MARRIED TO MY EX FATHER IN LAW

BE PRESENT

I sit in my room at the Savoy, staring out the window at London, and think about Lola Moretti.

Ocean's wife.

The girl is twenty-three years old. Twenty-three. When I was twenty-three I was still figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, still making stupid decisions about men and careers and everything else.

And Ocean married her.

I pour myself a glass of wine from the minibar and replay the brief meeting in my head.

She's pretty, I'll give her that. In a doe-eyed, innocent kind of way. Big dark eyes, delicate features, the kind of face that probably makes men want to protect her.

Which is exactly what Ocean is doing. Protecting her.

He said it himself. She needed protection and marriage was the best way to provide it.

That's not love. That's obligation. Duty. Ocean has always had this code about protecting the weak, about not letting women get hurt. It's one of the things I loved about him.

But it's also his weakness.

He saw some young girl in trouble and he stepped in. Married her to save her from whatever situation she was in. And now he's stuck with her because Ocean Moretti doesn't break his promises.

But that doesn't mean he loves her.

I saw the way he looked at me today. There was surprise, yes. Maybe some old affection. He's not completely over what we had. I could see it in his eyes.

He's just confused right now. Caught up in this protective instinct he has for the girl. Once he realizes that what he feels for her is just responsibility, not love, he'll remember what we had. What we could have again.

I just need to be patient. Strategic.

Lola is clearly insecure. I could see it written all over her face when she saw me. The way she looked at me and then looked at herself. The way her shoulders hunched slightly like she was trying to make herself smaller.

She knows she doesn't belong in Ocean's world. She knows she's out of her depth.

Good. That makes this easier.

My phone rings. It's Marina, an old friend who still lives in London and knows everyone in Ocean's circle.

"Willow! I heard you were back in town. How long are you staying?"

"A week. Maybe longer depending on how things go."

"Things? What things?" Marina's voice is curious. Excited. She loves gossip.

"I saw Ocean today."

"You what? Oh my god. How did that go? Did you meet the wife?"

"Briefly. Tell me about her, Marina. What do you know?"

There's a pause. Marina is gathering her thoughts, organizing the gossip she's collected.

"Her name is Lola Brown. Or it was Brown before she married Ocean. She was married to his son Ethan first."

I nearly drop my wine glass. "She what?"

"I know, right? Absolutely scandalous. She was married to Ethan for four years apparently. Really messy marriage from what I heard. Then they divorced and Ocean married her immediately after."

"Why would Ocean marry his son's ex-wife?"

"No one really knows. The rumor is that Ethan was abusive. Like really abusive. And in their world, divorced women basically have a death sentence. So Ocean stepped in and married her to protect her."

So my theory was right. This is about protection. Not love.

"What else?" I ask.

"She's an orphan. Grew up in foster care. No family. No money. Ethan was her first and only husband before Ocean. She's completely out of her depth in that world. Doesn't know how to handle the politics or the social dynamics. She's basically a lost little girl playing house with a man old enough to be her father."

"How does the family feel about it?"

"Mixed reactions. Some people think Ocean has lost his mind. Others think he's just being his usual knight-in-shining-armor self. Ethan is apparently furious about it. There's some serious bad blood there."

Interesting. Very interesting.

"Has anyone seen them together? Ocean and Lola? Are they... close?"

Marina hesitates. "Hard to say. They don't go out much. Ocean has kept her pretty sheltered since the marriage. But from what I've heard, he's protective of her. Really protective. Someone made a comment about her at an event a few weeks ago and Ocean basically threatened to destroy them."

That gives me pause. Ocean being protective is one thing. But threatening people over her?

Maybe he cares more than I thought.

No. No, that's just Ocean being Ocean. He's protective of everyone under his care. It doesn't mean anything special.

"What about Lola herself? What's she like?"

"Quiet. Shy. Doesn't really talk to anyone. She seems sweet enough but completely overwhelmed by everything. Like a scared rabbit in a room full of wolves. Honestly, Willow, she seems like a nice girl who got caught up in something way over her head."

A nice girl. Sweet. Overwhelmed. Scared.

Everything I'm not.

I'm confident. Strong. I know how to navigate Ocean's world because I did it for three years. I know the politics, the power dynamics, the social games. I know how to be the partner Ocean needs.

Lola doesn't know any of that. She's just a girl he saved.

"Thanks for the information, Marina."

"Of course. Are you trying to win him back?"

"Maybe."

"Willow, be careful. Ocean might be in deeper than you think. And even if he's not, the girl is innocent in all this. Don't hurt her just to get what you want."

"I'm not going to hurt anyone. I'm just going to remind Ocean what we had. What we could have again."

We hang up and I sit back with my wine.

Lola is an obstacle. But she's a removable obstacle.

Not through anything cruel or obvious. I'm not going to hurt the girl. But I can make her realize on her own that she doesn't belong. That she's in over her head. That Ocean deserves someone who can actually be a partner to him, not a child he has to protect.

All I have to do is be present. Be visible. Remind Ocean of what we had. Show him the difference between a real partnership with someone his own age who understands his life, and a responsibility in the form of a traumatized twenty-three-year-old.

He'll figure it out eventually. He's smart. He'll realize that what he feels for Lola is pity and obligation, not love.

And when he does, I'll be here. Waiting. Ready to give him what he actually needs.

I just need to be patient. Strategic. Subtle.

I'll attend some events. Make sure Ocean and I keep running into each other. Remind him of the good times we had. Show him what he's missing.

And I'll be kind to Lola. Friendly even. I'll make her feel small and inadequate without ever saying anything directly cruel. Just by being myself. By being everything she's not.

Sophisticated. Confident. Age-appropriate. Someone who belongs in Ocean's world.

Eventually she'll realize it herself. That she's not right for him. That she doesn't belong.

And she'll leave. Or he'll gently suggest that maybe this marriage has run its course and they should part ways amicably.

Either way, the ending is the same.

Ocean and I, together again. The way we should have been all along.

I made a mistake five years ago. I was scared and I ran.

But I'm not scared anymore. I know what I want.

And what I want is Ocean Moretti.

I'll do whatever it takes to get him back.