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D amn! It had been so long since he’d thought about this. Did he really want to relive it all again?

Zack allowed his eyes to run over Dani, her familiar expressions, her beautiful body, and he knew for her, he would.

He swallowed, his throat dry, and Dani instinctively got up and fetched them both a glass of iced water.

Zack was glad of the reprieve.

He took a sip, then focused on a bead of condensation as it dribbled down the glass before he continued the harrowing tale.

“The clerk ran forward when the doors opened, before anyone really knew what was going on. She was a mousy, middle-aged woman, no threat to anyone, just doing her job to ensure our privacy, and they mowed her down like she was an animal. One minute she was alive, the next she was on the floor, riddled with bullets, her eyes open and sightless while she lay in a puddle of blood. I had nightmares about her for a long time.” His voice was barely a whisper and Dani leaned forward like she had to strain to hear.

“I dived onto the floor and from the corner of my eye I saw the woman pull the girl out of the room. That was the last time I saw her. Building security stormed in seconds later, the gunmen started defending themselves, and it all became one big, terrifying eruption of chaos and disorder. The judge and my father had rushed out through his private quarters, so I followed them.” He couldn’t bear to admit they’d left him behind.

“Adrenaline took over and I barely even realized I was bleeding.”

Dani sucked in a shaky breath. “You were hurt?”

He swiped his thumb over the sweating glass, watching the mayhem play out in his mind. Remembering how scared he’d been. How he ached to forget. How he pretended none of it had ever happened. Something remarkably easy since it was clear his father wasn’t interested in discussing it.

“Zack?” she prompted when he’d been quiet too long.

He roused himself, suddenly remembering their conversation. “It was just a graze through the fleshy part of my calf,” he replied, making out like it was nothing. Just like his father had.

Reaching out to him, Dani’s fingers brushed his arm. "Oh my god, Zack. I'm so sorry. That must have been terrifying."

He nodded, still distancing himself from the harsh reality.

It was the only way he could deal with it.

"It was. And afterwards, everything was a muddle of chaos; almost unreal.

I was in the hospital, and the police wanted statements, but my father's security team insisted on whisking us away in case there were repercussions.

The reason we were there just wasn't important anymore. Or maybe I blocked it out. I sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it. "

Saying it all out loud. Retelling the story of that awful day for the first time, it all sounded so fantastical, even to his own ears. Yet the pain and resentment Zack still felt was real on several different levels.

"But surely as you got older, you must have wondered..." Dani pushed.

Zack's laugh was hollow. “As I got older, it seemed like a strange dream, something I’d rather forget. Besides, my father wasn’t the most approachable man.

The one time I brought it up, the only information I got was that the woman and her daughter made it to safety.

And honestly, I was a rebellious teenager with other things on my mind.

My relationship with my father wasn’t good, and it only got worse.

By the time I really needed those questions answered, he’d died and taken his secrets with him.

It wasn’t until his lawyer showed me the marriage certificate that I realized the date of my supposed ‘wedding’ was the day all that had happened. "

He leaned forward, his eyes locking with Dani's.

"I fought it, as soon as I found out. Demanded an annulment, just to be told that option had expired an entire nine years before I even found out.

I tried everything I could to have it terminated, but there was an additional contract with clauses making that impossible.

I've spent the intervening years trying to track her down.

That's why I was so insistent about explaining.

Yes, I'm married, but not in any real sense, and not in any way that matters. Hell, it’s never even been consummated. "

He knew Dani was struggling. Knew it was almost too much to take in. A child marriage. A shooting. A decades-long contract. It sounded like something out of a movie, not real life.

"I... I don't know what to say," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zack's eyes softened, and he reached out to take her hand. "You don't have to say anything. I just needed you to know the truth; to understand why I said what I did that night at the club, and why I've been so desperate to explain ever since. I didn’t want you thinking the worst of me."

Dani squeezed his hand. "But why didn't you just tell me all this at the beginning?”

He sighed heavily. "Honestly? At first, I didn't think it mattered. Our relationship was casual, no strings attached. I won’t lie. I did my best to keep it that way, knowing I couldn’t offer you any more until my situation was resolved.”

She gave a small grimace, and Zack knew it was her turn to cast her mind back to the past.

“By the time I realized things were getting serious between us, I was afraid.

Afraid you'd run if you knew the truth, afraid you wouldn't believe me.

But when you finally asked about taking our relationship to another level, I knew I had to tell you the truth.

But you stormed off before I could explain. "

Dani nodded slowly, and Zack could see her processing everything he’d told her, undoubtedly trying to reconcile the man she thought she knew with this new information. She took a deep breath, before speaking again.

"Okay, I understand why you didn’t tell me," she said softly. “Even though I firmly believe honesty is crucial, especially in our lifestyle. However, if I look at it purely logically, instead of emotionally, I know it wasn’t pertinent. But it’s hard to untangle that from my emotional response."

Zack's grip on her hand tightened. "I know. And I'm sorry. I should have trusted you with the truth from the beginning."

"Maybe, maybe not. It’s not exactly a regular situation." Dani replied, her tone reserved, but not unkind. "But I appreciate you telling me now. It can't have been easy to relive all of that."

Zack's eyes clouded with remembered pain. "It wasn't. But you deserved to know. And I wanted you to understand."

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of Zack's revelation hanging between them.

Finally, Dani spoke. “So, what happens now? With your... situation?"

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the familiar frustration that always encroached whenever he thought about Emylyah Baskov and the predicament he found himself in.

"I'm still trying to track her down and my lawyers are working on an official termination. Unfortunately, because of the unusual circumstances, it’s not as simple as simply filing for a divorce, especially since I don’t know her location to serve the papers.

” There was more to it than that, but Zack didn’t want to get into the finer details of the contract his father had signed, in case it sent her running again.

"But I want you to know," Zack continued, his voice low and urgent, "that regardless of my legal status, my heart belongs to you, Dani. Only you."

Dani's eyes widened at his declaration. She obviously hadn't expected such raw honesty from him, especially after everything he'd just revealed.

"Zack, I..."

"You don't have to say anything," he interrupted gently. "I know this is a lot to process. But I needed you to know how I feel. How I've felt for a long time now."

He leaned closer, his gaze intense. "I've been fighting this battle alone for so long, Dani. And I realize now that was a mistake. I should have let you in, should have trusted you with the truth as soon as we started being exclusive, instead of trying to keep you at arm’s length."

Zack's thumb traced circles on the back of her hand, sending shivers up her arm which made him smile even through the bleakness. Despite everything, at least he knew she wasn’t immune.

"I spent a long time trying to convince myself what happened between us was for the best. Holding onto my anger at you for refusing to hear me out, for judging me without knowing the whole story. But it was a hollow denial. A feeble attempt at protecting myself. And I’ve realized, since seeing you again, it’s not what I really want. ”

He held his breath as he waited for her to absorb everything he was saying.

Finally, she took a shaky breath and turned cautious eyes to him. “And what do you really want?” she asked in a whisper.

“I want a future with you, Dani. A real future. No more secrets, no more half-truths. Just us, building something together. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to come here.”