Chapter 2 - The Marriage Nobody Was Supposed to Know About
Audrey followed Marianne into the butler's pantry and closed the door.
"You know we're married?"
Marianne examined a wineglass.
"I know you dragged my grieving son to a courthouse."
"Dragged him?"
"Perhaps persuaded is the polite word."
Audrey folded her arms.
"Ethan asked me."
"Of course he did."
"You weren't there."
"No. Convenient."
Audrey felt anger rising but forced it down.
"I wanted him to tell you himself."
"Why?"
"Because you're his mother."
Marianne put the glass down.
"Then why hasn't he?"
The question hit harder than Audrey expected.
She looked away.
Marianne noticed.
That was her gift.
Finding the place where someone already hurt and pushing a finger into it.
"He knows," Marianne continued, "that this marriage was a mistake."
"No."
"Does he introduce you as his wife?"
"He hasn't had the chance."
"Four months."
"There were circumstances."
"There are always circumstances when a man regrets something."
Audrey reached for the pantry door.
Marianne blocked it.
"You should understand something before today gets complicated."
"Move."
"This house isn't yours."
"I never said it was."
"But Ethan has."
Audrey stared at her.
Marianne's voice lowered.
"Eleanor's trust had conditions."
"What conditions?"
"Ask your husband."
Audrey's hand remained on the doorknob.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
Marianne stepped aside.
Audrey opened the door.
Ethan stood in the kitchen.
For one terrible second she thought he had heard everything.
His expression suggested he had not.
He smiled.
"There you are."
Audrey walked past Marianne.
"We need to talk."
Ethan saw her face.
"What happened?"
"Privately."
Robert entered from the hall.
"Sorry, Ethan, one more signature."
Ethan looked irritated.
"Can it wait?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Audrey looked at the document in Robert's hand.
"What is it?"
Robert answered before Ethan could.
"Routine property paperwork."
Marianne appeared behind Audrey.
"Family business."
Audrey turned.
The words were deliberate.
Ethan caught the tension.
"Audrey is family."
Robert smiled.
"Of course."
But he moved the paper closer to his chest.
Ethan touched Audrey's arm.
"Give me ten minutes."
"You said five."
"I know."
She wanted to tell him immediately.
Your mother knows.
Your mother says there are conditions attached to this house.
Your mother thinks you're ashamed of marrying me.
Instead Nora threw banana onto the floor.
Everyone looked down.
Audrey exhaled.
"Ten minutes."
Ethan kissed her cheek and left again.
Marianne watched.
"You see?"
Audrey turned away.
The day grew louder.
Florists arrived.
Then caterers.
Then Vivian Bennett, Ethan's thirty-three-year-old sister, wearing sunglasses large enough to conceal half her face.
Unlike Marianne, Vivian hugged Audrey sincerely.
"You look exhausted."
"I am."
"Good. Means you're officially family."
Audrey laughed despite herself.
Vivian kissed Nora and handed her a stuffed rabbit.
Marianne entered.
"Don't give her that. It doesn't match the nursery."
Vivian rolled her eyes.
"She's a baby, Mom, not a hotel lobby."
For the first time that morning, Audrey felt she had an ally.
Then Vivian looked at her more carefully.
"Did Ethan tell you?"
Audrey's smile disappeared.
"Tell me what?"
Vivian glanced toward Marianne.
Marianne's jaw tightened.
"Nothing."
Audrey stepped closer.
"What was he supposed to tell me?"
Vivian hesitated.
Marianne spoke sharply.
"Vivian."
"What?"
"Go help with the flowers."
Vivian stared at her mother.
"I'm thirty-three."
"And somehow still incapable of recognizing when you're interfering."
Audrey didn't move.
"Tell me."
Vivian looked guilty.
"It's probably nothing."
"People keep saying that today."
Vivian lowered her voice.
"There's a trust meeting Monday."
"What trust?"
"Eleanor's estate."
Audrey remembered Marianne's words.
This house isn't yours.
"What about it?"
Vivian glanced toward Ethan's study.
"Uncle Robert found an amendment."
Marianne snapped.
"Enough."
Audrey turned toward her.
"An amendment to what?"
No answer.
Audrey walked toward the study.
Marianne grabbed her wrist.
"Do not embarrass Ethan."
Audrey looked down at the hand.
Then back up.
"Take your hand off me."
Something in Audrey's face made Marianne obey.
Audrey continued down the hall.
Before she reached the study, the door opened.
Robert stepped out.
He nearly collided with her.
"Audrey."
"Ethan?"
"Taking a call."
She tried to look past him.
Robert moved into the doorway.
"What amendment did you find?"
The smile vanished.
"Vivian has always had trouble keeping things to herself."
"What amendment?"
Robert sighed.
"Eleanor's trust contains a residential clause."
"In English."
"If Ethan marries under certain circumstances, the property can revert to another beneficiary."
Audrey's stomach tightened.
"What circumstances?"
Robert's gaze drifted toward the kitchen.
"That is still being interpreted."
"Who is the other beneficiary?"
Robert did not answer.
Audrey didn't need him to.
"Marianne."
His silence confirmed it.
Audrey stared at the closed study door.
"Does Ethan know?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Robert hesitated.
That was answer enough.
Audrey pushed past him.
Robert caught the door.
"Audrey, this is not the moment."
She turned.
"When someone tells me my husband may lose our home because he married me, I get to decide the moment."
The study door opened from inside.
Ethan stood there holding his phone.
He saw her expression.
"What happened?"
Audrey looked into the face she trusted more than anyone else's.
"How long have you known about the trust amendment?"
May you like
His silence lasted two seconds.
It felt like two years.
