Chapter 183: Needy Husband

Naomi inhaled deeply. "I was going to marry him for money." She said it so quickly that the words nearly ran into each other.

Then she sealed her lips and glanced at Dorian, bracing herself.

Dorian considered it for about one second. "They do have a lot of money. Although from what I’ve learned about Callum, he only knows how to spend it."

"That’s it?"

"What did you expect?"

"I don’t know. Shock. Judgment. Maybe a speech."

"I can give you one if you’re disappointed."

She laughed.

Dorian squeezed her thigh lightly. "So, did you both have some kind of relationship before I came into the picture?"

Naomi shook her head immediately. "No, no. I met him for the first time after I met you again."

"After we were married?" Dorian asked.

"Yes," Naomi answered.

"Can I push a little further?"

"Sure."

"Did he ever say why he agreed to the arrangement?"

Naomi frowned slightly, thinking back.

Dorian focused his attention on her but his mind was already working.

It made no sense.

None.

If Callum had no prior attachment to Naomi, no relationship with her, no emotional interest, then why agree to marry a woman he had not met?

"When we first met, he didn’t seem thrilled by the situation either," Naomi said. "Actually, he made it quite clear he thought he could do better than me."

Of course he did.

Callum Sterling came with money, entitlement and the emotional depth of a puddle.

"But he said that was what his father wanted," Naomi continued. "So he had no choice."

"His father wanted it."

"Yes."

"And Whitmore arranged it."

"Yes. But strangely, Callum changed along the way. He became more... invested, I guess."

"Hmmm..."

Naomi immediately looked over at him. "What are you thinking?"

Dorian’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I don’t know yet. I need to piece everything together because there is something I’m missing. Whitmore wants you married to Callum. Victor wants you married to Callum. And Callum, who supposedly didn’t want the arrangement either, eventually started acting like losing you was some personal tragedy."

Naomi made a face. "When you put it like that..."

"There is a reason three men with completely different interests are all pointing toward the same marriage." He tapped his fingers lightly against his thigh. "I’m missing something."

Naomi swallowed.

The road stretched ahead of them, but her thoughts had already gone somewhere else.

Because now that she thought about it, she wasn’t exactly a prized bride.

She had no family fortune.

No social advantage. What she had brought into Dorian’s life instead were problems.

A controlling uncle.

A violent mess of a family and debt.

Seven million dollars of it.

She knew Dorian now.

Really knew him and she knew with absolute certainty that the moment she told him, her problems would become his.

She would have to tell him eventually.

That was what couples did, right? Real couples shared things. Even the ugly parts. But there was already too much happening.

And because Naomi knew for certain that Dorian would accept her problems as his own, she would rather not do it now.

Not when Ginny’s wedding was right around the corner.

So Naomi changed the subject just as Dorian pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to his new assistant.

"Do you have your outfit for Ginny’s wedding ready?" she asked.

Dorian looked up from the screen. "Unlike you women, we don’t need to shop for every event."

Naomi chuckled. "Isn’t it glorious to be a man?"

"Extremely." He put the phone away. "Do you? Have an outfit, I mean."

"Oh." She focused on the road again. "I won’t actually be at the service. And I’ll be behind the scenes at the reception in my uniform, so..."

"No. No, no, no. You’re supposed to be beside me."

Naomi laughed. "I’ll be working."

"You are my wife."

"And also the caterer."

Dorian looked genuinely offended by this conflict of interest. "You’re supposed to save me from the endless chit-chat that happens at weddings."

Naomi grinned. "It cannot be that bad."

"I still remember Lexie’s. It was unending. I’m serious. People kept appearing."

"That is generally how weddings work."

"They wanted conversations."

"Oh, the horror." Naomi shook her head. "I’m sorry, but I have to make sure everything is perfect. This is good for my brand. There can’t be any mistakes. Ginny trusted me with this, and there are going to be a lot of people there."

Dorian knew she was right. He also knew how much this meant to her.

The catering business was growing faster than she had expected, and Ginny’s wedding could put her in front of exactly the kind of clients she needed.

Still, he did not have to like it.

He sighed heavily. "Is it terrible to say I’m not looking forward to the wedding anymore?"

"Yes. Yes, Dorian. That is a terrible thing to say. It is your sister’s wedding."

He groaned and threw his head back against the seat. "I want my wife."

The complaint came out so pathetically that Naomi burst out laughing.

"You’ll see me."

"That is not the same thing."

Naomi shook her head. "I’ll make it up to you."

The sulking disappeared.

"Now that I cannot argue with."

Naomi rolled her eyes and kept driving.

*****

Diana hadn’t been to Bedford Hills since Marianne had suggested Naomi be informed of her death.

So when Diana finally sat behind the visitation screen at Bedford Hills, she had no idea what to expect.

It had been years since she had seen Marianne. Years since Marianne had made the decision that Naomi should be told she was dead.

Diana had gone along with it because, at the time, it had seemed easier. Marianne had been her brother’s wife, and after everything that had happened with Raymond, nothing about their family had been simple anymore.

Now she sat there with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, wondering how much prison had changed the woman on the other side.

All Diana knew was that she wanted to keep her family together.

And right now, that family felt like it was slipping through her fingers.

The door opened.

Marianne was led into the room. She had changed.

Time had moved for both of them, even if it had moved very differently.

Marianne took her seat on the other side of the screen and picked up the phone.

Diana did the same.

"Diana? It’s been too long. You’ve changed."