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A/N: This chapter might be drawn out and boring but relevant. Desmond tells Randy about his marriage to Sam. Bear with me :[

Randy took a cold beer from the fridge handing it to Desmond and poured himself another shot of whisky. They were sitting in the dining area inside the kitchen, an awkward silence between them.

After Randy's initial shock,he had invited Desmond inside. He had thought he had not heard it right the first time. Samantha's husband? How? He had asked Desmond the same question several times and every time Desmond affirmed it,a shiver would run down his spine.

"You know I still feel like this is a dream that I'll soon wake up from."

Desmond laughed tensely. He still had reservations about Randy. He looked menacing and ready to strike if provoked.

"I assure you Mr Orton, this is not a dream. It's all very real."

Randy shook his head and inhaled. In the years he had been with Samantha, this was the second biggest news he had ever received, the first being that they were going to be parents. He was itching to call John and share that piece of surreal information with him but he had to wait until he had enough proof.

"If what you're saying is true Desmond, then you must have some supporting documents kept somewhere. "Randy said,his brow twitching anxiously.

"Of course Mr Orton. I actually have them right here. I had carried them incase things went awry." He said and unlocked his briefcase, pulling out a brown envelope which he handed to Randy. With shaking hands,an anxious Randy opened the envelope and retrieved the well maintained documents.

He placed them on the table and perused one by one, his face betraying nothing. When he was done,he put them back in the envelope and handed it back to Desmond. He put his head in his hands and released a long sigh.

Desmond looked on silently, wondering why Randy was acting so affected. They sat in tensed silence for a long moment until Desmond thought Randy had fallen asleep.

"Are you alright Mr Orton?" He asked softly.

Randy rubbed his eyes and nodded looking up and Desmond could not help to notice that his host's eyes were wet which took him aback a little. He did not understand why he was crying.

"So,tell me about your marriage to my wife."

Desmond immediately paled."Your wife?"

Randy frowned."Yeah,that's what I said."

Desmond's mouth suddenly went dry. Wife? Was Randy not Samantha's brother from the military? While Desmond battled with unanswered questions,Randy was studying him, wondering why his guest's face suddenly turned chalk white. Then it hit him that Samantha must have made up a different story about their marriage.

"What did she tell you Desmond? What did Samantha tell you about me?"

Desmond took long enough to reply and when he did,he was stammering and his voice was cranky.

"She..uh..she said that...you're her...uh...brother."

Randy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets."Her brother?"

Desmond nodded nervously. "That's right. Her rich brother who's suffering from..er..amnesia."

Randy nearly choked on his saliva. "Wha..amnesia?"

Desmond nodded again and watched as Randy got of the chair and began pacing.

"That lying bitch!" Randy cursed as he furiously paced the kitchen floor. He then preoccupied the chair and studied Desmond keenly, looking for any hint that he was lying and when he did not find any,he shook his head.

"I can't believe this. We've been married four years. How could I have missed this?"

Desmond shrugged, still shocked at his own discovery, and kept silent.

"Tell me about your marriage to her." Randy drew in a deep breath and started in a low shaky voice.

"I met Samantha in Michigan about eleven years ago. She was twenty years and had just graduated from the Michigan University as a nurse and was an intern at the Detroit Medical Centre. My father,now deceased,was admitted at the same hospital with a kidney problem and Samantha had been assigned to him."

"We fell in love and got married a year later. We had two wonderful years together until I was arrested for embezzlement and was incarcerated at the Wayne County Jail for four years."

Randy listened silently as Desmond narrated his story. He wanted to hear everything about that union. He did not want to miss a thing because he knew that this would be his uncontested one way passport out of that sham he called marriage and back into John's life where he truly belonged. Meanwhile, Desmond was saying.

"The bank froze all my assets because I owed the company,and my father needed medication so Samantha used up all her savings and went bankrupt. My dad's health was deteriorating and she couldn't afford the treatments anymore so she started stealing the drugs from the hospital. When the medical board found out,her license was revoked."

Desmond stood and went to look out the kitchen window into the well lit backyard. He looked out,saying nothing for a long moment. When he turned,Randy could see that the emotions were starting to manifest on his face. He wanted to say something to comfort him but he did not know what so he stayed silent and let him continue.

"Soon after,my dad's kidney collapsed and he died. With me having thirteen more months until my release, and Samantha jobless and penniless, she told me she wanted to visit her brothers back here in Missouri and that she'd come back in a week. A week turned into two, then into a month and that month bled into eight."

"And you didn't question why she never visited for such a long time?" Randy asked.

Desmond shrugged and replied,voice cracking. "I had no reason to. She sent me letters explaining why. Her brother,who was a Major, had come back from the war in Iraq and was suffering from amnesia and other psychological disorders and she had to be there for him. She always sent me money for upkeep saying the brother was rich and could afford it."

"This is fucking incredible! She was lying about my identity while sustaining you with my money? What a bitch!" Randy stated in suppressed fury.

Desmond pursed his lips. "Anyway,It was five months to my release when she came to visit. She told me she had been saving money for us to buy a house and once I was out, she'd get me settled then come live with me."

Randy sighed. He could not believe Samantha played him like that. All the school fees he was giving her went into taking care of another man. He thought he really knew her.

"That money was meant to pay for her college education." He stated almost to himself.

"I'm sorry man." Desmond whispered back.

Randy dismissed him with a wave. By this time they had drank quite a bit and were both a little tipsy."It's not your fault. Please go me what happened after your release."

Desmond took a swig of his fifth beer and swallowed noisily before continuing.

"After I was released, we looked for a nice apartment and bought it. She could not live with me though,not yet anyway. She said she had to take care of you until you got better."

"Did you ever ask to visit Missouri,to get to know her family?"

"Many times. She'd say that her parents would not approve of me on religious backgrounds,and that you were not ready to meet me yet,especially because I was an ex-con."

"Surely, Desmond. You didn't wonder even for a second why she was so elusive about her family?"

Desmond shook his head."I had no reason to doubt her Randy. This girl sacrificed everything for me. She took care of my dad when I couldn't and even lost her nursing license for it. She never abandoned me even after I was locked up. Only a person that genuinely loves you can put her life on hold like she did for me."

And like John has done for me. Randy thought ruefully as he took a sip of his drink.

"We've been married for years Desmond. Four to be exact. We even have a three year old daughter. Where have you been all this time?"

Desmond sat back at the table and looked at Randy sadly. "I knew Alanna Marie was her daughter. She told me her dad was a one night stand. She said you were really pissed when she told you about the pregnancy but promised to help her raise the child if she stayed and took care of you."

"A one night stand? God! this woman is something else! All these years that she's been working you,she's been working me too!"

Desmond closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. Now was his time to ask questions."How did you two meet?"

"We went to the same school. I had a serious crush on her but after graduating high school, she went to live with her aunt in Michigan. She'd come to visit her family from time to time.I wanted to date her but she said long distance relationships would never work."

Randy halted to gather his thoughts. "When she came home and told me she had moved back to Missouri for good, I was over the moon and soon we were dating. Didn't take long for me to propose and she said yes. We got married shortly after."

"What about her life in Michigan? Did you ever ask her about it?"

Randy shrugged and shook his head in embarrassment. "She cooked up some shoddy story that I can't believe I fell for. I was so in love with her,Desmond ,that I never once second guessed anything she said."

Desmond emitted his own sad laugh."Tell me about it."

"Did she have any family member at the wedding?" Randy prodded, wanting to gather as much information as he could.

"No. It was a quickie wedding,so it was just us and our two witnesses."

Randy shook his head. He could not begin to fathom how all this was happening without his knowledge. They sat in silence, each man remembering the past. It was Randy who eventually spoke. "Does her family know anything about this?"

"It's why I'm here. I wanted to get everything out in the open. I can only give her so much time."

"Her parents are going to flip! They thought they raised the perfect daughter."

Desmond shrugged and replied proudly. "She is perfect in my eyes Randy. It's why I want to take this big step."

"Why now? Why did you wait this long to come for her? You've been out for over five years,you could have come to stake your claim before now."

Desmond nodded. "I know,but we agreed that I'd find a job first and save enough money to take care of them both. It's been so hard securing a job because I have a record. That's why it took me this long."

Randy shook his head,incredibly amazed by how Samantha had managed to play them both like that.

"I might have been deceived by her beauty and charm but you my friend has been downright blinded. She's like your guide dog. Everything she says goes"

Desmond shrugged. "What can I say man? I'm smitten."

Randy stared at him incredulously."You're still in love with her? Even after all you've learnt here tonight?"

Desmond nodded. "Look Randy. I know this looks really bad,but I don't see it that way. That girl means everything to me man,and I'm taking her back home with me. Unless you have any objection."

Randy laughed long and loud. Then he replied without an ounce of emotion in his voice. "Me? Object? Hell no! By all means Desmond, take her with you and put her out of my fucking misery!"

Desmond arched his brow."You don't seem fazed in the least. She's been your wife for four years Randy."

Randy scoffed. " No Desmond, she has been your wife for ten years. She's just been a fucking pain in my ass. The only thing that ties me to her is the fact that she's the mother to my daughter."

"I don't follow. What does that mean?"

"It means my marriage is invalid, Desmond. The vows we took mean nothing because she's already married to someone else. It's called bigamy and it's a crime."

Randy stood and kicked the trashcan in fury when flashes of his and John's relationship filled his mind. All the things they had gone through because of his marriage to a woman who turned out to be nothing but a slut and an opportunist.

"Scheming bitch! Stupid ass whore! She made me sign the fucking prenup to tie me to her and I signed it with a fucking grin on my face! Bitch was just in it for my fucking money!"

Desmond just stared."I'm sorry Randy. I wish there was something I could do about it."

Randy stopped and looked at Desmond, and a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh,but there is. Tomorrow I take all these documents to our family lawyer and have him process all that legal mumbo jumbo on Monday. A civil annulment will then commence."

"What of Alanna Marie?"

"Once the marriage is annulled,our prenup will automatically become void. In annulment cases,there's no child custody fights and shit, Desmond. We'll just sign a mutual agreement on how to raise our daughter."

"Then what?" Desmond pressed.

"Then Desmond, you'll hold your wife's hand and take her wherever the hell you please. I'll only be too happy to get rid of that cunning bitch that has been the most painful fucking thorn in my flesh."

They talked into the small hours of the morning. Randy did not mention Richard in any of their conversations. They both agreed not to let Samantha know that Randy knew about it. Manipulating a drunk Desmond was easy.
...

When Randy woke up a few hours later,his phone was blinking, an indication that he had received a text message. His heart sped,hoping it was from John. It was from Samantha, and he reluctantly opened it but brightened when he read the contents.

I'll be visiting my parents from yours so I guess I'll see you on Thursday, not Tuesday as we had earlier agreed. Al sends her love.

Randy nearly jumped up in joy. This had to be the week God was sending him the long awaited manna from heaven. It meant he would be able to meet up with the lawyer and discuss the course of action, and make it to Florida by Friday for a lengthy talk with John.

Desmond agreed to return to Michigan until the following week,when he'd come back for Samantha like he had agreed with Randy. Randy was the one to pay for his ticket to Missouri and back and Desmond was only too eager to comply.

As Randy drove Desmond to the airport, he had a smile that could not be wiped off. It was a good Sunday for him and no one was going to ruin it. Not even the fact that John had broken up with him the previous night.

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