Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
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H aley
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Y es, having my head examined has now become critical.
A cold shiver steals over me, leaving me pale, slightly panicked, and utterly confused. My father is here to tell me my sham of a marriage to Wesley, Dean, and Camden is over.
I should be leaping around the room at his words, right? Isn’t that all I want? I don’t have to be married to them anymore, but why does the thought fill me with sheer anxiety? What will my days look like if I don’t get to see them? My nights, too. All my denial about my feelings only proves one thing: they’re deeper than I thought.
“Dad, you’re making less and less sense.” The words tumble from my mouth, high-pitched and frantic.
“It’s over, Haley. You’re coming back home. We don’t need the money anymore—”
“Mr. Jensen.”
I was too busy having my world flipped off its axis to even hear them come in. My body tingles. My breath catches. Their collective effect on me is staggering. Oh boy. What have I done?
“Gentlemen.” My father rises from the sofa to shake their hands. The level of respect and awe my father feels for them is plainly visible.
“Is everything okay, Haley?” Wesley asks, looking me over as if my father would hurt me.
Right. I pull myself together. I can’t be thinking with my clitoris or my heart. Whatever my father has planned, this marriage is over. We don’t need the money anymore. It’ll be a good thing. I open my mouth, but my father beats me to it.
“I was just telling Haley about my good news. I’m here to save you all from this marriage,” my father says.
“You see, gentlemen, a few years ago, Errol Stanford, a young man from Missouri, came to me with a business plan. He was very enthusiastic and had some innovative ideas about some technology. I liked him and didn’t think much of it when I wrote him a check as a silent partner, because I know nothing about tech," my father laughs at himself.
“I didn’t expect anything to come from it. But he asked for a dinner meeting last night. Since losing everything, I only have time on my hands and took him up on his offer. That investment I made a few years ago was the best thing I could have done. Suffice to say, the check he left on the table is more than enough to pay off my debts, keep Jensen House, and have enough to live out a comfortable retirement. This is big. Huge.” My father doesn’t take a breath. I wonder where I got that from.
He reaches into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, withdraws a folded sheet of paper, and then spreads it out on the coffee table. Next, he gets his pen.
I glance at the writing and read the title: Annulment Proceedings. It's clearly a privately drafted document.
My gaze darts to Wesley, Dean, and Camden. They've read the heading too. Their expressions give nothing away as their attention lands on my face before they exchange looks among themselves.
“All Haley has to do is sign the papers, and we can start the annulment process. I’m sure all four of you would be relieved to end this. I’ll take Haley home with me, and your lives can go back to normal.”
I bite my lip, trembling all over. My father thrusts his favorite pen into my hand.
Why aren’t they stopping me from signing a document that would end our marriage?
Oh god. Their silence says it all. They want me to sign it. Right.
I bring the pen to the sheet of paper. They can't wait to get rid of me. Well, fine. I need a break from them anyway. A forever break. I plan never to see their stupid, handsome faces ever again. They’re dead to me. And you know what? Now that I’m not so intimidated by my body when it comes to sex, I’ll go out and find a new boyfriend, maybe even three. I’m a standing contradiction of chaos.
I’m doing the right thing. I’m freeing them. I know they married me only out of obligation to a contract their great-grandparents signed with my great-grandmother. It’s not like they love me or even like me.
The tip of my father’s pen is a breath away from making contact with the stationery. I hesitate for a split second, and in that moment, my life changes forever. Again.