Page 13 of The Marriage Narrative
“No.” His unexpected breathy laugh made her smile. “I mean, I am in hiding, but the government isn’t involved.”
“Is it organized crime? The Mafia?Internationalsyndicate?”
“It’s not crime either.” He laughed again, brighter this time.
She nodded and then faux-gasped. “Is your family royalty? Are you a duke? A prince? I’ve always felt like I was destined to be a princess.”
“It’s not quite that exciting.” He was grinning now. All his nervous hesitation melted away by her inquisition.
“Then what is it? Tell me. I can handle it.”
“All right.” He filled his lungs and exhaled into a slump. “Jordan was originally my middle name. My full name was Alfie Jordan Zaffre.”
She waited for him to continue.
“Zaffre.As in the showZaffre Hours.That’s my family—myimmediatefamily.”
“Sorry, never heard of them.”
He jerked back slightly like a record skipping. “You’ve never heard of my sisters? My mom?”
She thought about it. “Afraid not.”
“You honestly don’t know who they are?” His disbelieving frown grew deeper by the second. “You’ve never seenZaffre Hours?”
She laughed, and it clearly sucked the wind out of his sails. “Is it a reality show? Because I don’t really watch those.”
Not knowing his family wasn’tthatfar-fetched. The world was big, and its population was in the billions. Someone could have tens of millions of followers and still be relatively unknown to the masses at large. Grace’s sister had hundreds of thousands of followers, and Zinnia only knew her because they’d met in person.
Jordan silently pulled out his phone and handed it to her once a video began to play—the opening credits forZaffre Hours.
“My sister Sadie went mega-viral right before an old app shut down. When a production company approached my mom to create a show about our family, I was the only one who didn’t wantto do it. There was a brief storyline in the beginning about me beingThe Estranged Sonyears ago. It was complete bullshit. I literally talk to Sadie every morning.”
The video ended and she returned his phone.
“When my grandpa died, he left me the money that I used for college and starting my business. I live completely on my own,” he explained. “Their whole lives are filmed, all the time. It adds up to about eleven full months out of the year. I can’t be around them without being filmed too.”
“How long has it been?”
“Nine years. Going on ten.”
She nodded, still processing. “Leaving like that must’ve been hard.”
“Still is. I basically traded my family for my privacy because I didn’t want anything to do with the show.” His factual tone felt off, so much so that she easily clocked his regret.
“You had to do what was right for you.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “I’m sure they understand.”
“Oh, they do,” he said quickly. “One hundred percent. My parents have always been extremely supportive of anything we wanted to do, including me not wanting to be famous. But we’re all really close. It’s just hard not being able to see them whenever I want and vice versa. They can’t even secretly come here without someone finding out about it or getting recognized.”
“Ah, got it.”
“Shows like theirs are technically unscripted but they’re also extremely manufactured.” He grimaced. “Cultivatedorcuratedare better words for it. They talk to the network about what’s going on in their lives. My family then collaborates on situations, locations, codeveloping their character arcs. Editors then braid all the footage together into a coherent plot. It’s real—it’s their lives—but a distilled, stylized version of it. They have to make it entertaining.”
Zinnia wasn’t sure if she believed Jordan hadnothingto do with the show. He sure as shit knew a lot about its inner workings.
“We have strict rules around what’s considered fair game and on the blacklist.” A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips and danced in his eyes. “Sadie is pregnant. She doesn’t want it in the show. She doesn’t want it in the media until she’s ready. She’s disappearing for a while—complete blackout. This is the biggest thing to happen in our family in a long time. I think I’ve experienced every emotion possible in the last few weeks. I’m going to be an uncle—that alone took me out for an entire day.”
“I bet. It definitely seems like a lot to deal with and think about.”
