22
Levi
ELLE AND I SAT on the loveseat next to each other while her sister chose the single chair.
Her face accusatory as she glared at us like a principal upset at rowdy school kids.
She looked like an older version of Elle.
But where Elle was short, she was tall. And where Elle was curvy, she was slim.
Effie cut her hair short and did not dye the white spot appearing in front of her hair.
The look gave her a commanding, no-nonsense demeanor.
She reminded me of my eldest brother, Nolan, who sometimes felt like a father figure to me.
And it was apparent in the way they behaved in my presence that Elle must have seen her much older sister as a parental figure as well. And she did not look happy at all.
She had refused the water and food I offered her with a polite no. Choosing to glower at her sister any chance she took.
"I was in the neighborhood and thought to visit you only to find out you moved," she said in a too-nice tone.
"My place is under repair. The water pipe burst, and the landlord said it's practically unlivable until he fixes it." She twiddled her thumbs. A thing I've only seen her do when she was nervous.
"She had nowhere else to go, and the landlord wanted to put her up in a cheap motel, so she opted to stay with me for the time being," I added.
"Of course she did." Effie let out a strained laugh. "Why wouldn't she? She is your wife after all. You two are supposed to be staying together. Or at least that's how I heard marriage works."
I glanced at Elle, who had her head down. Did she not tell her sister the truth? Or maybe they had a different relationship than the one I had in mind.
"How did you know we got married?" Elle asked.
She didn't tell her sister. My gaze darted between the two siblings, unsure what to do or say.
"I had to find out!" Effie took a deep breath, calming herself down. "I had to find out that you married your boss in a college newspaper."
Elle and I glanced at each other. "What newspaper?" Elle said.
Effie took out her phone, shaking her head, and flashed a screenshot at us. Elle grabbed the phone. "Oh, my god! We're in the deaths, births and weddings section of the Northride Clarion."
"A friend of mine, who used to teach here, told me that my sister got married to some rich as fuck, hotshot professor. And I was like, that's no way that's my sister.The Elly I know has a long-term boyfriend by the name of Wyatt Carrington. So imagine my surprise when she sent me that."
Elle handed me the phone. It was a screenshot not of the college newspaper, but of the town newspaper, the Northride Clarion. Thompson must have put it there. I didn't think to tell him not to, and even if I didn't care if he did, I didn't think the news would travel this fast.
"So, is that why you came?"
"I came here on other business. I wanted to—" She glanced at me and gave me a tight smile. "Can I speak to my sister in private?"
"Sure." I rubbed Elle's thigh and left the room.
I went to my bedroom, but I still could not resist hearing what they were saying.
But when I stood by the banister at the top of the stairs, few words filtered up.
Elle's voice especially was so low I could barely make out what she was saying, but her sister would occasionally shout, "He cheated!
" "Billy! That little slut!" And then later on she screamed, "He paid you!
" Oh, oh. Sounds like she didn't tell her sister about the money I gave her. I leaned in to hear more.
"Is that where you got the money to pay off the investor goons! You did not win a goddamn lottery, did you?"
Elle muttered something.
"Is he forcing you to…" inaudible.
"No!" Elle screamed. "What! We…" inaudible.
So that's where the money went. It was a specific amount of money, and I often wondered why she wanted that exact figure.
Part of me thought it was to pay off her student loans, but that had not squared with the fact that she got a full scholarship for her undergrad and was being paid by the college for her masters and her PhD.
Now, a lot of things fell into place. She didn't buy a new home or one I am aware of.
She gave it all to her sister. No wonder she didn't want people to find out.
No wonder she was nervous in New York. She was afraid her sister would know.
And the way her sister was reacting, I understood her.
I wanted to go down and defend her, but the look she gave me when I left said, I will fight this battle on my own.
I went back to my bedroom to check my phone.
If Effie knew, who else knew? Turns out everybody.
The group chats were lit with messages. There were several missed calls.
How many people subscribed to that god-damned town newspaper?
I went to the family group chat. Tyler was the first to post the news.
He too sent a screenshot similar to the one Effie showed us.
Sebastian: How come everyone is getting married at City Hall without telling anyone nowadays?
Ivy: Hey! At least I did it in Vegas. Congrats Bro!
My sister tagged me
Thalia: We're the only ones who did it respectfully, kkkk
Nolan: Lil bro got hitched! Congratulations! Who's the lucky girl! Or should I say unlucky?
Sebastian: Must be Connie.
Ivy: Idiots. It says Elvira Edwards right there.
Tyler: His assistant. I fucking knew it! You owe me a hundred Seb.
Ivy: Teacher's Assistant.
Raine: Holy shit. Spoke to Rebecca recently. She saw Elvira. He must have introduced her.
Thalia: ??????
Aire: Levi is so old-school it's cute! ??
Nolan: But not old school enough to tell his siblings.
Aire: @Nolan come on. You and I got married without anyone.
Nolan: That was different.
Aire: Forrest must have wandered into the kitchen. Go get him.
Nolan: Where are you?
Aire: In the studio. Head to toe in paint.
The group texts devolved into a personal chat between Aire and Nolan. I scrolled through several back and fourths that ended with:
Nolan: Not until I do that thing you like with my ??
Raine: Okay pack it up to the DMs you two. Bleh.
The chat ended there. There were some congratulatory messages in my DMs. Nolan wanted to talk. So did Tyler and Sebastian. And when I checked the call log, all of my siblings had called me. I'll speak to them later. Right now I needed to deal with Elle's sister.
They were standing in the middle of the living room talking in hushed tones. Effie seemed to have calmed down when I rejoined them, but that did not mean she did not continue to eye me suspiciously. When she saw me reenter the living room, she straightened her back and gave me a tight smile.
"Elle tells me you are only currently dating, and that you asked her to marry you because of some archaic clause in your trust fund?"
My gaze darted to Elle, who was nodding behind her sister's back. I nodded. "Yes. I needed the money and Elle…"
"Came up with the idea," Elle jumped in.
"I told him he could marry me, contractually of course, but he insisted on giving me something in return, so I suggested he pay off the investor goons."
"That's what happened. Exactly as she said it. Technically, she deserves half—"
"Damn right she does," Effie said.
"But I didn't want his money," Elle added. "So this was the agreement that best suited both our needs."
Effie's eyes narrowed as she assessed her sister. "And how long is this sham marriage supposed to last?"
"About a year," Elle said, glancing at me. I nodded.
Effie folded her arms. "So you're going to be a divorcee to your current boyfriend,who is also your boss?"
"Why do you have to put it like that?"
"I mean, it's the truth, isn't it?"
"Effie!"
Effie let out an exasperated breath and then threw her hands in the air. "You're a grown woman. You're both grownups, so why should I care, right?"
Elle's gaze darted at me again. "You're making it into something that it's not. He wanted help, and I agreed. That's it."
Effie's gaze honed in on me. I was only a passive observer, but felt like the spotlight was on me now. No wonder Elle didn't want her sister to know. Effie was terrifying. And all she did was look at me. "Can we speak for a minute?"
She meant me. I knew she did, but I pointed to myself in surprise, wondering why she was singling me out. "Yes," she said.
Elle gave me another one of her sheepish looks and left the room.
"What are your intentions toward my sister?"
"I—"
"She has had her heart broken a few times before, and to learn that she jumped out of a relationship with a cheater only to date you in what sounds like a matter of days makes me think she's not thinking clearly.
She's probably still healing from what that little bitch Wyatt did to her.
And you coming in… if you fuck her up," she pointed a finger at me.
"I will fuck you up. You understand me?"
I nodded. She looked serious enough to make good on the threat. "I want what's best for your sister, and she might not know this, but I have liked her for a long time now."
Effie crossed her arms again. "And why doesn't she know this?"
Because she's not serious about our relationship. I don't want to push my luck by telling her how I truly feel. I'm just glad she's here with me and we could be 'fuck buddies.' "Because like you said, I don't want to be another Wyatt. She's healing. I want to give her time."
Effie raised her chin. "You're an interesting man, Levi. Anyway, like I said, you're both grownups, and thank you for the money. You should have given her more though considering you're a whole-ass billionaire."
"I wanted to, but she insisted on that specific amount."
"Yeah, my sister can be too noble for her own good.
But I know men like you. You are not the serious type.
Which is good for a rebound, but after the year is done, you should leave her alone.
Drop her gently. Do not give her false promises of marrying rich.
She has a promising career. She's good at what she does.
If she achieves it, she'll be the only one in our family to get a PhD, and I don't want you to derail that. Understood?"
She wanted me to break off with her sister after our year was up.
I wanted to tell her to go where the sun don't shine.
But I wasn't sure if Elle liked me. If anything, she was the one likely to break it off.
I simply nodded. This satisfied Effie, after which she asked me to call Elle back.
Effie did not stay too long. She left soon after, and when she was gone, Elle asked. "What did my sister say to you?"
"Nothing." I shrugged. "She wanted to thank me for the money."