Chapter 4: The Marriage He Swore Was Over
Danielle didn't answer Marcus's question.
She stood on the opposite side of the kitchen table, one hand resting beside the certified marriage record, watching the man she had loved for eight years struggle to decide which lie to tell first.
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
Then he glanced at the clock above the refrigerator.
Finally, his eyes returned to the paper.
“Danielle, I can explain this.””
She pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Good. Because I've been waiting eight years for you to explain why you never wanted to marry me.””
He rubbed his face with both hands.
“This isn't what you think.””
“Then tell me what it is.””
“Renee and I were having problems long before you and I got serious.””
Danielle nodded slowly.
“That's not what I asked.””
“Baby, please. Just let me talk.””
She looked at him without blinking.
“I'm listening.””
Marcus paced between the refrigerator and the kitchen island. His phone remained in his hand, and every few seconds he glanced at the screen as if he expected another call.
“I was young when I married her,” he said.
“I made a mistake. We weren't right for each other. The relationship was over before it was officially over.””
“Officially over?””
He stopped.
Danielle tapped the document.
“You told me you were divorced.””
“I believed we were.””
“You believed you were divorced?””
“We had separated. We weren't living together. We weren't acting like husband and wife. I thought she had filed the paperwork.””
“You thought?””
“That's what she told me.””
Danielle stared at him.
“Marcus, you signed a marriage license. How do you accidentally forget whether you're married?””
“I didn't forget.””
“Then what happened?””
He pulled out the chair across from her but didn't sit.
“Renee said she would handle everything. We had been arguing for months. I moved out.
We stopped talking for a while. I thought it was finished.””
“When?””
He swallowed.
“Before I met you.””
Danielle reached into her purse and removed the notes she had made at the courthouse.
“The marriage was recorded eight years ago. The divorce case was opened later, but the court employee couldn't confirm that it was finalized.””
Marcus's eyes dropped to the paper.
“Those systems aren't always updated.””
“Maybe not. That's why I'm asking you.””
He dragged a hand down his face.
“I'm not hiding a wife from you.””
“Then where is your divorce decree?””
“I don't know.””
“You don't know where the document is that proves you're free to marry me?””
“I haven't needed it in years!””
The words echoed through the kitchen.
Danielle flinched, not because he had shouted, but because his anger seemed so much larger than the question.
For eight years, she had been asking him for a promise.
Now she was asking for a piece of paper.
And somehow, he was still making her feel unreasonable.
She folded her hands in her lap.
“Did you ever contact Renee after we started dating?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Not really.””
“Not really isn't an answer.””
“There were a couple of conversations.””
“About the divorce?””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
“That she was working on it.””
Danielle stared at him.
“And you never checked?””
“I trusted her to finish what we agreed on.””
She let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh.
“You trusted your ex-wife to finish your divorce, but you expected me to trust you without asking questions.””
Marcus pulled the chair back and sat.
“That's not fair.””
“Stop saying that.””
“What?””
“Stop telling me what's fair while you refuse to tell me the truth.””
He looked toward the hallway again.
Their children's voices drifted in from the living room. Amaya was helping Jordan find a missing school assignment, while Caleb made the dinosaur roar loudly enough to shake the quiet.
Danielle lowered her voice.
“Are you still married to Renee?””
Marcus stared at the tabletop.
“I don't know.””
The answer was so quiet that she almost wished she hadn't heard it.
Almost.
She had spent years imagining the worst possible reason for his reluctance to marry her. He was afraid of commitment. He didn't believe in marriage.
His parents' divorce had damaged his view of relationships. He wanted to be sure before making such a permanent decision.
She had built entire explanations around his silence because the alternative was too painful.
But nothing she had imagined prepared her for the possibility that he had allowed her to build a family with him without knowing whether he could legally give her the future she wanted.
“Eight years,” she whispered.
Marcus leaned forward.
“Danielle, listen. Whatever the paperwork says, I chose you. I built a life with you. I love you.””
She looked at him.
“Did Renee know about me?””
He didn't answer.
“Marcus.””
“Yes.””
The single word struck harder than the shouting.
“She knew about me?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
He pressed his palms against the table.
“Renee found out about us a long time ago.””
“How long?””
“I don't remember the exact date.””
“Was I pregnant with Amaya?””
His eyes lifted.
Danielle felt something inside her settle into a terrible, cold certainty.
“Was I pregnant with our daughter when she found out?””
Marcus swallowed.
“I think so.””
Danielle stood so quickly that her chair scraped against the floor.
“You think so?””
“I was trying to handle a complicated situation.””
“No. You were handling your situation. I was building a family inside a situation I didn't even know existed.””
He rose too.
“Don't make it sound like I don't love my children.””
“I have never questioned whether you love our children!””
Her voice cracked.
She pressed her lips together, fighting to keep the conversation quiet enough that the children wouldn't hear.
“I am questioning whether you ever respected me enough to tell me the truth.””
Marcus's shoulders dropped.
“I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
“When I got everything sorted out.””
“When was that supposed to happen? Before or after I had your fourth baby?””
He looked away.
The silence answered her more clearly than any explanation could have.
Danielle gathered the documents and slid them back into her purse.
“I'm going to need the truth, Marcus. All of it.””
“You have it.””
“No. I have pieces. I have a marriage certificate.
I have a case number. I have a sister who saw you holding hands with a woman outside a courthouse. And I have you standing in my kitchen telling me you don't know whether you're still married.””
He stepped toward her.
“Please don't do anything crazy.””
She stared at him.
“Crazy?””
“You know what I mean. Don't go telling people things before we understand what's happening.””
“I'm not the one who brought another person into our relationship.””
“That's not what I said.””
“Then what are you afraid I'll tell them?””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Danielle walked past him toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?”” he asked.
“To check on our children.””
“Danielle, we need to finish this conversation.””
“We've been having the same conversation for eight years. Today, I finally have something besides your promises.””
She climbed the stairs without looking back.
In Amaya's room, the little girl sat cross-legged on the carpet, arranging colored pencils by shade. Jordan was stretched across the bed, trying to read a comic book upside down.
Caleb ran into the room behind Danielle.
“Mommy, Daddy said we might get pizza!””
Danielle knelt and opened her arms.
“Come here, baby.””
Caleb rushed into her embrace.
She held him a little longer than usual.
“Are you okay, Mommy?”” Amaya asked.
Danielle looked at her daughter's serious face.
“I'm okay, sweetheart.””
“Did you and Daddy have an argument?””
She brushed a strand of hair away from Amaya's forehead.
“Grown-ups sometimes have difficult conversations. It doesn't change how much we love you.””
“Are we still getting pizza?”” Jordan asked.
Danielle managed a small smile.
“That's something you'll have to ask Daddy.””
She stayed with them until their attention returned to the comic book and colored pencils.
Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door.
Her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
*Unknown: This is Renee. Marcus told me you've been asking questions.*
Danielle stared at the message.
A second one appeared.
*Renee: I think it's time you and I talked.*
For several seconds, Danielle couldn't move.
Then she typed.
*Danielle: Are you still married to him?*
The reply came almost immediately.
*Renee: Yes.*
Danielle's hand went numb.
Another message followed.
*Renee: And before you ask, I know about your children. There is something else Marcus hasn't told you.*
Danielle gripped the edge of the dresser.
*Danielle: What?*
The typing indicator appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
May you like
Finally, Renee sent one last message.
*Renee: He didn't just forget to divorce me. He asked me not to.*
