My tongue scooped the dry muffin crumbs in my mouth, and I tried to swallow them.
One of the other lawyers, an older guy, stood and tugged at his trouser legs. “Now that we’re assembled, Mr. Romanov, maybe you could tell us what the actual hell is going on.”
“Today’s meeting should be quick,” Nicolai said. “We’re dissolving the marriage. I understand that Nevada has a no-harm-no-foul annulment clause for people who marry and then think better of their actions. We’ll be utilizing that option.”
My jaw dropped, and the coffee cup sloshed too-warm coffee over its gilded rim onto my finger.
Three of the lawyers, including the sharp guy who’d stood first and accused me of roofieing Nicolai, sat and leaned back in their chairs, crossing their legs and smirking at each other.
So those people on that side over there werehislawyers, including the smart one who was cherry-picking what I’d said and the woman who’d rolled her eyes at my jeans. The two teams had conveniently grouped themselves on opposing sides of the coffee table with the bowl of shiny apples.
I shot Nicolai death glares from where I stood across the room, my spoon clinking like a chain ratcheting as I stirred my coffee. “I didn’t agree to that.”
The lady who’d designated herself my protector crossed her arms and braced herself like she was on a rocking ship.“My clientsays she didn’t agree to that.”
I appreciated this woman.
Nicolai stood quietly, not leaning on a doorframe or chair. “An immediate annulment is the best option.”
Confronting me in semi-public wouldn’t make me cave. “I told you thatI won’t leave youin this situation.”
The lawyers were eyeballing each other. Nicolai’s smart one on the right asked,“Whatsituation?”
Nicolai said, “It’s a private matter,” just as I yelled across the room,“I mean it!I’m not going toabandonyou like that.”
The older attorney on the couch looked at my lawyer, who was still on her feet and braced for battle. “Mediation or court?”
I should have started negotiating for money as soon as Nicolai had said we were done. If I were smart and demanded cash to leave, I might have landed on my feet.
But I wasn’t smart. Stupidly loyal, yes, and that was why Jimmy had been able to take advantage of me. “Nicolai,” I said. “I won’t leave you to deal with them alone.”
I knew I should give up and state a figure, and Nicolai would pay pretty much any amount I named.
But every cell in my body fought against deserting someone in trouble.
That video had been a threat directed atme,and I wasn’t going to ditch Nicolai and let him take the consequences. I’d signed that marriage license yesterday, knowing bad people were trying to control him.
This was just a very specific, horrible detail.
My lawyer lady turned to face me. “I’ve got some advice for you, woman to woman. Don’t stay with a man who doesn’t want you. Especially one you married only a few days ago and don’t have a pre-nup with. We can negotiate this in court so that you won’t lose anything at all.”
“It’s not that,” I told her. “There are otherreasons.”
“There are no otherreasons,”Nicolai said, crossing his arms. His sarcastic mimic was embarrassing. “This marriage is over. Indeed, it never was a real marriage.”
The sharp lawyer-guy on Nicolai’s side said, “I reviewed the livestream of the wedding, Mr. Romanov. You were obviously not of sound mind. A legal annulment is an easy affair. We can ask for damages if she slipped something in your drink before the ceremony.”
I scowled at that guy who was insinuating something really nasty. “I wasn’t even around Nicolai when he got wasted that first night. Those bad decisions were all his own,” I said, just as the lady-lawyer on my side shook her head at me so violently that her braids shimmied down to their beaded ends. Against the advice of counsel, which meant I was doing something dumb, I pressed on. “Didyousee the video on social media from the Omnialast night,where Nicolai was introducing me to all his friends as ‘my wife?’ Did you see the even better wedding rings that he bought for me yesterday and then we had blessed at the same church by the same priest?”
I splayed my left hand near my face, and a fortuitous beam of sunlight hit the ginormous diamond in the center.
Rainbow sparkles laser-beamed all over the living room.
My lawyer lit up with a huge grin, and she spun to face the other lawyers in feline victory. She did shoot back over her shoulder, “You should shut up now, but that sounds like it will be very,veryuseful. This is going to befun.”
One of the other lawyers who’d been quiet thus far groaned. “Oh, God. When Victoria hasfun,we lose money.”
Nicolai had barely swayed on his feet through all that. “Lexi, it’s over. This marriage has been a debacle from the start, and it has to end beforesomeone gets hurt.”
