Page 86 of The Wishing Game

"Husband? You're married?" Thea's eyes widen, her eyes skirting from me to Ze.

Odd.

"Yes." I give her a sad smile. "But he died a couple of weeks ago."

"He's dead. That makes younotmarried," Ze grumbles.

I inhale sharply at his words. Of all the rude things he could have said...

"Not for much longer. Once I win the game, he'll come back to me," I say, my tone more biting than I intended. But Nikki is where I draw the line—always. I won't let anyone talk badly about him or our relationship.

Ze stares at me, his pupils narrowing to two slits.

"He is still dead. That means he is no longer your husband and you are not married," he continues, very much pleased with himself.

For God's sake, why is he focusing on the semantics?

"Regardless of whether he's dead or alive, he's still my husband and will always be my husband." I grind my teeth, clenching my fists as a wave of violence washes over me.

"I do not agree with you, human." He crosses his arms over his chest, pushing his chin up.

"I don't care if you agree with me or not. I don't care about your opinion at all," I huff out.

For some reason, that seems to strike a chord in him as he turns sharply, his hand suddenly on my wrist.

"Ze, what's wrong with you? Leave the poor girl alone!" Thea intervenes, reaching across the table to untangle his fingers from my wrist. "You're ruining the mood," she tells him, her words charged with hidden meaning.

Ze looks at her, then looks at me, then looks at her again. He takes a deep breath, letting go of my hand before proceeding to ignore us again.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" I mumble under my breath.

"Don't mind him, Luce. He's just...weird," she tries to assure me.

"Right," I say, giving him a death glare. "Well, they accused me of stealing his money," I start, telling them about the entire debacle with the inheritance and that they arranged everything, including Nikki's death.

"The bastards." Thea slams her fist on the table. "They need to pay, Luce!"

"Oh, they will. I haven't forgotten about them. I'm just prioritizing my husband first."

A low growly sound erupts from my side, but this time I don't even bother to look, knowing I'll likely just get angrier with him.

"You don't have to worry about the police," Cer speaks. "Thea can work her charm on anyone. That is a low-level skill that doesn't demand a lot of energy, so we should be able to get on the plane without any trouble."

"Low level?" Thea's eyes widen.

"You know what I mean, Thea." He sighs. I don't think he's in the mood for yet another fight.

"But still.Youdo it if it's solow level," she challenges, imitating his voice.

"You know I can't," he answers calmly.

Thea merely smirks.

"Okay, that's good. There's a flight that leaves tomorrow morning. That gives us just enough time to get some supplies before we leave for the airport."

"What supplies?" Thea asks.

"We need some new clothes, especially for you." I point to Ze. "You can't go around in your odd costume stained with glitter."

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