DOUBTS
1556 Words
Chapter 4
Zoey's POV
I first met Kelvin on a shady online platform when I posed as someone looking for a person with experience in certain aspects. Kelvin wasn't experienced in what I wanted him to do for me, and because of that, I made use of him in the only other way I could come up with.
I never once told him to pretend that I was in a relationship with him in front of Zack and Alice. In fact, I had been extremely careful with him. I never revealed who I was or the man I was married to. Since I had covered my tracks so well, I knew he had no evidence that I was involved in this entire plan.
"This man has been harassing me endlessly ever since he saw me at the mall," I explained, turning to Alice and Zack.
"Your wedding ceremony contained only three people. How did he know you were married to Zack?" Alice asked with raised eyebrows. She had a point.
I had convinced Zack to arrange a small ceremony for our marriage mainly because I was afraid I would be exposed since he was famous. Since Alice was against our wedding, only Israel was there.
"I don't know, Alice."
I moved closer to Zack and held his hand. To my surprise, he didn't pull away.
"Please tell them the truth. Don't cause any more problems in my marriage," I said, giving Kelvin a daring look.
I had money—far more than anyone in this room could imagine. I was prepared to pay Kelvin any amount as long as he didn't make things worse than they already were.
"But..." Kelvin paused, staring at the floor before suddenly beginning to cry.
"I'm sorry. I just needed the money."
The moment I heard those words, a wave of relief washed over me.
"What are you talking about?" Alice snapped, visibly irritated and surprised "You were confidently telling us how the two of you were lovers before she arrived!"
I couldn't help the victorious smile that appeared on my face.
"He was lying. Tell them. Am I the woman in that video?" I asked, turning to Kelvin.
He shook his head immediately.
"I photoshopped the entire video," Kelvin replied.
"And where exactly did you get her photos?" Alice demanded. "She isn't famous. Nobody knows her or her relationship with my son."
"Mom, that's enough." Zack's voice cut through the room. "I already had someone look into the video. That wasn't Zoey." Alice looked furious. She shot me a deadly glare, and I smirked right back at her because I knew there was nothing more she could do. She didn't believe any of this, but at least she had no proof to claim otherwise.
"Zoey, I'm really sorry I didn't believe you when you told me everything last night," Zack said.
Part of me was relieved that this nightmare was finally over. the other part was furious that I had to go back to pretending to love a man I hated with everything inside me.
"It's fine, honey. We will talk at home," I said with a smile.
Zack then turned to Kelvin. "What should we do with him?"
"Just let him go. I'm sure he's learned his lesson and won't try to mess with us again."
"Look at you," Alice said with a mocking angrily
"Why don't you want him punished when he nearly ruined your marriage if that's the case?" She asked but that was the last straw. I had put up with enough of her nonsense for one day.
"The only person trying to ruin my marriage is you," I shot back. "You can't just tell your son to get divorced because of one fight. Stay away from my marriage, Alice. I love your son, and he loves me."
I tightened my grip around Zack's arm trying to prove my point.
"Let's go home. We need to get you ready for work." Zack immediately agreed. A short while later, we left.
Before we could go, however, Alice asked us to leave Kelvin behind because she wanted to have a private conversation with him. I didn't refuse because I knew Kelvin wouldn't say anything. And even if he did, as long as Zack wasn't there to hear it, I could easily discredit Alice whenever I wanted.
The ride home was awkward. Zack stared out the window while I stared at him, I had him right where I wanted him. Hours ago he had been heartbroken and devastated, yet now he looked calm and relaxed. The sight irritated me.
At the same time, I was relieved the video had been taken down. Now that this plan had failed, I would simply move on to the next one.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Zack‘s voice and realized he was staring back at me, forcing me to put on a smile.
"I'm sorry about everything that happened," he said softly. "Zoey, you're the only woman I have ever loved. If it wasn't for Israel, I would have ended my life last night. Seeing you with another man made me lose my mind." He paused and let out a sign
"I'm sorry. I should have listened when you said you didn't cheat on me." He then reached for my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Marriage is about trust, and yet I mistrusted you without second thought."
I honestly didn't know what he expected me to say. While he was pouring his heart out, all I could think about was my next move.
Still, his words made me wonder if he truly love me so much that he would rather die than lose me?
"I would die if anything happened to you too. Don't ever think about killing yourself again," I said gently, running my hand along his cheek like a loving wife.
"I love you, Zoey. I really do, Before I came home, I almost jumped off a bridge. But then I thought about Israel. I know you love her as your own, but she's already lost her real mother. I don't want her to go through that again."
That caught my attention.
For the past five months since I entered Zack's life, he had avoided talking about Israel's mother. Every time I brought her up, he shut down immediately. Eventually, I stopped asking.
At the time, marrying him had been my main goal but now that he had finally mentioned this, perhaps I could push a little further.
"You just said I'm the only woman you have ever loved. What about Israel's mother?" I asked carefully.
Immediately, Zack pulled away. I knew that look. He was about to shut me out again, But I wasn't going to let that happen.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," I said quietly. "I mean, I love Israel, but if you can't trust me with anything about her, I guess that's your right. You are her father after all."
I turned toward the window, silently counting the seconds until he felt guilty. Five seconds later, he spoke
"Zoey, it's not like that," he said.
"You never talk about her, while I have told you every detail about my life. I thought once we got married, you would trust me more."
Zack gently turned my face toward him touching my cheek softly. The conflict in his eyes was visible, then he finally spoke with a deep sign.
"Israel was adopted." I nearly laughed upon hearing those words because it was a lie. I could still see Grace ‘s lifeless body at the back of my mind.
"So you're not her biological father?" I asked.
"No."
"Then who are her parents? And how do you know her birth mother is dead? I curiously asked trying to catch him in his lie.
Over the last five months, I had learned to read Zack like the back of my hand, right that moment, he didn't look like a man who was lying.
"I was told by the agency where I adopted her," he explained. "The father wasn't in the picture, and the mother was a homeless woman who died during childbirth."
His answer made me sick to the stomach, I searched his eyes once more but there Nothing. He appeared to be telling me he truth. I knew this was bullshit, Israel was stolen from Grace and me who had been looking forward to meeting her.
When I first entered Zack's life, the very first thing I did was arrange a DNA test to confirm whether Israel was truly Grace's daughter.
The results had been positive.
What I never checked was whether Zack was actually Israel's biological father.What if he wasn't, What if everything I had believed for the past five years was wrong?
The thought made my blood run cold.
I knew exactly what I needed to do.It was a terrible and dangerous idea.
But I had no choice. I needed answers and to get those answers, I would have to make contact home.
I would have to speak to the man who had helped me escape my father, the man who was more like a fath
er to me than my own father, Benson. My father's right hand man…
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