AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And now? Where does this leave us, our marriage?”
“It’s legal. My changes to my name came through the government’s database.”
“How did you manage that without going to the authorities?” he asked raising an eyebrow her way.
“Do youreallywant to know the answer to that? Wouldn’t you prefer to remain in the dark in case the government ever comes knocking on the door?”
“Are they likely to?”
“Not unless someone tells them to check on me,” she admitted.
Luke let out a sigh as he processed everything he’d just heard.
“Dani, I should let you go. I know I should but…” He broke off as the phone rang.
“Luke Nolan,” he answered putting it on speakerphone when he saw the bank’s number.
“Mr. Nolan, this is Martin Miles from…”
“I know who you are Mr. Miles, what can I do for you?”
“We’ve just received notice of an exceptionally large transfer of money into your account. It’s for four million, six hundred seventy-three thousand, eight hundred eighty-seven dollars…”
Luke shot Dani a curious look and she shielded her eyes. “Yes, it is the money from my wife’s prior account. Her checkbook was misplaced while we were in London, and we wanted to ensure no one could steal it.”
“Would you like it all to be deposited into your account Mr. Nolan?”
“No, I believe my wife mixed up the digits on our accounts when she set up the transfer and instead of going into her secondary account it showed up in mine,” Luke said not about to take it now. It didn’t matter anymore, not with the truth between them finally.
“I can fix the transfer and have it deposited into her account. Do you know if she wishes for it all to remain as is? We have several account managers who would be happy to guide her through investment options.”
“I will discuss it with her and let you know. Thank you, Mr. Miles.”
“Of course, Mr. Nolan,” he replied as Luke ended the call. He turned back towards her and raised an eyebrow.
“You really want out, don’t you?” he stated.
“I just wanted to stop the fighting, Luke. I’m so tired of it. I can’t take it anymore.”
“Is this all because of the panic attack caused by the claustrophobia?”
“No, before your parents called, I was just sitting in that tub trying to find…”
“What, trying to find what?” he asked crossing over to her and bringing her chin up to look at him. There was a deadness in her eyes that scared him. “Good lord Dani, please tell me you weren’t thinking of killing yourself?”
“I wish I could but for a moment there the thought crossed my mind and that’s when I realized how much worse it was,” she admitted as tears hit her again.
“What could be worse than thinking of…Dani, baby, please talk to me,” he urged as she shut herself off from him again.
“I couldn’t even find the will to do it Luke. All it would have taken was to slip under the water and wait, but I couldn’t do it. Didn’t feel like exerting even that much effort to it.”
“Baby, you’re scaring me here,” he whispered trying to imagine a world without her.
“I scared myself and that’s when I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I can’t live feeling like this. I need to find something Luke, anything that will end this disconnect that I feel.”
“Stay with me Dani, at least until you’re you again,” he stated pulling her up against him. “If you can’t stand the idea of being with me, I’ll manage, but I can’t let you walk out that door knowing you won’t take care of yourself. Won’t fight for yourself.”
Dani somehow felt even worse than she had before she’d made up the half-truth. His reaction was close to what she’d expected but she hadn’t anticipated the tenderness in his voice, or his touch and it was pulling at her heart. She’d fallen in love with him when he was being a complete jerk, but this…this was the side of him she’d seen when they’d first started dating and she was terrified.
