“A bad guy is a man who marries you, lies to you, conceals that he can’t have children because he selfishly got a vasectomy when he was twenty-two. A man who makes you think the fertility problems you struggle with are all your fault instead of his. And then...” Her hand slipped from Mavericks. “Can I share something with you?”
“Okay,” he agreed.
Delilah looked down at her wedding ring. She turned it twice then pulled it off her finger. She set it on the coffee table. “The reason I freaked out this morning. Got dressed and was acting all perfect is because of a text.”
“Text?”
Delilah nodded. She reached over for her phone. “I was going to come back home, fix breakfast, and introduce you to Queen. Start fresh as the new men. And then after my shower, I saw I had a text.” She handed him her phone. “I don’t know who sent it. I can guess. I’m sure it’s connected to Jaxon Price.”
“What’s in it?” Maverick asked. A video clip had been sent to her as an attachment. He pressed play. A black man and another man of possible Middle Eastern descent began a conversation that he needed to hear.
“That’s my husband,” she pointed to Charles Montgomery. “And that is Yasar Fikrit, Jaxon Price's father. The owner of Mayfair. We tend to call these owners Masters of Mayfair. Like a secret society of rich insane men.”
Maverick repressed the play button to get the video to start over again. The conversation revealed Charles was not the father of Noah. Charles was infertile because of a botched vasectomy. Yasar Fikrit found out Charles’s secret and had the donor Charles selected for the insemination switched. The original donor Charles had chosen was his brother Senator Tyson. This would mean members of the Montgomery family knew Charles was unable to give a sample and that Delilah was being deceived by them all. Yasar Fikrit had impregnated Melissa with his own sperm but didn’t do that to Delilah; he wanted leverage over the Montgomerys. A different kind of leverage. Fikrit spoke of wanting stem cell research project for blood disease legislated and approved, but it was not the case. Not in his home country and not in America. So he had designed his own research labs with test subjects he found acceptable. Melissa fit his taste, Maverick supposed. It explained the conspiracy that gave him Noah with a woman he didn’t know and doomed his wife. Delilah and Charles both had no idea Maverick was the donor or what Eve’s Promise and Fikrit preferred it that way. At any time, he could blow up Charles’s world by bringing in a third-party with a claim to his Montgomery son. Someone only Fikrit knew the identity too. That person was Maverick. Charles quickly signed on board for Fikrits plan to keep his wife and reputation intact. And Yasar Fikrit made it clear that the price to keep his secret from Delilah meant Charles belonged to him for the long haul. Delilah stood and paced away.
“He did it; he sold my body away to that man. Made a deal with the devil to cover his ass. Destroyed my life and yours. Those experiments at the clinic could have caused problems with your wife’s delivery. I’m sure they did. From what I learned about Eve’s Promise, several women had stillbirths, and two women died in childbirth. The kids were never born healthy enough to live. You’re right to hate Charles, and I think you should hate me too.”
“You think this is your fault? This isn’t your fault.” Maverick frowned.
“I don’t know, Maverick. I was married to a man capable of this. I’m supposed to be a genius. Why couldn’t I have seen through his pathetic scheme? After that text, I went into cover-up mode. I got dressed and got Noah ready, and made the best breakfast I could. Until I saw you. How Queen and I were plotting against you all came back up. From day one, Maverick, I’ve been painting you as the evil villain in my life. I did it because I thought you were the one that couldn’t be trusted. Turns out, Charles is the monster.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. Was he angry? Was he hurt? Was he both?
“I’m sorry for what was done to you,” Maverick said.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry too. Sorry that after everything, I’m just learning more about my marriage and myself. I’m not this woman who is emotionally unstable and unable to handle a crisis. I don’t know who I’m becoming, but I’m not her. This is where I’m supposed to apply logic to reason, but for some reason, I can’t. I don’t believe in logic anymore.”
“This isn’t your fault,” he said again and tossed the phone to the coffee table. He did feel the need to escape. Melissa was dead because of this Fikrit asshole, connected to the Armand asshole, who had slid into his life to destroy Delilah’s. He couldn’t get over the irony. If his wife hadn’t suffered and died, he’d never met Delilah or Noah.
“I wish I could say I wanted to undo all of it,” Delilah said. “I can’t. I love my son exactly the way he is. If Fikrit hadn’t done what he did, I wouldn’t have Noah.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Maverick mumbled. He picked up the monitor and stared at his sleeping son. He shook his head. “I think I need to go.”
“Really?” she asked. “So soon? I was hoping we’d finish this conversation.”
“You love to talk, sweetheart. Sometimes I don’t,” he stood. “Yeah, I’ll go for a bit. I need a minute to clear my head.” Maverick reached for his jacket and pulled it on. Delilah stood. He took her hand and pulled her closer before he hugged her, and she returned the affection. The soft kiss on her brow felt nice. “I think you need a minute to clear your head too. Some space might work the both of us?”
“Thank you for not blaming me, Maverick,” she said and let him go.
“Will you come back over for dinner?” he asked. “To my place?”
“Your place?” she smiled and then chuckled. “You’re grilling in the snow again at your place?”
Maverick nodded.
Delilah smiled.
“We’ll be over at five? Is that too soon?” Delilah asked.
“Works for me,” he said.
Maverick walked over and picked up his jacket and skull cap. He put them on, and his gloves last. He cast her one last look. “None of this is your fault or Melissa’s. I think you’re a great mother—a special lady. Charles was a fool like me. I didn’t appreciate my wife until it was too late.”
“Maverick? I think you’re a nice guy too,” she said. “I do.”
“We’ll see,” he said.
The parting comment worried her. When Maverick left, she felt a deep sense of sorrow for him. She glanced at the phone on the coffee table. Having the ability to share that truth with him freed her, but what did it do to him? Delilah also wondered if she should have told Queen. In her gut, she felt she should take caution with her friend. Queen’s reaction would have only turned the pressure valve on the grief in her heart. The burden of feelings she carried for Charles was now gone. The video exonerated her. She would go to that brunch and show them all the real scandal. Make Mother Abigail face who her son was. Delilah picked up the phone and went up the stairs. She returned to Noah’s room. He remained asleep on his back with his arms and legs spread, and the sight of him made her smile. Delilah eased in the bed with him and tried to her side with her backside to the wall so she could stare at him. She kissed him and rubbed his belly very gently. After a while, Delilah slipped into a restful state and let go of the final tears for a marriage. She was free.