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“Is that a concern for you?”
“No, but expectations lead to disappointment.”
“Not always.”
I moved my body over his, resting my hands on his chest and my chin on the back of my hands. “Why did you agree to an arranged marriage?”
He frowned a little, as if trying to gauge why I was asking, but he answered. “There wasn’t much choice. It was what was expected of me.”
“Expected…”
He exhaled a sigh. “Not the same. Don’t let that derail you. The marriage was expected but marrying Sasha was also what was best for my family at the time. It was necessary and a small sacrifice to make for the greater goal.”
“You were miserable. So was it that small of a sacrifice?”
“Considering the alternative, yes.” Something shifted in his expression but I didn’t ask. I did wonder what thealternativewas.
“Why did you stay married for so long if things were so terrible between the two of you?”
“The arrangement was made pending certain terms that would rectify Sasha being an only child and a woman. She couldn’t take ownership of her family’s legacy, which meant if anything happened to her father, it was possible for someone else to step in and take everything he’d worked hard for. Sasha marrying me was a way to ensure she held onto her family’s money.”
“So now that you’re divorced, she owns everything?”
“No. I do.”
“Then I don’t get it.”
“Her father was smart but mine was smarter. The terms were manipulated to work in our favor. Because her father was desperate and greedy he overlooked things he shouldn’t have. He also trusted the wrong man.Myfather. The agreement should have been simple, everything transferring to me and as my wife Sasha would have been included which meant her family would still have a claim.”
“That didn’t happen.”
“No. I would have made sure it did because I wouldn’t have ever denied my wife anything. Her wishes would have canceled those of my father. She refused the option of being my wife beyond the paperwork that legally bound us.”
“You’re punishing her.”
He grunted at that.
“When the deal was made, I had no idea she was in love with someone else. However, it didn’t take long for me to find out. I gave her a choice. Five years is a very long time to be unhappy and we were contractually obligated to be with one another for that long. She could have walked away.”
“Why five years?”
“My father thought it would look good if she and I were married for several years before she was of age to gain control of everything. I married her when she turned twenty-five. Two days after her thirtieth birthday, we sat down with her family’s lawyers and mine for what she assumed would be the end of our marriage, the beginning of her family’s future stability, and her new life without me. Instead she received divorce papers and a copy of our marriage contract with the amendments my father added stating that Omari Corporation would assume complete ownership of her family's properties, money, and businesses. My father was a lawyer and a very good one. No one knows how to break the law more than a skilled attorney. Sasha had no legal ties to the Omari Corporation thus no claim to her family's legacy. A small detail the Motsepe family overlooked. I’m sure my father would have fucked me over as well but cancer took him before he could.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I sensed there was no love lost between Ezekiel and his father but giving condolences still felt like the right thing to do.
“I’m not,” he stated firmly, confirming my intuition about their relationship.
“You said your divorce was finalized the night we...”
He smirked because I didn’t finish the sentence. “It was. I’m sure you can imagine they didn’t just accept the terms and walk away. They fought. Spent a lot of money doing so to no avail. The contracts were ironclad. Three years after I filed, I was granted my divorce. She got to marry the man she was in love with and her family walked away very unhappy but that was on her. She could have ended things a long time ago. I gave her a choice.”
“Wouldn’t accepting that choice have meant everything her family owned would be yours.”
“I didn’t say it was an easy choice, or even a good one, but she had options. Stay and be a fucking wife or leave. We could have figured it out but she chose him over me and our marriage. Even after she openly cheated the first time, I gave her that same choice. Make things work or walk away. She chose to stay for her family but continued to dishonor her vows to me. So no, I’m not punishing her, I’m making sure she understands the consequences of her actions. Regardless, she still lost and so did her family.”
“She wasn’t the only one who lost. You gave her five years of your life in a terrible marriage and three years to completely sever ties.”
“I also gained ninety-eight percent ownership in a one point five billion dollar corporation for metal and mining in Africa.”
