Page 41 of Married to Lies

Jada and I both stared at him.

“But she does stand to gain a lot of money if she leaves me,” he conceded.

“I’m not leaving you.” Jada reached behind her, putting her hand on his knee. Looking me straight in the eyes, she said, “I’m staying with Bryce because I love him, but yes, I signed a version of the prenup Quentin told you about.”

“A version?” I asked, thoroughly confused. So much was happening here that I felt overwhelmed.

Jada and Bryce exchanged another look, and he nodded.

“I negotiated our contract,” Jada said. “I had him agree that any child I had would be taken care of, as well as my grandma, even if we separated and assets were tied up in the legal system.”

My lips parted. It was the first time today I’d thought of asking for something from Quentin. But I quickly shook the thought. What was I thinking? “I can’t believe this is happening,” I said finally, wrapping my arms around myself. “It’s like I went on this cute date and all of a sudden, down is up.”

Jada grinned, eyes squinting. “So the date went well?” Her face scrunched with embarrassment. “Sorry I fell asleep on my phone earlier.”

“Yes, the date went well, until he proposed!”

Jada shook her head. “Look, I can’t tell you what to do, but I can say marrying Bryce has been the best decision of my life.”

With a soft smile, he bent to kiss the top of her head.

“Ugh, gross,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair and drawing my knees up.

Bryce chuckled, but his shoulders were still tense.

“What do you think you’ll say?” Jada asked. Like I was responding to a job offer or examining a used car for sale. Not a marriage proposal.

“I mean, there’s a lot to consider,” I said, tapping my chin dramatically. “Simon’s been attacked twice, my best friend turned her marriage into a business deal without telling me, and who knows what else has happened behind the scenes!” I gave them a pointed look.

Jada’s gaze flicked down. “It’s a lot.”

Bryce shook his head. “If you’re really considering this, you should know that we’re being spied on too.”

Jada and I both stared at him.

“Spied on?” she said sharply.

Bryce sighed, rubbing his temples. “Quentin found a bug—a recording device—in his office just before Rei arrived here.”

My jaw dropped, and a shiver clattered up my spine. If Quentin found it, that meant they were going to search for who placed it.

He took it as me being cold and got up, passing me a throw blanket from a ladder leaned against the wall. “Jude wants us all to work from home until the building can be inspected.”

“Fuck Jude,” Jada said roughly.

I stared at her. She never talked about people like that. Hardly ever cursed, really.

“Sorry,” she said. “He tried to have Bryce voted out of his position.”

“That’s fucked up,” I managed.

“So who do you think put the bug there?” Jada asked Bryce. “One of Simon’s kids?”

Bryce shrugged. “They haven’t been in the building for a long time. Security’s reviewing footage now. Soon we’ll have a list to investigate further.”

A cold trickle went down my spine. Shit. Shit. Shit. If Quentin found out I’d been the one to bug him, our cleaning contract would definitely be cancelled. I needed to tell him what was going on. But I didn’t want him turning me in to the police or using it as leverage either.

Jada said, “You don’t need to worry about your safety, Rei. Once you get married, Simon’s kids won’t do anything to prevent it.”