"Can I come in?" Jackson asked Maggie, who was still standing at the door motionless.
This question seemed to snap her out of her state of shock, she pulled the door closer to her body.
"No, you can't, crazy people are not allowed in," she said, ready to go inside to call the police just in case he doesn't leave, but his bored expression and the taut voice stopped her in her track.
"Margaret. Take a look at this folder." he offered it again "I'll be back in an hour." he said, turned around and left. Maggie noticed the same car from earlier parked in front of her house. This guy, this Jack person, got into his car, started the engine, and took off, so she closed the door and went back inside.
She placed the folder on the table and sat on the chair before she opened it to find a marriage certificate inside with what looked like her signature on it. 'What the hell?' she took the piece of paper and brought it closer to her face thinking that some miracle with happening and that it will disappear into thin air. She read what was written on it again and again looking for something, anything that will prove this was some kind of mistake, that it wasn't her data enlisted on the marriage certificate in front of her. But no matter how much she wished, not a single letter on it changed.
In disbelieve, Maggie took another paper from the folder, and it was a marriage license, with the same data on it.
It was clear as a day... Margaret Colt, date of birth: July 01. 1996. Charleston, South Carolina, blah, blah, blah, even her social security number matched the one on the papers, more blah, blah, blah, is married to Jackson Peters, date of birth: May, 15. 1987. Chicago... at the end of the page, date of June 01. 2018. Wait! What? That was less than two months ago! And she has never been to Chicago!
Under those papers, she found a copy of her driver's license and a copy of her passport.
"This is not possible! It's not happening!" she cried out loud, putting her hands on her head, trying to lessen the sudden pain in her head. She stood up slowly and went to a cabinet where she kept aspirins and other medicines. She took two pills and swallowed them with a glass of water. Even though she didn't like taking any sort of pills or medications, she knew that this time the headache she was feeling wouldn't go away by itself. No, no, it will only grow from here, so she opted for prevention.
Maggie didn't know what to think about what was in front of her. There was her personal information on the certificates, copies of her documents, her picture on them, there was no doubt in that, but she also knew that she wasn't married. She never even met the guy before!
There has to be some explanation for this! So she decided to just wait for him to come back and clear up everything.
And true to his word, minutes before 8 o'clock, he rang the doorbell. Her heavy legs took her to the front door, and she opened them wide, letting him in. He walked in with a smirk on his face. As he walked by, Maggie noticed how tall he was, a solid foot taller than her, and this strange energy that he emitted, the energy that intimidated her in some way.
Reluctantly, Maggie closed the door and went after him only to find him sitting comfortably on her sofa. He looked around with a serious face that gave just a slight hint of amusement before he spoke: "So, dear wife, what do you say?"
"I say that you need to stop calling me that because I am not your wife!" she seethed through her teeth while standing in front of him. Only the coffee table was separating them.
"I beg to differ." he answered calmly "You've seen the documents. We, and that means you and me, are legally married." he talked in slow motion looking her straight in the eyes, and she felt at that moment like he was talking to an idiot, so she swallowed the lump that was stuck in her throat and went to the kitchen to get a chair that she placed across from him and sat on it. The folder that he brought earlier, she carefully put on the coffee table.
"Care to explain all of this?" Maggie folded her arms across her chest and returned the stare. This guy was causing her blood pressure to rise, her blood to boil. He was acting like he had a stick up his a.. and she hated guys that acted that way.
"I am not sure what exactly you don't get. You've seen the documents." their staring contest never stopped.
"I have seen them! What I don't get is how's this possible, since I've seen you an hour ago for the first time in my life," she could barely contain herself from screaming at him, and he looked amused by her irritation.
"That's not exactly true, is it?" but when his question went unanswered, he continued, "Yesterday at the restaurant and last night at the club?" he questioned with his brows slightly raised, and after that, the look of recognition passed Maggie's face.
"Yes, I remember you now... Are you a stalker too?" she fake-gasped.
"No. I just wanted to see who I'm dealing with here beforehand..."
"Ok, let's cut the crap, shall we? I have an early shift tomorrow, and I'd like to get to bed as soon as possible, so please..." Maggie had enough of his ... whatever this was... assessment, judgment... so she motioned her hand towards the folder in front of them.
"As I said, we are legally married, and I came here to discuss our situation with you."
"Well, in my opinion, there's nothing to discuss. This is obviously some sort of mistake, and I guess we can sort it out easily. We can file for divorce first thing tomorrow," she started to laugh uncontrollably after those words, she just couldn't stop herself. Jackson watched her patiently, his bored expression did not waver for a second.
"I'm sorry about this," she muttered once she managed to stop laughing and catch her breath, "It's been a crazy couple of years and this... well it's just a cherry on top." she sighed and took one more deep breath feeling completely calmed.
"I've heard. Your mother's ill, and she's been in a hospital for what? two years now?" when he noticed her startled expression, he added: "I had my PI check you out once I realized you were real."
"Somehow, that doesn't even surprise me."
"I came here tonight because I have a proposition for you. The one I assume you won't be able to reject, judging by the lack of furniture to sell," Jackson sounded resigned.
"You know what?! Get out, right now!" something was off about this guy, and Maggie had no intention to make any deal with him. In her mind, it would be equivalent to making a deal with the Devil himself. Everything about him screamed 'run' and this, how she acted all cocky was just it, an act.
Jackson didn't move, he showed no intention of leaving before he says what he intended.
"I will pay all of the future expenses of your mother's treatment, both mortgages on your house, and the best recovery facility for the cancer patients just outside of Chicago once she's released from the hospital for as long as it takes," Jackson stated his offer calmly.
Maggie looked at him in disbelieve. This could solve all of her problems in the long run. But what's the catch? There always has to be a catch.
"And in return?" she questioned, not daring to blink.
"We stay married for two years. You pretend to be my wife for the public and..." he muttered something that Maggie didn't quite get "and after that time, you can go back to your old life. So, what do you say?"
After a couple of minutes of complete silence, when all that could be heard in the house was the sound of their breathing, Maggie realized that Jackson was serious, and cold sweat beads formed on her forehead."You are serious…" she muttered, stood up, and started to walk in circles around the living room. "Do you even know how it came to this? How this happened?" she just realized she forgot to ask the most important question."Yes, I do. My lawyer and I did some research, and the data that my PI provided made all pieces fall into place." Jackson made a quick pause, it looked like he was contemplating with himself whether he should tell her the truth or not, and after a sigh, the first sign that showed he wasn't as calm and collected as he appeared to be, he asked "Do you know who Julia Hendricks was?""Was?" Maggie was confused "There was a girl in my high school with that name but I haven't seen her in years, she moved away before the graduation." she
A week ago"Jack, have you seen it?" Jack raised his head and glanced towards his best friend, Robert Evans, that just entered his office."I am looking at it." words had a hard time coming off his mouth."Dude, it's her. That Maggie, your wife! What the hell?""I know!" Jack growled at Robert. "Apparently, her name is not Margaret Colt, and she's a murder victim in a casino in Las Vegas." Jack leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and sighed. "What the hell is happening here?" he was asking, but the question was more meant for himself rather than his friend."We have to contain this as much as possible. I'll call a PI that I trust, I've worked with him before. Maybe he'll find something that will clear this mess up." Robert offered. "Good thing that nobody actually saw you with her in public in the past month... ha. So listen, if the police come, call me? Don't do anything stupid."Jack didn't answer. He was looking at
Jack spent that day and evening in his son's nursery, vowing to be everything he will ever need in life, a father, a friend, the biggest support, and even a mother. He will be everything that he could, and even everything that he couldn't... he will find a way to become what was necessary.When that night Marry came into the nursery, she found Jack standing beside Eric's crib just watching him. She came closer quietly, took Jack by a hand, and led him out. She didn't stop dragging him behind her until they reached the kitchen, where there was food served on the table."You have to eat something. It won't do you any good if you starve yourself. It will be less good for the little one up there." she made him sit. Jack knew Marry was right, and he was thankful for her mere presence here, taking care of him and his son. Marry was his nanny when he was little, she took care of him better than both of his overachieving parents ever did, and there was no time in his life when
In the next three days, Jack was working from his home office and taking care of his son. Marry was of great help, she was teaching him everything that she knew about babies. Marry had experience and was in his earliest childhood memories. She also cooked his favorite meals even though he objected, he didn't want her to exhaust herself.Robert came by again, bringing him everything that his PI managed to find. Hiram used to be an FBI agent, but he kept in touch with his old colleagues since he started his private practice hence had no trouble finding everything that concerned Margaret Colt and Jennifer Lewis. It turned out that was the real name of the girl he married. Jennifer had a few aliases, and Margaret's name was one of many that she used in her not that long life.Jack gave his instructions to Robert about everything that he needed him to prepare for tomorrow morning and after Robert left, Jack took the file his friend brought with him and went into his office
Jack walked around the town for a while, allowing a moment to himself to just not think about anything or anyone, to be alone. He couldn't even remember the last time when he could afford such a luxury. After more than an hour of aimless strolling around, he ended up on the city beach. By then, the sun was at its zenith, but the breeze coming from the sea made the hot day bearable. He took off his jacket and rolled the sleeves up to the elbows before he took a seat on one of the benches placed along the shore.Jack gave himself a few more moments of peace before he pulled his phone from the pocket and dialed the landline number in his home that he knew Marry is going to pick up. She refused to have anything to do with the cellphones for years now, and no one could make her use one.On the third ring, Marry picked up and informed him of every single detail about his son, from how much he ate to how long his nap lasted. After bidding goodbyes to her, he contacted his PA for
Maggie didn't know what to tell her mother about everything that happened yesterday. She couldn't tell her the truth because she knew Rebecca will be worried, and she couldn't lie to her either.Earlier that morning, Maggie gave her resignation to the restaurant manager and said goodbye to her colleagues, and did the same with the club. On her way to the hospital she was trying to think of what to say to her mother, and not make her worry too much.Maybe she should give a call to Jackson and ask him? But she didn't even have his number. He left last night after she agreed to his plan, saying just that he will send someone to pick her up from the airport. She was supposed to fly to Chicago tomorrow, and she had just enough time to pack a few things, quit her jobs, and talk to her mother.Rebecca was surprised to see Maggie again today. She didn't expect a visit before the next week."Mom, I need to tell you something..." Maggie said slowly, avoiding her mother's e
"You did what?" Robert was shocked, "Have you gone crazy?"It was Tuesday afternoon, and Jack had just arrived at his office when Robert came by. His friend was expecting him to bring signed divorce papers and the forms for full custody of Eric, but Jack had none of those.When Jack landed in Chicago, it was after midnight, so he went straight home. This morning he didn't rush to come to the office, he spent a morning with his son, and now when he had a load of paperwork to go through, his best friend was bugging him about something that even he did not understand."You do realize that you just made things a lot more complicated than they were?" Robert pressed further."I know." Jack sighed. "I know…""Then why did you do it?" Robert shook his head in disbelieve."I can't explain it because I don't even understand it myself. I just followed my instincts…""Your instincts?" Robert interrupted him, "What instincts? You don't even have them! You are the most ration
"Miss? Miss?" the flight attendant was trying to get Maggie's attention. After she called her a couple of times, she gave up and reached for Maggie's shoulder, which seemed to do the trick because Maggie snapped out from her deep thoughts and looked at the girl standing next to her."Miss, are you ok?" Maggie heard the girl's question and quickly nodded her head. "Would you like something to drink?" the girl asked again."Coffee, please." and she smiled a little. The flight attendant served her a cup of coffee and moved to the next passenger.Up until a second ago, Maggie was lost in her thoughts. No wonder that poor girl thought something was wrong because she knew she looked like hell. No matter the bottle of cheap wine she drank last night and how tired she was, Maggie didn't get much sleep, an hour maybe… She went to bed around midnight and tossed and turned until the break of dawn. When the sun was starting to show its first signs, restless sleep cre