Chapter 74

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

ASHLEY

When I walk into the kitchen, I'm not sure whether I'm relieved or not to discover Zain isn't there. His mom is though, and part of me wishes I could distract myself from facing her by dealing with Zain instead, and what happened last night.

But no. Heather Ryder is alone in the kitchen, and she spots me before I can retreat backward out of the door.

"Good morning, honey. Take a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Are you hungry?" Her voice is bright, which surprises me.

"I … umm …" I chew on my bottom lip then blurt out the words I'm thinking. "I'm so sorry about last night. My behavior was unacceptable."

She pauses in the process of taking down a cup from a shelf, and turns to face me.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't uncomfortable. But it also wasn't your fault. Zain and Sondra should never have put any of us in that situation. But I also should have expected Sondra to behave like that. And that's my fault."

"No. No, none of this is your fault. Zain brought me to your home, and?—"

"Ashley, sit down." Her voice is gentle, but firm. "No matter what happened, you are my son's wife, and if I want him to be comfortable here, then you need to be comfortable here."

"But—"

"We will get through this." Her voice is firm.

"But it was my fault you lost him for so many years."

She sighs. "You have convinced yourself that you're the only reason the jury convicted him. But, there's a reason there was a retrial, honey."

"I wasn't there to testify again. If I had, he might not have been released."

"I'm not so sure. You're not a child anymore, so the jury wouldn't have been swayed by your youth." She fills a pot with water and puts it on the stove. "There are a lot of discrepancies with the original trial that got swept under the rug. Have you thought about why no one spent too much time trying to find you to go over your initial testimony?"

"I thought they did try to find me?"

"Oh, they made a show of trying, but having you there wasn't important to either side. If what you had to say was important, then the prosecution would have moved heaven and earth to find you. They didn't. Don't you wonder why that was?"

"I haven't really thought about it."

In my defense, since that first moment when I heard he'd been released, I haven't had much time to think about anything.

"Zain is with his lawyer at the moment, and the MO-TV television crew will be here soon. You really should eat before they arrive and start asking questions." She turns back to the stove and makes tea for us both.

She places one cup down in front of me, and then takes the seat opposite. "Are you going to join Zain for the interview?"

"Yes, she is." The voice comes from behind me, and tension immediately stiffens my spine.

"Peter, I'd like you to meet Ashley."

A man I don't recognize moves around the table to where I sit and holds out one hand.

"Nice to finally put a face to the name."

I take his hand, and shake it. "Nice to meet you."

This is probably the man who wrote up the contract I signed. He knows the truth of the situation between me and Zain. He knows this marriage is a sham.

"If you're willing, I'd like to go over a few things you might be asked, so we can make sure you're both on the same page and don't contradict each other."

"Why would they?" Heather frowns.

"Nerves, mainly." He doesn't miss a beat. "Sometimes questions are asked in such a way they sound like one thing but mean something entirely different. We don't want this interview to go out and send the wrong message."

"Kyle has said we can use his office, so if you want to bring your drink and follow me? We don't have long before the crew will get here."

"I have a call to make, I'll catch up with you," Zain says, and moves toward the back door .

He pauses when he's at my side, and dips to press a kiss to my lips. "You were sleeping like the dead, so I didn't disturb you." His fingers brush over my cheek. "I'll be back shortly."

I know he did it because his mom is in the room, but my cheeks still heat up, memories of the night before filling my mind.

"I'll bring you some breakfast, honey. You go with Peter." Heather's voice is warm, and she's smiling when I look at her.

Zain's act has worked on her. She firmly believes that our relationship has moved so fast because of our feelings for one another. I hate that at some point, we're going to break her heart with the truth.

I pick up my cup, and follow Peter out of the room. He holds open the door to the study, and I walk inside. It's bigger than I expected, one wall full of bookcases, the other paintings. At the end of the room is a desk, a large window behind it. There's no sign of Zain's dad. Peter rounds the desk and sits down.

He waves a hand at the seat on the other side. "Come and sit down, Ashley. There are a couple of things we need to discuss."

"Did you write the contract?"

He doesn't even try to deny it.

"I did. Zain asked me to make sure you get a copy. I'll have that for you today. As you are aware, there's a non-disclosure section so you can't talk about anything that goes on inside your marriage without Zain's agreement or approval."

"Doesn't that work both ways?"

"Are you doing anything that Zain would like to discuss with an outside party?" He lifts one eyebrow .

"No, but that doesn't mean I won't."

"What do you think he might like to share?"

"That I'm crazy, or paranoid, or trying to murder him. I don't know!"