Page 31 of The Marriage Narrative
He stepped aside and followed her into the kitchen, where she placed their present on the counter, fluffing and adjusting the placement of the red ribbons.
That had always been her favorite color. When he was seven, he’d spent the summer with his grandma, who taught him how to crochet. He’d made his mom a stuffed animal that barely passed for a ladybug as a birthday present. She’d named it Clover and still had it on the desk in her office.
“Well, there’s no point in beating around the bush. I’m not happy about this, Alfie. Neither is your father.” She paused to whip off her sunglasses and add an exasperated huff. “Whatwere you thinking?”
“I told you, repeatedly, that I did not want to marry Bea.”
“And when I asked why,repeatedly, you refused to answer. How on earth do you expect me to plan your storylines if you insist on being so damn secretive?”
“Because ‘no’ should’ve been enough.”
His mom visibly inhaled, mouth set into a firm scowl that meant she didn’t want to fight with him, but that was exactly what was about to happen. Getting older meant getting a chance to know his parents as adults—and for them to figure out how to respect him as one. TheI don’t care how old you are. You’re my babyline could be as dismissive as it was loving. He braced himself to hear her launch into some version of the former. Just like she always did.
“You refused to meet me halfway. You refused to let us meet anyone you were dating. You refused to give meanythingto work with.” She’d counted off each offense on her fingers. Three strikes. He was out. “Bea wasallI had and having her here would’ve made the kind of media magic we need to protect Sadie. Every storyline, every subplot, every angle—all of it was perfect.”
Jordan kept his posture relaxed, but stood his ground by holding her shrewd, steely blue-eyed gaze. He needed to listen to what she had to say first because this was his fault too.
She pointed at him with her sunglasses. “Whenyouwanted to leave us, did I stop you or was I there, helping you move into your dorm room? When you agreed to join the show, who was theonlyperson in the room to say no? I am so, so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished but you live with your head in the clouds. There’s no place for that here.”
He ground his teeth to keep his mouth shut. It was true that he’d always chosen his own path, and she did support him every step of the way. Why was now suddenly different?
“Everything I’ve done, everything we’ve sacrificed has been to secure our family’s future and cement our legacy. The day I married your father, I swore to myself thatmychildren would have every opportunity this world had to offer at their fingertips. No one would tell them no. No one would deny them. No one would discriminate against them and get away with it. So, when I say, ‘I need you to trust me,’ it’s coming from experience that you do not have.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mom, but you’re wrong.”
She scoffed. “I don’t see how.”
Taking charge behind the scenes ofZaffre Hoursstarted as a means to protect her kids from the industry—keeping everything in-house kept them safe. Meanwhile, Jordan had learned to rely on himself.
Living a double life had both left him unable to fully invest in his relationshipsandmade it hard to trust his family to know what was best for him. He knew their world like the back of his hand, and for that reason alone, herefusedto live in it the way they did.
If he wanted control over his storylines, hehadto provehimself. Trial by fire was the only way—he needed to show her because she was never going to just believe him.
“I’ll take responsibility for going about things the way I did, but what’s done is done. Zinnia is the one. We’re a package deal now. There’s no place forBeahere.”
Her sunglasses snapped in her hand.
Zinnia
As soon as she left her room in the morning, she heard Jordan and his mom talking together in the kitchen. She eavesdropped until she couldn’t take it anymore.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him.
Dull, sallow skin. Bleary red-tinted eyes as if he hadn’t slept. He was even still wearing his wedding suit, minus the jacket and tie. His shirt’s top buttons were undone, revealing a gold chain against the hollow of his throat.
A heartbreakingly handsome hot mess.
His crossed arms fell to his sides when he noticed her. He took a tentative step forward before stopping, and she tried to break down his body language into words to help see past her own feelings—hesitation, sadness, uncertainty, regret, and something else she couldn’t translate just yet.
“Oh, good morning.” Amber plastered a smile on her face. She, on the other hand, looked picture-perfect in a blue caftan. “We missed you last night when you didn’t return.”
“I was tired. Long day.”
“Saying good night would’ve been less rude. No matter. You can make it up to me now.”
Zinnia looked to Jordan, but he seemed just as startled. There were no cameras or microphones in the bungalow. Whatever happened next would be her word against theirs. She set her shoulders back. “If anything, I’d say we were even.”
Amber began walking toward her. “Far from it. We’re having breakfast together. Just the two of us.”
