"She must have drugged me." Dorian said.
"I do not believe so, sir. If you remember, you had your biannual blood testing immediately after your return from Vegas. Aside from the insane amount of alcohol in your system, there was nothing else."
Dorian looked back at the papers. "Then explain to me how I married a woman I don’t know."
"I have no answer for you, sir. I wasn’t privileged to go with you on your Vegas party."
Dorian slowly lifted his eyes. The look he gave him said very clearly, not now. Adrian wisely said nothing else. He reached for the remote control and switched on the television mounted across from him.
Immediate mistake.
The courthouse footage was playing again. He flipped the channel.
One woman looked directly into the camera and said, "At some point, we have to ask whether the common denominator is Mr. Heathcliffe."
Dorian changed the channel immediately.
HEATHCLIFFE MARRIED AGAIN
He flipped again.
MYSTERY WIFE DEMANDS DIVORCE
FOURTH TIME UNLUCKY?
"Who writes these things?" He changed the channel so hard he nearly snapped the button.
Finally, music.
Movies.
Apparently, only fictional people and musicians were gracious enough not to care about his marriage.
Everyone else in New York seemed personally invested. Adrian cleared his throat.
"Would you like me to contact the firm’s matrimonial counsel, sir?"
Dorian’s eyes moved to him. "No. Not yet." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his jaw. "I cannot have another divorce, Adrian."
"Then what do you want to do?" Adrian asked.
Dorian looked at the marriage file again. The answer came far too easily. "Stay married."
"Sir... You do not even know this woman."
"Exactly."
Adrian waited. Dorian gave him nothing else. Apparently, he was expected to somehow understand the logic.
He didn’t.
"Sir, with all due respect—"
"You will find out everything you can about her. Her past. Her present. Her future, if you can manage it. Family. Employment. Finances. Relationships. Criminal history. Ex-boyfriends. Enemies. Friends. Anything that might explain why a woman with three hundred dollars in her bank account desperately needs to divorce me."
"And I want everything by morning."
"Sir..." Adrian’s tone came dangerously close to whining.
Dorian looked up. Adrian immediately straightened.
"Yes, sir."
"Good." He picked up the marriage certificate again.
Naomi Bennet.
His wife.
He still could not believe it.
*****
Naomi was getting ready to leave for work. Her chef jacket was buttoned, her hair pulled back neatly, and her apartment keys were already in her hand.
She was running late.
Again.
Naomi slipped her phone into her bag. She reached for the door. It exploded inward. Naomi screamed.
The force slammed the door against the wall.
"Uncle Richard!"
Richard stormed into the apartment. His face was twisted with rage. Naomi took a step back.
"Uncle, what—"
The slap came before she could finish. His hand cracked across her face. Pain exploded through her cheek.
Naomi stumbled sideways, lost her balance and dropped hard to the floor. Her shoulder struck the edge of the small table on the way down.
For a second, she could only hear the ringing in her ears.
"You got married?!"
Naomi looked up at him. Her hand went to her face. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry," she repeated quickly. "I didn’t know."
"You didn’t know?" His voice rose.
Naomi flinched. "I swear. I didn’t know."
"I always told your aunt. I told her you were a whore. She didn’t believe me. She says, ’Oh, Naomi is a good girl. She just needs guidance.’" He mocked his wife’s voice cruelly.
Naomi pushed herself upright. Richard towered over her.
"After all we have done for you, this is how you repay us?"
"I’m trying to get a divorce," Naomi cried.
"You better pray your fiancé still wants you after all this." Richard pointed down at her. "You think that family is going to ignore the fact that you married another man?"
"It was a mistake."
"That is supposed to make it better?"
Naomi shook her head quickly. "No."
"You humiliated us. You embarrassed me. You have any idea what I have done for you? I have protected you all these years with my name," Richard said.
Naomi looked down. "I know."
"I help settle your father’s debts. I kept people from coming after you. And when I finally find us a way out of your family’s mess, you go and ruin it."
Naomi’s tears slid down her cheeks. "I didn’t mean to. I’ll fix it. I will. I promise. I promise I will fix it. I just need a couple more days. Please, Uncle."
Something cold flickered in his eyes.
"if your fiancé walks away from this deal, I will make sure you die in jail just like your mother. You know what? I am done helping you." Richard pointed at her. "You want to make grown-woman decisions? Fine."
Naomi slowly stood. Her cheek throbbed. "I’m sorry."
"I don’t care."
"Please."
"You are going to be covering the entire monthly payment for your father’s debts from now on," Richard threatened.
"No! No, please!" Naomi’s panic rose instantly. "I cannot afford it. Even with both of us paying, I haven’t been able to clear it off. Uncle, please, you cannot do this. Please."
Richard looked down at her like her desperation bored him. "You come up with this month’s payment. And if you cannot," he continued calmly, "get ready to spend a little time in jail."
Her face went pale. Richard gave a cold shrug.
"That should motivate you to work even harder."
"I’m already working two jobs!" she snapped.
Two jobs.
Barely enough time to remember what it felt like to exist without calculating bills in her head. Richard did not care.
"None of my business. You are not my blood," he said. "Why should I keep being responsible for you?"
Naomi swallowed. Richard had been saying different versions of the same thing for years.
Without us, you would have nothing.
And whenever Naomi started questioning whether she truly owed as much as he claimed, he somehow managed to make her feel ungrateful for even wondering.
"You are here not even trying to make my life easier," Richard continued. "I am constantly broke because of you. I cannot afford the things I should be able to afford because of you." he paced away from her, as though he was the exhausted victim in this situation. "My kids attend mediocre schools because of you!"