Chapter Sixty-Seven Her

Chapter Sixty-Seven Her

Married, Day Four

The diner operated as my safe space. It was far enough from town and from Richmond that it offered a peaceful retreat from

the new marriage nonsense. It was also cheap. Big fan of cheap food.

Only a visit from my mother could ruin the sanctity of this place. She sat across from me in the booth, sipping her coffee

and frowning at my french fries as if they’d offended her.

“What was so important that you needed to see me right away?” Up until now she’d been satisfied with status reports via my

burner phone about The Richmond Situation . Her phrase, not mine. Today she demanded a face-to-face.

Lucky me.

The meeting came with a lot of risk. Mom needed to stay invisible. And not just for this plan to work. I’d be fine if she

did so permanently.

Richmond watched every move I made, likely because he thought I’d steal the silverware. The alarm system he’d installed with the cameras and the motion sensors and who knew what else had turned the house into an expensive prison. He vowed to find the evidence I’d stockpiled against him so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he hired a private investigator to follow me around.

“You were supposed to tell me before you got married. Before the ceremony happened.”

It had been four days. Four long days as the newest Mrs. Dougherty.

“I didn’t have much of a choice. Richmond sprang the whole wedding setup on me. I barely had time to fix the mess he tried

to make.” I’d called her twice to clue her in but she didn’t answer. Pointing that out would only piss her off, so I didn’t

bother.

Mom shook her head. “Only Richmond would scheme to fake a marriage.”

“True. He’s a very consistent jackass. You should see the crap he’s pulling with the alarm.” I ate a few fries, testing to

see if she’d comment on my weight and the need to keep thin while pulling off this ruse. For all her faults, body shaming

wasn’t her thing, but she’d make an exception if she thought I threatened her end goal in any way.

Mom set her coffee mug down. Her fingers rubbed over the handle. Up and down as she stared into the distance. That’s when

I noticed the underlying jumpiness. She walked through the world with smooth detachment, always holding herself as if someone

she needed to impress was watching. Her best clothes. Full makeup. Hair done. She was not the type to run to the grocery store

in sweatpants.

When Mom didn’t speak up I did. “The whole point was for me to marry the guy. Not give him wiggle room. Attack from the inside.

I begged you to find another way and avoided you for years. Neither of those strategies worked to change your mind.”

“I know how we got here.”

I ate another french fry as I studied her. Definitely twitchy. But why? She’d dreamed up this con years ago and polished it to perfection. Forced me to help her by threatening to expose my crime. It wasn’t lost on me that the scheming and underhanded planning mimicked Richmond’s signature style. She’d lose control if I pointed out the similarities between her and the man she despised.

“I have some concerns.” Forget offering nuance and details. Mom made the comment and stopped talking.

She had to be kidding. “Now you tell me. After I turned my life upside down and—”

“Not about my plan. My plan is brilliant.”

More Richmond-ese speak. The shared personality traits jumped out at me now. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

“The sex.”

“Excuse me?”

“Now that you’re married.” She talked in her regular voice, which was not quiet. “Sex with Richmond.”

The double mention of sex grabbed the waitress’s attention. She openly stared at us.

I dropped my voice to a whisper and hoped Mom picked up the hint. “Are you trying to give me the talk because it’s a bit late for that. I think you were supposed to explain the birds and the bees when I was a kid or at any

point up until when I first had sex, which was a decade ago.”

Mom’s hands dropped to the table. The harsh frown came a second later. “What are you talking about?”

“I actually have no idea. You’re the one who brought up this topic.”

She sighed at me. She always sighed at me.

“Have you slept with Richmond?”

She finally got there but where were we and why? I refused to believe she had remorse for shaping me into her weapon. That

would never happen. This wasn’t about sparing me or worrying about using me in any way. If she thought hot sex with Richmond

would make her scam better she would have told me to do it. I would have ignored her, but she would have tried.

No, something unexpected and possibly diabolical ran around in her head. I couldn’t think of anything scarier. “Why are you

asking?”

“Fine. I’ll say it. You should refrain from having sex with him. If you already did immediately stop.”

I shoved the plate and the fries away from me and rested my elbows on the table. This wasn’t a have-in-public kind of conversation,

but she’d dragged us down this road. Unless she wanted us to meet here because she thought a public place would ensure I’d

stay calm, which was a miscalculation. My heart rate revved up at the thought of what she might say next.

“Tell me why you’re so concerned with my marital sleeping arrangements.” The idea of sex with Richmond made me wince from

the inside out. He was a killer. He killed my dad. Sure, I’d never known Zach but the least I could do was respect him enough

not to have sex with the man who murdered him.

Mom was back to touching the mug handle. “There’s something you should know.”

I took the coffee away from her and put the cup on my side of the table. “Which is?”

The windup to her point had me squirming in the booth. The world around us slowed to a stop and tension pressed against me from all sides. The other people and the noises in the diner cut off. She didn’t live in a subtle world. When she wanted something, she said so. The verbal dancing terrified me.

“Zach Bryant.”

Baby steps. “What about him?”

“I didn’t know him. He came to the country club with Cooper Dougherty. They were friends, but I didn’t date Zach.”

“Wait. Are you saying you only slept with him once? Like, you met at a party and hooked up?” If so she’d really lost the baby

lottery. And she’d been lying to me for years. She specifically told me they dated. Made it sound like he was her first love.

She made an odd noise. “I need to explain something about your father.”

“More than what I already know? You started dating in secret and got pregnant, which he didn’t know. He had a rich-parents

problem, which you didn’t see as a problem at all. Worst of all, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the Dougherty

brothers walked into that school.” That summed up what she’d told me—banged into me—through the years. “Which part needs explaining?”

I knew other details. Curiosity drove me to investigate and find a photo of Zach to check for any resemblance. Every bit of

information told the same story. Athletic. Good student. Well-liked. Three brothers. Involved parents. I doubted his life

was perfect, but it sounded idyllic compared to mine.

Teenaged me toyed with fantasies about going to live with my loving grandparents in their big house with plenty of everything and no Mom. Those fantasies fed me when Mom would have a tantrum. But then I grew up and realized the Bryants didn’t need an unwanted reminder of all they’d lost. They were Zach’s family. Technically, also my family but I didn’t see the nonexistent relationship that way. I already had more family than I could handle.

Jumping into their lives and shouting, I’m your surprise granddaughter, might have been the dream at one point. Now it made me cringe. Me connecting with them meant connecting my mom with them.

Let them celebrate and mourn their son as they knew him without all the baggage.

“I’m not talking about what Zach looked like or anything as mundane as that. This is much more serious,” she said.

“You’re being really dramatic. We’re sitting here, in this diner and in this state, because of Zach.” In reality, he’d become

a footnote in her Richmond revenge story, or he had until today. “Thanks to you and your threats of siccing the police on

me for what happened years ago, I’m already stuck in a marriage to a man who considers me expendable. The marriage is legal

and if I’m not careful it could turn lethal. So, what do I need to know?”

“Fine.”

“Great.” Get to it.

“I never slept with him.”

Wait...

“Zach Bryant isn’t your father.”