Page 121 of Married to Lies

“I’m going to sleep now and come to the hospital when I wake up,” Jada said, yawning so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Glamma’s going to come visit Rei with me.”

“Sounds great,” I replied. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you... Is Bryce around? Can I talk to him?”

“Sure.”

I paced the deserted hospital hallway filled with extra medical equipment while I waited for Bryce to come to the phone. When he did, I said, “We need to talk.”

“What is it?” he asked.

Even though no one was around, I lowered my voice. “The police want to question me about the incident.”

“Good,” Bryce said. “I’m glad they’re taking it seriously.”

“Me too.” I took a deep breath. “But you heard what Jude said in our meeting. He said if I cared about her, then I should get security on her. Do you think...” It was too horrible to say, but I couldn’t stay silent, not when it came to getting justice for my wife. “Do you think he had something to do with it?”

Bryce was silent for a long moment. Too long. “When it comes to Jude, he’s done things in the last few months I never thought he was capable of.”

“Like the vote?” I asked, remembering the shock of Jude trying to vote his best friend out of the company.

“It’s more than that,” Bryce said.

“What?” I asked.

“I can’t say. But it’s bad, Q. He’s not the man we thought he was.”

My stomach churned as I considered the possibility that Jude knew this was coming—or worse, he’d been a part of it somehow. Either way, I said, “We can’t have someone in the business that we can’t trust.”

“I agree,” Bryce said. “I… I have a plan to get him out.” As he told me what he had in mind, my jaw fell slack. Both at what he wanted to do and at the fact that I wanted to help him.

Anyone who put Rei at risk had no business being around her or my company.

59 Rei

One week later

On my way out of my office, I stopped at the light switch and turned around to examine the room.

All the tiny pieces of Conrad’s fake diplomas and lamps had been cleared away. Now the room was clean, with soft lighting and photos I chose hanging on the wall behind my desk. The trio of black-and-white images were from my wedding day. In the center was me in my wedding gown in front of the fake Eiffel Tower. On the right side was a photo of Jada and me in wedding attire, hugging each other, smiling big. And on the left, a photo of my first kiss with Quentin.

On my desk, there was a framed photo of George walking me down the aisle, a reminder that I got to choose my family, whether by blood, adoption, or simply by choice.

Of course, the rest of the room was designed to match my style too. There was a cozy plush chair in the corner, a desk chair wide enough so I could sit crisscross if I pleased, and a wardrobe in the corner to hold all my outfit changes, because if I was going to have clothes designed by THE Ambrosia, I needed to have them ready at any moment.

With a peaceful sigh, I flicked off the switch and left the office. Steve walked alongside me in the hallway, hand on the small gun on his holster. I preferred that better than the big one.

George’s wife, Scarlett, smiled at me from her seat at the reception desk. “Enjoy your afternoon, and tell my husband I love him.”

I smiled. “You know I will.”

Steve and I walked out of the office, where a running car waited for us.

On the way to MyHome, George and I chitchatted while Steve kept an eye on cars around us. After nearly dying, I’d never complain about him or his guns again. We were still trying out nicknames though.

When we got to The Tower, George held the door open for me. “Scarlett and I will see you tomorrow morning.” Now that she worked for me, we could all ride together in the morning. It was fun seeing them interact and gave me hope that maybe Quentin and I would have a kind, loving relationship like them in another twenty or thirty years.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I agreed, leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Let’s get inside,” Steve said, glancing around.