Page 34 of Impending Consent

“I want to tell you something but I need you to promise you’ll trust me on this and not jump to judgment.”

The line was quiet for a minute before she agreed. “I trust you, but even if I don’t, you’ve been a man for a long time, Rival. There’s not much I can say about your life that will matter in the grand scheme of things.”

Shit. She’s already thinking the worst.

And this was technically the worst, or at least it would be in her eyes. Her only son married a woman she doesn’t know and she wasn’t invited.

“That’s not exactly true. I value your advice, Ma. You know I do.”

“I’m aware.”

Her tone was level and I almost laughed. She was attempting to remain neutral.

“I’m married,” I stated calmly.

“To who?”

Too calm.

“Sailor Addison. I mentioned her once, I think. The woman with the penthouse apartment I was doing a job for.”

“The attorney?”

“Yes, that’s her.”

“Is she pregnant?”

“What? No, she’s not pregnant.”

“I don’t know her.”

Okay, let the games begin.“You’ve never mentioned her aside from the wall unit you were building. Not even about a date or that you were interested in the woman. What else should I assume since you’re telling me you married her?”

“Spontaneous marriages are not always about pregnancies and that’s not even a thing anymore. Women don’t give a damn about being single mothers and men don’t care about preserving a woman’s honor. That’s a dated concept.”

“Is she an illegal?”

Straight from pregnancy to green card…

“Ma, no…” I chuckled.

“Did you commit a crime that she needs to protect you from?”

“Ma…”

“What? I’m simply trying to make sense of my only son being married to a woman I don’t know and without so much as a plane ticket to fly me out to be there or a phone call to introduce the woman.”

“I can’t really explain it but I do ask that you trust me.”

“You sure she’s not pregnant? As dated as the concept may be, you’re a good man, Rival. You would try to do the rightthing by marrying the mother of your child if that’s what she demanded of you.”

“She’s not demanding anything of me. She doesn’t even want to be married to me.” I mumbled the last part but my mother didn’t miss it.

“If she doesn’t want to be married to you, then why are you married?”

“I’ll explain, eventually. Can you just trust that I know what I’m doing and it will all work out?”

“I trustyou. I don’t know her to trust this woman. Are you sure she’s not…”

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