Chapter Thirty-One

Jeanne Ellen POV

"You are not going to believe this," Steph said happily.

"What? Tell me!" I ordered.

She grinned mischievously. "Okay. So, obviously, an illegal marriage isn't enforceable. It's like they were never married at all, and there was fraud involved in their relationship. Apparently, there was a prenup involved because Debra's parents are loaded. Well, we kind of already knew that due to where she lives and their house and the reference to her being a deb, but anyway…she has money too. She worked with her parents before she had the boys, and she's a partner in their business, so she still gets money now even though she's not working while the boys are little. Her dad is the owner and CEO of a lumber company and subsidiaries in construction and the like. Well, since the marriage is nullified due to the fraud and, oh, I don't know, his previous marriage to me, the prenup is void, and he gets nothing. She's also going for sole legal and physical custody."

I shook my head and laughed. "So the house and all that is hers? Like she had it all before the so-called marriage?"

"Yep. He will walk away with nothing. She says her daddy's lawyer is also a shark and will ensure she gets complete custody of their kids. She said he called her to bail him out of jail. Can you believe that!" she cackled happily. "I can't believe he had the stones to ask her to bail him out of jail. Maybe he thought she was still in the dark; who knows? But what was he going to tell her about the charges? Anyway, her lawyer is going apeshit on his ass, and she might even sue him for fraud. We know he has money due to the porn sites. She also said she'll happily give a deposition or testify in my divorce case."

"Wow. That is all amazing news. I'm so happy he's getting a taste of what he deserves," I said.

"She also said she'd like it if our kids knew each other, especially when they're all still so young that they could accept the unusual circumstances, so she'd like to get together with them."

"Well, be careful about that. Maybe you should meet her alone one more time, maybe with just her kids or something, to make sure it all seems okay."

"I don't get any bad feelings about her, but you're right. I'll ask her to meet me for coffee or something first."

"So, is The Dick still in jail if she wouldn't bail him out?"

"I assume so, but I don't know for sure. You know his parents are not well-off and wouldn't be able to afford it. His bail was set at fifty thousand."

"That's not really that high. If he had a bondsman, he'd only have to come up with five grand for the bondsman to post his bail. He probably has five grand."

"I didn't figure he'd stay in jail until he has to go to court. At this point, all I want is for him to leave me alone, to give up his rights to Zoë, and to go to prison for his crimes. I want him to pay for what he's done, but I don't even care if I get money from him," she said.

"You're owed money for child support at the very least," I reminded her. "I think you should sue him for the profits from his websites too, and an injunction so he has to take them offline permanently."

"Yeah, well, I don't know about all of that. I'll ask Mr. Manoso about it. I also spoke to Sheila, my old boss, today too."

"How's she doing? Is she still bummed you're not coming back?"

"Yeah, she offered me more money to stay. I feel bad because I like her, but there's nothing left for me in New York anymore."

"I'm glad you're living in Trenton now," I told her. "Oh! I also put in a bid this morning for the cottage. Miranda is hoping I hear in the next forty-eight hours."

"I hope we get that place; it's perfect. I know it's not mine, but you know what I mean."

I smiled. "I know. And while you live there, I want you to consider it yours. We should talk about the rent too."

"With my new job, I can afford to pay you fair market value for it," she said.

I shook my head. "I know I was buying it as an investment, and it still will be. But I also want you to use this time to save money for a down payment on your own place and for Zoë's college education. I can afford to accept less rent for you to get ahead. Consider it a contribution to the Steph and Zoë Liberation Fund."

"Are you sure?" she questioned doubtfully. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"You're not. I'm the one who offered. I'm the one who put this whole plan into motion. Here's what I'm thinking. You pay five hundred a month; all utilities will be in your name. In rough numbers, you will bring home roughly forty-three hundred every month after taxes. Minus five hundred leaves you thirty-eight hundred. If you save two thousand for your down payment and Zoë's education, you still have eighteen hundred for the utilities and other expenses like daycare, et cetera. Do you think that's doable?"

"Probably not. You know, daycare takes up most of that allowance. I have a feeling I'm getting a friends and family discount because it's already about half of what it should be. I can probably save about a thousand a month, at least until Zoë is in school full-time. Then, when my daycare bill isn't so high, I can increase it."

"Well, you know your budget better than I do," I said. "But if you want any help with it, let me know. There's no rush to move out, so don't kill yourself trying to save money to leave."

She smiled, and I patted her knee. "Thanks, Gigi," she said.

"Okay. Tell me about dinner. Was Helen nice to you?"

"She was okay. She annoyed me a couple of times, but when she said something bad near the end, Dad put her in her place and made her apologize. That's when Zoë and I called it a night."

"Did she say it in front of Zoë?" I asked, horrified that Helen might stoop so low.

"No, thankfully. Dad took Zoë into the living room, and I told Grandma and Mom about what's been going on. You were right, by the way. I told them everything, and they didn't say I should take him back or anything like that. But Mom said I made a mess of my life right as Dad returned to the dining room. That's when she was forced to apologize, and we left."

I shook my head. "Your mother is such a pill. I don't know why Dad went back to her after they split that time."

She shrugged. "I don't know either. I think he felt and still feels guilty about cheating on her with your mom. But I've never asked him."

"Yeah, maybe."

We said goodnight, and then she went back to the pool house. Tank had gone to the bedroom earlier, and I joined him there. I smiled when I saw him lying in bed nude. When I opened the door, he patted the bed next to him and said in his deep voice, "c'mere, Baby."

I stripped off my clothes, left them on the floor where I flung them, and showed Tank how much I loved him for the rest of the night.

The following morning, I was utterly exhausted. We had gotten small naps between bouts of lovemaking, but it wasn't much. We typically had sex at least once a night, but when we had to be apart for my job or his, we tended to have sex fests before and after our forced separation. Tank kissed me this morning before he left and whispered all the dirty things he'd like to be doing instead of going to work. I kissed him back and promised we could do everything tonight. When I finally managed to get out of bed and into a shower, I let the hot water sluice down my body, easing my aching limbs as I smiled at the memory of how I got into this condition.

Sometime around ten am, Miranda called with news from the sellers. "Good news, Jeanne Ellen. The sellers accepted your offer and agreed to a quick possession. You can get into your new house in two weeks!"

"That's great news. Thanks so much, Miranda. Are we able to finalize the paperwork in the next two days?"

"Yes. They know you're going on a business trip that can't be postponed, so I set a meeting for Friday morning at nine-thirty to sign the paperwork. You can be ready by then, right?"

"Yes, I've already informed the bank. I'll set up everything."

We talked for a few more minutes before hanging up. I immediately texted Steph and told her we got the house, then called Tank. He didn't answer, so I left a voice mail letting him know I got the house and to call me. I went down to the gym in the basement to work off some of this sudden energy.

A/N: So I don't know if everything I said about Debra and The Dick's faux marriage is legally correct, but it sounds good, right?