Anastasia Chapter 15 #3
I didn’t want this to have to be this way, but you and I had entered into a relationship.
Agreements were made, and you need to uphold them.
I know you’re confused right now, but Reign Caldwell isn’t the right man for you.
He’s got you brainwashed, or maybe he’s holding something over your head.
Whatever it is, I will see you free of him.
You have forty-eight hours to break off all contact with him and return to me. If you don’t, then I’ll have no choice but to file this, and we’ll do it the hard way. Please, don’t make me do that. I await your call.
Love, Sameer.
A deep growl vibrated in Reign’s chest. I flipped to the next page. It was a packet. As I read it silently, rage mingled with a dash of fear.
“What does it say, Jaanu?” Reign asked.
“It’s a breach of contract. It seems Sam is going to sue me for breach of contract because I supposedly agreed to marry him.
There’s a ton of legal shit in there, but that’s the bottom line.
The crazy bastard says we were days away from getting engaged when you interfered.
He lists my entire family as witnesses to the fact. ”
“Wait, you can sue someone if they call off an engagement or wedding?” Chad asked.
“Well, according to this, you can. I don’t know if it’s enforceable, but I know someone who will,” Reign snarled.
He took out his phone, tapped it a few times, then put it to his ear. Moments later, he spoke.
“Carver, hey, sorry for disturbing you at home, but I’ve got a legal question.
I know your specialty is copyright law regarding music rights, but I need to know.
Can someone sue you for breach of contract if they say there was an understanding that a couple was engaged, about to be engaged, or even was about to marry? ”
Reign listened, and there were sounds back and forth for a good two or three minutes. I wanted to scream as my tension mounted, but I held back. When he hung up, he met my gaze.
“Carver said to send over screenshots or copies of the pages. He’ll look it over. He knows someone who can help with this. It’s obscure, as far as he recalls, but there may be precedent. If we can get it to him tonight, that would be best. We can’t afford to sit back and wait for Sam to file.”
Dread washed through me. It took everything I had to stand and take it to my in-home office, where I scanned it, then sent it to Carver.
Between Dad’s and Sam’s drama, they cast a serious pall over the rest of the evening.
We tried to shake it off, though. What the hell had I gotten myself into? And why did I ever say yes to coffee?
When Mom and I tried to clean up the mess from dinner, we were ushered to the living room to relax while the three guys cleaned up.
“Wow, I don’t recall having a man do that even before I met your dad. If Reign is trying to gain points with me, that’s the way to do it.”
I laughed. “He’s not. He does it anytime we cook. It struck me the first couple of times he did it. Can you imagine Rahul, Arish, Dad, or Harish cooking, washing dishes, or tidying up?” I snorted.
She shook her head and sighed. “No, and I feel terrible that I’m partly responsible for them being that way. God, if I could go back.”
I took her hand in mine. “You can’t place that guilt on your shoulders. Everyone sees twenty-twenty when they look back. I should’ve never agreed to have coffee with Sam, but I did.”
We lapsed into silence for a minute, then Mom brought up Poe and Chad and the guard duty they would be doing.
“I can’t let Reign pay for that. It makes sense with you. The two of you are together. But it’s not fair that he gets stuck with the bill for me. I need to speak with Iker and have him send me the bill. I make good money. I can afford to pay for myself.”
“Good luck with that, but I can tell you, neither Iker nor Reign will do it. And if you push, I’ll just do it when I’m off shift,” Poe’s voice stated from behind us.
As the minutes passed, Poe and Mom argued. It was actually fun to see her so energized and vocal. At home, she was a shadow of this. I was getting a good picture of the woman she’d been and could be. I didn’t want my parents to divorce, but it might be the best thing for both of them.
Later, when we left at nine o’clock, Poe and Chad reassured Mom that someone would be outside all night to make sure no one came back.
I hugged her tight and kissed her cheek.
Mom insisted on hugging all three of the men.
I thought Poe might have enjoyed it a tad too much.
Reign was the only one who got a kiss on the cheek.
On the ride back to his place, we held hands.
“Sia, I don’t want you worrying yourself to death over your mom. She’ll be safe. As for this crap with Sam and the breach-of-contract claim, it’s not going anywhere. Even if he does get a judge to hear his case, he’ll never force his way into your life or be paid.”
“How can you promise that?”
“Because I have friends in places he can never imagine. And they’ll never let him get away with it.”
I mulled that over the rest of the way home.