FOR MONEY, I'LL MARRY YOU.......

24

👉🏻👈🏻

Althea was avoiding Jade.

Or Jade was avoiding Althea.

Maybe they were avoiding each other?

Either way, there was avoidance.

Jade was on night shift over New Year-something she'd volunteered for -so it had been easy to hide. Or so she'd thought. It turned out that Althea was on call and she was consulting on a patient who'd coded, and Jade spent over an hour brushing elbows with her as they saved the patient's life.

It was the stuff made of romance novels, and Jade was left with her stomach in knots, her skin on fire, and her brain imprinted with the memory of Althea issuing orders in a cool and calm voice, her eyes flashing over the scene.

They kept up the charade in public the few times it was an issue. Stood close and gave each other wifely looks, and all the time, Jade's heart was racing in her chest.

They left together some days from the hospital. Their rings stayed on their fingers. From the outside, nothing changed.

But at home, they managed to rarely be in each other's space. It were as if they'd both taken a huge step back and had a radar for how to avoid each other.

And that went great for a few weeks. With lots of snide comments from Bart.

Who Jade mostly managed to avoid too. Then Sally managed to get her alone, their eyes all lit up.

"So, you're still coming, right?"

Jade's hand stopped, coffee halfway to her lips in the cafeteria where she knew Althea rarely went.

"Uh..."

Sally slid into a chair opposite Jade, raising that one judgmental eyebrow perfectly as they did so.

"You forgot."

"No..."

"You really did."

Jade finally sipped her coffee.

"A little?"

Sally grabbed a grape from Jade's tray, and considering the circumstances, Jade didn't think she should even be grumpy about it.

"Jade," they said, "we spoke about it before Christmas."

So much had happened since then. The words that would give that away to Sally built in Jade's throat, pressed against her tongue. Jade wanted to spill them out all over the table and not even care what she left behind for the entire hospital to see.

But she and Althea had gotten this fake marriage this far, had gotten through Christmas, and Althea had her lawyer dealing with the process for the inheritance thing.

They couldn't mess it up now.

"Uh..."

Sally huffed.

"Paul's photography exhibition opening?"

"Oh!" Jade straightened.

"I do remember it. I do. It's-" she turned sheepish "it's tomorrow."

"So glad to see you're with me." Sally's voice was deadpan, and Jade flashed them a sheepish smile.

"Are you still coming? You said you and Althea were in."

"Yes, yes of course."

Jade tried to look natural while inside trying not to die. Maybe Althea would be working no. Jade had seen her roster on the fridge the other day. They were both free from seven. Maybe Jade could avoid mentioning it...