Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
I sat down beside her, close enough to touch but not quite ready to. “Lyla filed a motion to challenge our marriage.”
The color drained from her face. “What does that mean?”
“She’s claiming marriage fraud. Saying we only got married to influence the custody case.”
Gianna set down her book with shaking hands. “Can she do that?”
“She’s doing it. The hearing is in ten days.”
“Ten days?” Her voice rose to almost a whisper. “Colby, what happens if she wins?”
I reached for her hands, needing the contact as much as she did. “We fight it. We prove that what we have now is real.”
“But how? She’s right about how it started. We did get married for the custody case. The timing, the circumstances. It all looks exactly like what she’s claiming.”
“The beginning doesn’t matter. What matters is what we’ve built since then.”
Gianna pulled her hands free and stood up, beginning to pace the living room like a caged animal. “What if the judge doesn’t see it that way? What if they decide we’re both criminals?”
“That won’t happen.”
“You don’t know that.” She turned to face me, and I could see the fear in her eyes. “Colby, I could go to jail. We both could. And Luca? God, what would happen to Luca if we both got arrested?”
“Stop.” I stood up and caught her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “That’s not going to happen. We’re going to fight this, and we’re going to win.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because what we have is real. Because I love you, and you love me, and that has to count for something.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “But what if it’s not enough? What if love isn’t enough to overcome the legal mess we’ve created?”
Before I could answer, the front door burst open and Luca came running in, backpack flying behind him and a huge grin on his face.
“Mom! Dad! Guess what happened at school today!” He skidded to a stop when he saw our faces, his excitement immediately shifting to concern. “What’s wrong? Why do you both look sad?”
Gianna quickly wiped her eyes and forced a smile. “Nothing, sweetheart. Just grown-up stuff. Tell us about school.”
But Luca wasn’t fooled. He’d grown expert at reading adult moods over the past few months, and he could tell something was seriously wrong.
“Did I do something bad?” he asked quietly, his voice small.
The simple question from my six-year-old son broke something open in my chest. He’d been so happy lately, so secure in our little family. The thought of him worrying that he was somehow responsible for our stress made me want to put my fist through the wall.
“No, buddy,” I said, kneeling down to his level. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re perfect. Sometimes grown-ups just have things to figure out.”
“But you look really worried. Like when I had that bad dream and couldn’t stop crying.”
Gianna knelt down beside me, reaching out to smooth Luca’s hair. “Hey, look at me. We’re going to be okay. All of us.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” she said without hesitation, and I could hear the steel in her voice that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
After Luca went upstairs to start his homework, Gianna and I sat back down on the couch in heavy silence. The fear was still there in her eyes, but underneath it was something harder, more determined.
“What do we need to do?” she asked.
“David says we need to show evidence of building a future together. Joint investments, long-term plans, things that prove we’re not just pretending until the custody case is over.”
“Okay. What kind of things?”
I thought about David’s suggestions, trying to figure out what would be most convincing to a judge. “We could look at buying a house together. Something bigger, with room for Luca to grow up. Maybe set up college savings accounts in both our names.”
“A house.” She was quiet for a moment, considering. “That’s a big step.”
“Too big?”
“No, not too big. Just . . . permanent. Real.”
“It is real, Gianna. Whatever happens with the legal stuff, what I feel for you is real.”
She looked at me then, really looked at me, searching my face for any sign of doubt or deception. “Even if we win the custody case and you don’t need a wife anymore for legal reasons?”
“Especially then. Because then I’ll get to keep you just because I want to, not because I have to.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do. And I love you for it.” She reached for my hand, threading our fingers together. “So, let’s do it. Let’s buy a house and set up college funds and plan a future together. Let’s give that judge so much evidence of our real marriage that Lyla’s accusations look ridiculous.”