“And you let them? That doesn’t sound like the Nita I know.”
“Of course I didn’t. I resisted every step of the way. My parents presented me with an endless stream of potential husbands. To my parents’ dismay, I turned them all down in the rudest way possible. That was, until Mark.”
Nita’s eyes grew distant. “He was the son of a family friend. My parents invited him and his parents over for dinner without telling me. I was furious until I saw him. He was one of the most handsome people I’d ever seen. But he soon proved to be arrogant and frustrating.”
Hadn’t Yvonne felt that way too, when she’d first laid eyes on Ruby? That intense physical attraction, followed immediately by irritation?
“After dinner, our parents sent the two of us out for a walk, alone. We ended up wandering the neighborhood for what seemed like hours, venting to each other about how crazy our parents were when it came to marriage. His were even worse than mine. And on that walk, he proposed that we marry each other just to get them off our backs. Against all my better judgment, I agreed. A couple of months later, we were married.
“We moved in together and basically became roommates, playing the happy couple for our parents. But slowly, the two of us grew closer. Slowly, we went from roommates to something more.” Nita smiled. “And here we are, three kids and almost twenty-five years later, still together.”
“I had no idea,” Yvonne said. “The two of you seem like such a normal married couple.”
“That’s because we are. Why do you think I’ve stuck with Mark through everything he’s put the family through with this business of his, all the mistakes he’s made? It’s because I love him. Yvonne, sometimes fate throws people together. But embracing that fate, embracing love? That’s a choice only you can make.”
Yvonne shook her head. “What’s between Ruby and me, it isn’t fate, or love. It’s just money, and sex, and emotions.”
“Do you truly believe that, or are you just telling yourself that because it makes this easier?”
Yvonne didn’t answer her.
Nita tilted her head, studying Yvonne. “Why did you marry Ruby in the first place?”
Yvonne frowned. Did she even know the answer herself? While she’d ostensibly gotten married to solve a problem, was that truly the only reason she’d married Ruby? Had there been a part of her that had simply married Ruby because she’d felt that pull, that attraction to her, from the moment their eyes had met in that bar?
Would Yvonne have gone through with the marriage if she hadn’t felt anything toward Ruby at all?
She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Everything between us is too messy, too complicated. It was never going to work.”
There was no point in fighting it. Ruby’s bags were packed. She already had one foot out the door.
It was over.
Chapter 25
Yvonne parked her car out the front of Bill Marsden’s law offices. She’d come straight from work. Ruby hadn’t arrived yet, but she’d promised to show.
Not that it mattered at this point. Yvonne had spent the entire week trying to think of a way to convince Bill to give her the money, but she hadn’t come up with anything. She didn’t know if the news that her marriage to Ruby was a sham had reached Bill himself, but even if it hadn’t, Yvonne didn’t have a witness to vouch for them. The meeting was pointless.
She got out of the car. As she spotted Ruby heading in her direction, she felt a tightness in her chest. Over the course of the past week and a half, the two of them had barely spoken to, or even seen each other, despite still living together. The gulf that had formed between them was insurmountable.
Yvonne approached her. “Ready to go in?”
Ruby nodded.
“Ruby, I-”
“Let’s just do this.”
Yvonne headed into the office, Ruby behind her. After speaking to Bill’s secretary, they took a seat in the waiting room. They were early, so they sat in silence while they waited. Ruby wouldn’t even look at Yvonne.
After a few minutes, the door to the waiting room swung open. In walked Madison, dressed casually and looking hurried.
She spotted Yvonne. “Good, you’re here.”
Yvonne frowned. “What are you doing here?” Madison was due to leave for her honeymoon later in the evening. “Shouldn’t you be at the airport? Is there a problem?”
“No, everything is fine. We rescheduled our flight for tomorrow morning.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I’m here to be your witness.”
Yvonne blinked. “What are you talking about?” She lowered her voice. “I’m not going to ask you to lie for me.”
“I don’t intend to.”
“I don’t understand-”
The door to Bill’s office opened. An older man wearing a pair of reading glasses stepped out into the waiting room.
“Yvonne, are you ready?” Bill said.
Yvonne looked at Madison, who nodded. She looked at Ruby, who would barely meet her eye. Yvonne wasn’t ready at all.
But there was no point in delaying the inevitable.
“We’re ready,” Yvonne said.
She stood up and followed Bill into his office, Ruby and Madison behind her.
“Hello, Yvonne.”
A chill went down Yvonne’s spine. She turned to see Nicholas leaning casually against the wall, a dark look on his face.
“Nicholas,” Yvonne hissed. “What the hell are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from me and Ruby?”
“What do you think? I was just telling Bill all about your little marriage arrangement.” Nicholas crossed his arms. “Did you think I was going to let you get away with this? Did you think I was going to let some hooker get her paws on Father’s money?”
Yvonne’s hands curled
