I force a smile even as my eyes prickle. Sympathy pours out of her, and it only makes me tear up more despite my best effort to hold it back. Then something she said strikes me.
For as long as it lasts.
My head snaps up. “Wait. Did you know?”
Elizabeth’s expression is one of complete bafflement. “Annabelle, I have no idea why he would call you Gigi. The only Gigi we know is our previous gardener’s wife, and—sweet as she was—well…she wasn’t the sort of woman who inspired male admiration.”
“No,” I say. “About…Elliot’s and my marriage…” I can’t continue. What if Elizabeth merely meant that not all marriages last forever, given the statistics?
“Oh.” She looks away, then uncrosses and re-crosses her legs. “You mean the one year part? Yes. I know.”
Humiliation flushes my body. “So you know about the million dollars, too?”
Elizabeth gets a pensive frown on her face.
Oh my god. “Does everyone know?”
She turns toward me. “The family knows about the one year part.” She fidgets. “But whatever arrangement you and Elliot may have beyond that is your business.”
Arrangement. Elizabeth is as smooth as a politician and so nice it almost hurts…but she knew that there was money involved.
It’s too much. Tears start to roll down my cheeks, and I can’t stop them. It’s bad enough that Elliot and I are in a sham marriage where he’s giving me money for my body. It’s infinitely worse for everyone in his family to know. I lower my head, biting my lower lip so I don’t make any noise.
“Oh sweetie, don’t.” Elizabeth pushes a white handkerchief at me, but I don’t take it. “Please. Don’t cry. My brother is such an ass.”
“Why did Elliot want to have a dinner with the family, like it was some kind of real event…when you all know it’s not?” I wipe at the tears impatiently. My nose runs, and I need a tissue. “Were you planning to laugh at me behind my back?”
Her jaw slackens, her eyes wide. “Of course not! I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. All of—Annabelle, he has to marry for a year.”
“What?” There’s no way I heard that right.
“It’s complicated, but he has to do it in order to inherit something that’s very important to him.”
“I see.” Suddenly, the whole situation makes sense. No wonder he asked me to marry him in that ridiculously unromantic way. It didn’t matter who he married.
“Here.” Elizabeth offers the handkerchief again, and this time I accept it. Her initials are embroidered in one corner. “I’m sorry,” she continues. “I didn’t mean to cause you any distress. I thought you knew.”
I shake my head. “The only thing he told me is that he wanted to marry me for a year. He…offered money.” Talking about it makes me feel cheap. Like some plastic toy you can buy from a dollar store. Or a whore, like I told Elliot after the disastrous non-dinner.
“Well I would’ve taken it too, if I were in your situation. Especially with a younger sister to care for. There’s nothing wrong with what you’ve done.” She leans closer. “Everyone sneers at money, Annabelle…until they need it.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Listen. I know it can’t be easy, and I admire your courage and selflessness. Nonny is so, so lucky to have you in her corner.” She pats my hand. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here. I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re alone or that you’re somehow…less because of what circumstances have forced you into.”
Chapter Five
Annabelle
I drive down to Venice Beach, classic rock blaring to drown out my thoughts. Once there, I park and find a shady spot under a palm tree and turn off my phone. I need some time to try to sort out my thoughts after Elizabeth’s revelations.
It doesn’t work. No matter how I turn things over in my mind, I can’t come to any conclusions about anything. Not Elliot, not his family, not my situation or what the best path is going to be for me to take.
And my hormones aren’t making the job any easier. My period starts, prompting a dash into a local eatery to use their bathroom. I don’t know how I could have not noticed I was retaining water…among other things. Stomach cramps, the dull ache in my lower back. But I welcome the mino
r discomfort. It means I didn’t totally screw everything up when I was young, even though I never sought medical help with my unwanted pregnancy to make sure I was still okay. My period lasts for only four or five days, and the flow is generally on the light side, and I’m grateful. It means if I have the right guy and if we decide we want to, we can have children.
I feel drained physically and emotionally by the time I finally get in the car to drive home, but I inhale deeply and paste on a smile before slipping into the penthouse at a quarter till six. Nonny and Elliot are at the table, working on a set of algebra problems. His hair is damp, probably from a recent shower. Nonny’s in a bright pink v-neck shirt and loose shorts. Her hair rests on top of her head in a messy bun with a pencil stuck through it. She taps her mouth with the eraser end of another pencil as she scowls at the numbers.