18 Chapter 18 – The Matriarch’s Gambit
“You’re not playing your grandmother against me, are you?” I stood my ground, refusing to be intimidated by Nathaniel’s intense stare.
His jaw tightened. “I don’t need to play anyone. Especially not my grandmother.”
“Then why is she convinced I’m your wife?” I pressed.
Before Nathaniel could answer, a gentle voice interrupted us.
“Because you are.”
We both turned to see Old Mrs. Margaret watching us with surprisingly alert eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping after all.
“Grandmother, please,” Nathaniel’s tone softened immediately. “You need to rest.”
“I’m not a child, Nathaniel,” she said firmly. “And I’m not senile either, no matter what that horrible girl and her mother think.”
I glanced between them, uncomfortable being caught in their family dispute. “Mrs. Ricardo, I should probably go-”
“No!” Her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist with surprising strength. “You can’t leave me tonight. I need you here.”
Nathaniel’s eyes met mine over his grandmother’s head. I saw frustration there, but something
else too–concern.
“Stay,” he said quietly. It wasn’t quite an order, but not quite a request either.
“Fine,” I conceded. “But just for tonight.”
The family doctor who’d been hovering discreetly in the corner stepped forward. “Mrs. Ricardo needs to take her evening medication now. Perhaps you could both step outside while I attend
to her?”
Nathaniel nodded and gestured for me to follow him out of the room. Once in the hallway, he pulled the doctor aside, speaking in hushed tones. I couldn’t hear everything, but caught fragments.
….condition worsening?”
…emotionally dependent…
…afraid of leaving you alone…”
When the doctor left, Nathaniel’s face had transformed. The cold mask was gone, replaced by something more vulnerable that made my chest tighten.
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18 Chapter 18 – The Matriarch’s Gambit
“What is it?” I asked.
He took a deep breath. “My grandmother is afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Dying and leaving me alone.” His voice was barely audible. “That’s why she clings to the idea that we’re married. She’s created this fantasy that I have someone who cares about me.”
The raw honesty in his admission caught me off guard. This was a side of Nathaniel Ricardo I hadn’t expected to see.
“I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to offer.
His vulnerability vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “I don’t need your pity.”
A commotion from the main hall interrupted us. Imogen’s voice carried clearly, sharp with indignation.
“This is outrageous! You can’t possibly let that woman stay!”
We rounded the corner to find Imogen, Liam, and my mother confronting Butler Chen in the main hall.
“Ms. Johnson is a guest of the family,” Butler Chen was explaining patiently. “By order of both Young Master Nathaniel and Mrs. Ricardo.”
“She’s a nobody!” Mom spat. “She’s tricked the old woman and manipulated her way in!”
Nathaniel’s footsteps were silent as he approached, but his presence was like a sudden drop in temperature. Everyone froze when he cleared his throat.
“Is there a problem?” His voice was deadly quiet.
Imogen spun around, her expression instantly transforming to one of contrition. “Nathaniel! We were just concerned about Mrs. Ricardo. Having strangers stay overnight might upset her
routine.”
“Juliana isn’t a stranger. She’s my guest,” Nathaniel stated flatly. “And you’ve already upset my grandmother enough for one day.”
Liam stepped forward. “Uncle-”
“I’m not your uncle,” Nathaniel cut him off sharply. Then his eyes narrowed as he looked at Imogen. “You disrespected my grandmother in her own home. There are consequences for that.”
Imogen’s face paled. “What do you mean?”
“You will kneel in front of the ancestral hall all night.”
Gasps echoed through the hall.
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18 Chapter 18 – The Matriarch’s Gambit
“That’s barbaric!” My mother protested.
“You can join her if you prefer,” Nathaniel offered coldly.
Mom’s mouth snapped shut.
“Nathaniel, please,” Liam tried again. “Imogen made a mistake. She’s already apologized.”
“Only after being caught,” Nathaniel replied. “The Ricardo family has traditions for a reason. Respect for elders is paramount.”
“I won’t do it,” Imogen declared, lifting her chin defiantly.
“Then you are no longer welcome in this house.” Nathaniel’s voice was ice. “Neither are your marriage prospects with this family.”
The threat hung heavy in the air. I watched Imogen’s expression shift as she calculated her options. Finally, her shoulders slumped.
“Fine,” she whispered.
“Butler Chen will show you where to go,” Nathaniel said dismissively, turning his back on them. He caught my arm. “Come. You need dinner and proper accommodations.”
As he led me away, I glanced back to see Imogen’s hatred–filled eyes following me. If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured once we were out of earshot.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he replied flatly. “No one disrespects my grandmother.”
“Still, making her kneel all night is extreme.”
“It’s tradition. And she won’t actually kneel all night–just until she learns her lesson.”
“And how long will that be?”
A hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “That depends on how stubborn she is.”
Butler Chen arranged for a small dinner to be served in a private dining room. As we ate in silence, I couldn’t help but notice how exhausted Nathaniel looked.
“You should rest,” I said eventually. “I can find my way back to your grandmother’s room.”
He looked up from his barely–touched food. “Why are you being kind to me?”
The question caught me off guard. “Basic human decency?”
“Most people want something from me.”
“I want a divorce,” I reminded him. “Nothing more.”
Something flickered in his eyes. “Tomorrow, then. We’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau first thing.”
18 Chapter 18 – The Matriarch’s Gambit
After dinner, a maid showed me to a guest room near Mrs. Margaret’s quarters. The bed was enormous and luxuriously comfortable, but sleep eluded me. I kept thinking about Nathaniel’s words: My grandmother is afraid of dying and leaving me alone.
How lonely must he be for his grandmother to worry so much?
Morning came too quickly. I dressed in yesterday’s clothes, grimacing at the wrinkles. A soft knock at the door revealed Butler Chen.
“Miss Johnson, breakfast is ready. Master Nathaniel is waiting to take you to the Civil Affairs
Bureau afterward.”
Downstairs, I found Nathaniel already dressed in a sharp business suit. He looked impeccable and completely recovered from yesterday’s emotional moment.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“Well enough. And Imogen?”
“Released at dawn. She’s resting now.”
I nodded, not particularly caring about Imogen’s comfort but curious about the outcome of his
After a quick breakfast, we were preparing to leave when Old Mrs. Margaret appeared, supported by her nurse.
“Where are you two going so early?” she demanded.
Nathaniel’s expression softened immediately.
“Just some business to take care
of,
mother.”
“What business?”
I stepped in. “We need to get copies of our misplaced.”
lage cetes. The
als,
A strange look passed over the old woman’s face. “Misplaced? Nonsense! I have them right
here.”
Before either of us could respond, she turned to her nurse. “Bring me the red box from dresser drawer.”
The nurse hurried away while we stood frozen in confusion. When she returned with an ornate wooden box, Mrs. Margaret took it with trembling hands.
“I’ve been keeping these safe,” she said proudly, opening the lid.
I gasped. Inside lay two identical red marriage certificates–the originals, not copies like the one I’d received from the bureau. They looked authentic, complete with official seals and signatures. Nathaniel stepped forward, taking one with disbelief etched across his face. “This is impossible.”
18 Chapter 18 – The Matriarch’s Gambit
I took the other certificate, examining it carefully. My signature looked real–not a forgery but genuinely mine. How was this possible? When had I signed this?
“You were both so young,” Mrs. Margaret said fondly. “But I knew you were perfect for each
other from the start.”
Nathaniel’s eyes met mine, and I saw my own shock reflected there. These certificates weren’t just real–they’d been in his grandmother’s possession all along.
“Grandmother,” Nathaniel’s voice was dangerously quiet. “How did you get these?”
“Don’t you remember?” she asked, genuine confusion crossing her face. “The day at the garden?
When little J–bird came to visit?”
J–bird. That nickname again. My head spun
with confusion.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I whispered, clutching the certificate tightly. “I never married you. I would remember something like that.”
Nathaniel’s expression hardened as he turned to his grandmother. “What have you done?”
Mrs. Margaret merely smiled, a mysterious glint in her eyes. “I’ve done what was necessary. For
both of you.”
My straightforward plan to get a divorce had just become infinitely more complicated. These weren’t lost certificates that needed replacing–they were the originals, carefully preserved by a woman who seemed determined to keep us together.
And the most disturbing part? They looked completely legitimate.
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