My plan was to stay there for a couple weeks before heading back to Alabama to pack up my stuff and finalize the annulment. I honestly figured two to three weeks was enough time. That the bitch would sign it and I’d be on my way here before Christmas. ”
“Good thing I didn’t hold my breath. ”
He huffed. “Yeah. The past six months has been nothing but drama, Kitten. I’m not sorry for leaving you out of it, but I am sorry for letting it go on for so long. ”
I leaned away from the warmth of his body and into the cold cushions, squaring my shoulders toward him. “Why did it take so long? How could she fight the annulment, anyway?”
My cell phone rang, waking me from a deep sleep and forcing my eyes to pop open. Anticipation rushed through me as Marc’s name appeared on the screen. “Hey, Marc,” I said, my voice groggy.
“Jack, we have a problem. ”
“What kind of problem?” I asked, scooting my back up against the wall.
“She won’t sign. ”
“Huh? Who won’t?” I stopped short before continuing. “What do you mean, she won’t sign? I thought this was a done deal? An easy fix?” My heart slammed itself against my rib cage.
“Her lawyer’s stating your claims are ridiculous. That no fraud was committed and therefore his client won’t sign under those terms. ”
“Are you fucking kidding me? What terms will she sign under?” I fought to keep my anger under control.
“She won’t sign an annulment. But she’ll consider signing divorce papers, although his client would rather work things out. ”
“Work things out? Are you fucking joking?”
“I wish. ”
“You have to fix this, Marc. She faked a pregnancy to force me to marry her. How is that not fraud?” I threw the magazine sitting next to me against the wall and watched it fall to the ground.
“It is. But the burden of proof is on us. ”
“So, let’s prove it then,” I insisted.
“We’re going to have a hard time doing that since she has plenty of documentation supporting her claims,” he sighed.
“What kind of documentation?”
“Well, doctor’s reports, for starters. ”
Fuck.
I’d forgotten about the fact that Chrystle had doctor’s prescriptions, appointments, and paperwork.
“Can’t we sue the doctor for malpractice or something?”
“We would have to prove that he lied as well, which would be extremely difficult given the circumstances. ”
When people allege that anger has the ability to shoot through them with such force that they see red… well, it’s true. I saw red. Literally.
“This is so fucked up. What can I do?”