Secret Regrets (Living For Today #2) (17 page)

My husband.
Holy crap.

Excitement and nerves took hold of me as I let that realization roll around in my head some more. It’d barely been twenty-four hours, and I really hadn’t had time to process it all.

“You said she would be subpoenaed by the courts as my fiancée, so we changed it. We were getting married anyway, so we just made it sooner. So speak.”

Bryant’s snide remark had Jennifer trembling as she tried to regain her composure.

“Bryant, I am your mother. You have taken so much from me already by not going to an Ivy League school that I cannot believe you would take this experience from me as well. Don’t you think I would want to be at your wedding?”

If I hadn’t watch her mouth move as the whining spewed out, I would have missed the quiver in her lip. Eleanor was actually hurt that she hadn’t been there?

“I’m sorry, Mother. I don’t know why it didn’t cross my mind to have you celebrate my marriage to the woman I love. I mean, after all, you have been so nice to Rose since you arrived.” Bryant threw it all right back in her face, ignoring the tear that trickled down her rosy-hued cheek.

“Right!” Her voice escalated to a screeching sound as she tossed her arms up into the air. “I should have liked the woman who now has you fighting a murder charge. The woman who had you a wreck for five years. The
woman
who sent you into the bottom of a bottle after killing your baby.”

I heard the smack, I felt the sting, but even then, it didn’t click. Looking down at my hand, the fair pink color of the palm of my hand was turning red as the blood rushed to the area. I redirected my glare to Eleanor’s shocked expression, her jaw dangling in the air as the room filled with silence. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke, frozen in time and space in one moment, then fast-forwarding by in a blur as everyone reacted to the physical assault on my new mother-in-law. Guess I wouldn’t be welcomed into the family any time soon.

“You slapped me!” Eleanor screeched.

“Get out!” Bryant roared. “That’s it. You’re done. Don’t come back,
Eleanor
.”

Eleanor snatched up her bag and stomped to the door, slinging it open as she looked back at the three of us still standing in the living room. “Bryant, when you see the light, call me.” Striding out, she swung the door shut behind her with a thud.

As the sound of the door closing hit my ears, my body relaxed instantaneously. I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders at finally being free of that atrocious woman and all of her malicious meddling.

“So…” Jennifer’s sing-song voice cut through the tension of the moment.

All my worry and stress came flooding back as I remembered Eleanor was the money behind Bryant’s lawyer, and we may have just made several decisions that would alter Bryant’s freedom. Could I survive being married to a man in prison? Giving my head a shake to clear my wayward thoughts, I looked at Jennifer, waiting for the other shoe to drop. My stomach knotted up and readied to purge.

“Jennifer, please. Everything we went through, don’t tell me you are with my mother. You know how suffocating she was.”

My head spun around to look at Bryant, hoping he’d say more, curious at what all had they been through, but not sure I actually wanted to know.

“Oh no, Bryant. You have to know me better than that. That was deplorable! Rose, don’t get me wrong. You are now married to the man I love — have loved my entire life, I feel like — but that was just uncalled for.” Shaking her head, she had disgust written all over her face. “She signed a contract. I’ll send her a bill, and she’ll pay. You are fine. Now, can we please work on your defense?” A huff slipped out her lips at the exasperation of it all, the moment of humanity she’d let us glimpse tucked away and replaced with her chic confident façade.

“Are you okay?” Bryant’s concerned voice reached my ears just as his fingers danced along my arm.

A tingle slid through my body, desperate to just rewind to last night and be within Bryant’s warm embrace once more.

“I’m fine, Bryant.” I replied, unsure why he was so worried about me. We’d almost just lost our best chance at his freedom, and we needed to focus on that.

“She shouldn’t have brought up Angelica. You are not responsible for that — or anything that happened after.” I could see the tears glistening in his eyes, making them shine as he seemed to try to gauge my emotions.

“Bryant, really, I’m fine. Trust me, anything your mom says goes in one ear and out the other. It stung, but not as much as my hand after smacking her. She is just a cold-hearted bitch. I’m sorry. I know she is your mom, but she won’t be anywhere near our children. Know that now.”

A carefree laugh bubbled out of Bryant as his fingers entwined with mine, and he tugged me into his body, letting every piece of his body mesh with mine as we held each other tightly, grasping for a sense of normalcy.

“Should I just leave?” Jennifer asked, and every piece of me wanted to point to the door, but I knew better.

Pulling back, I looked up in to the chocolate-brown eyes that held my heart. I was so grateful we’d found our way to each other, so blessed to be his wife, and so hopeful for our future.

“Let’s do this,” I announced as we all took a seat on the couches and began hashing out the details of the self-defense plan.

We talked and talked until the wee hours of the night, my eyes getting heavy and droopy as I fought off the sleep begging to take over. My mouth spread wide as a yawn escape my lips, so big my eyes watered.

“Yeah, we should wrap this up. We can work on it more tomorrow, and then the court date is at the end of the week, so we need to be ready. Will you be okay with us working on it without you?” Jennifer asked, narrowing her eyes on me and energizing me up instantly.

“Can you stay out of my
husband’s
bed?” I threw out, taken aback that after such a productive day, we were taking two steps back.

Standing up, Jennifer pulled her trademark Louis Vuitton tote bag on her shoulder and walked to the door with a smirk on her face.

I shot up and could feel Bryant hot on my heels.

“As long as he doesn’t want me there.” She chuckled, smacking her lips together and shooting Bryant a wink.

“Jenn, seriously?” he asked from behind me, frustration pouring off his body so much I could feel the tension.

“Oh, Bryant, she makes it too easy. I mean, if you want me, you can have me, but you seem occupied at the moment. I make it a habit to not lie in my personal life, so if you want me and are ready to leave her, you can have me.” Jennifer strutted out the door, swaying her hips seductively. I didn’t even think she realized she was doing it. Being sexy and sultry was just her nature, engrained in her and flowing through her veins.

My shoulders slumped in defeat; I was beaten down and exhausted from the day.

“Rose?” Bryant’s worried voice asked as he stepped closer to me, his warm breath caressing my neck.

“Don’t — don’t apologize or ask if I’m okay. Just take me upstairs, wash away the day with me, and make love to your wife,” I pleaded, desperate to reconnect with Bryant after our trying day. I needed to be strong and not put my stress on him with everything going on. I was just ready to forget, move on, and be.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

T
HERE WAS A KNOT IN
THE
bench that made a chaotic spiral in the golden wood grain. It was all I could focus on right now, because I was literally sick to my stomach. I had already puked twice that morning, and, despite the calm confident exterior Jennifer was presenting, I was feeling the polar opposite.

“Hey, breathe, you’re turning a little blue,” Jordan whispered in my ear. He had come back for the trial, my knight in shining armor once again.

Beside him, Leslie and Grant sat hand in hand. We were a unit, a force to be reckoned with.

I prayed with my might that today would shine a light on the end.

The bailiff spoke aloud, but it may as well have been in another language, because I just saw his mouth flapping and garbled noise come out.

“Rose, you have to stand. The judge is coming out,” Jordan ordered, tugging on my arm to pull me with him.

My eyes quickly locked onto the woman who was responsible for saving my life, saving Bryant. She was dressed in a tailored charcoal suit with a pencil skirt and a white buttoned-up blouse, looking like the most trustworthy woman in Florida.

The judge took his seat and then ordered the
inmate
brought in. My mouth had a bitter taste from the word, so dirty and venomous. Bryant was an inmate, possibly a felon, if Jennifer didn’t work her magic. She had told us in our last meeting that this was just a stepping-stone but a crucial one to our goal of freeing and clearing Bryant.

The jingle of the bailiff’s keys slapping against his leg captured my attention as he escorted Bryant to his seat. Sneaking a quick peek back at me, he winked, setting my nerves at temporary ease.

I sat and listened, worrying a handkerchief I had brought with me to spare my cuticles. Both sides were adamantly arguing their points, and I truly wasn’t sure which side was winning because it seemed to sway with each argument. Jordan would gasp and sigh then curse under his breath and cheer, and I could feel the nausea bubbling up once more. I couldn’t take this stress much longer. My hair had literally begun falling out, and I’d already lost weight from not stomaching food well.

The gavel came careening down, bringing order back to the courtroom. Jennifer spun on her heels, and I could tell by her mischievous smirk that we were up, and she was gearing up for a blow to the defense. She had tells, I had learned quickly. —, when she was up to something, when she wanted something, and the one I’d grown to watch for the most, when she knew she had something that would nail an ass to the floor. And right now, she had something.

Swiping a piece of paper, she winked at Bryant, and a smirk tilted the corner of his mouth.

“Your Honor, I’d like to direct your attention to this piece of evidence we have submitted. Here you’ll find three witness testimonies, attesting to the fact that the assault was instigated by Darren Parker, and my client, Bryant Matthews, was the victim. Sadly, the prosecution is simply trying to find a scapegoat because the system didn’t properly protect my client’s wife from a predator. The victim is the Matthews family, and Mr. Matthews did what any loving husband would. He protected his wife and himself.”

The judge nodded, and a small smile of relief spread over my face, mirroring Bryant’s. The defense attorney scrambled. He had wanted the witness statements thrown out but had lost on that front, and it was now coming back to bite him. His shoulders slumped as he looked up at the judge.

“Your Honor, we ask for a recess while we organize our argument against these witness statements. The facts of the case are that Bryant Matthews sought out Darren Parker and murdered him in cold blood.”

The judge thumbed for some documents before him and looked back up. “Granted. We will reconvene in four hours. Be ready.”

Both attorneys nodded, and we all rose as the judge swept out of the room, his black robe billowing behind him.

“Great job, Jenn!” Bryant cheered as he wrapped his arms around his attorney.

I had to admit, at this point, even I wanted to hug her.

The prosecuting attorney stepped up and whispered into her ear, but Jennifer maintained her carefree smile and even laughed as he pulled away.

“Oh, Vince, please. We have you by the balls. You’re done. This is a clear case of self-defense, and you know it.”

The prosecutor chuckled and took his leave, and Leslie and Grant stood up and walked to the front of the courtroom.

I kept smiling as I spun toward a seated Jordan before freezing in my tracks as two ice-cold blue eyes narrowed in on me. The lack of a smile on his face served as my confirmation that Jordan was pissed.

“His wife?” he growled out.

It suddenly hit me that in all the craziness of life lately, I had never update him on my marital status.

Jordan shot up to his feet, knocking me down and causing a commotion as his body shook with rage.

“Whoa, whoa!” Grant called as he rushed over. “Your excitement getting the best of you?”

“You married him?” Jordan spat out, ignoring Grant and the growing crowd behind us.

Leslie reached out her hand and helped me up while Bryant was blocked from getting closer by a smiling Jennifer.

“Not here. Let’s go.” She took him by his shoulders and shoved him out the door, past his parents seated in the back row, watching the circus act before them.

“Jordan,” I began nervously, worrying my bottom lip with my teeth as I formulated words.

“Come on, Grant. They’re fine.” Leslie tugged on Grant’s arm, pulling him toward the exit, leaving me alone with a furious Jordan.

My white knight had suddenly turned dark, and I didn’t know which way was up.

“You married him? Seriously? Like it’s legal? You’re his wife?” Jordan asked incredulously.

“Um, yes. Seriously. According to the state of Florida, it’s legit.” The nausea bubbled furiously, and I wasn’t sure how long I could stand there and tap it down.

“See, it’s even making you sick thinking about it. You married a murderer. Seriously, Rose. I mean, I get it was Darren. Hell, I wanted to kill him — but he
killed
him. How does that make Bryant any better?”

“Jordan, I had to,” I forced out, wishing I could suck it back in. I saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes and knew he’d taken it completely wrong.

“He made you marry him? What? Why? Did he threaten you? Rose, tell me. I will help you. I’ll save you.”

“No. Jordan, no. Listen to me.” I pulled in a deep breath, blowing it out through my pursed lips. “I found him in bed with Jennifer, and I left. I was devastated.”

“Well, I’d imagine so!” Jordan scoffed.

“It wasn’t what it looked like…”

Jordan chuckled sardonically, and I pushed forward, ignoring the I-told-you-so expression.

“She had slipped in, and I was on the outs because of only being his fiancée, even you said so. I was on the outs because I could be subpoenaed. So we changed it. I married him. It was my choice. It was just sooner than we had planned. I love him Jordan, and you know that. I love you, but I’m not
your
one
. You can do better than me.” I chuckled, hoping to lighten the tension building in the courtroom.