All Chapters of Married For The Show: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

RAINAI didn't see Castor for almost two weeks after that night.It was strange. He'd been a constant in our lives for five weeks that his absence felt loud. The corner table sat empty on Monday, empty on Wednesday, empty on the Saturday after that, and the Saturday after that.My mother kept it ready anyway.She'd smooth the cloth in the morning, glance at the door whenever the bell rang, and her face would change a little when it wasn't him."Maybe he's busy with the campaign," she said on the first Monday."Maybe."By the second Wednesday, she stopped saying anything at all.I told myself I was relieved.I really did try to believe that.I went to school, taught my class, came home, helped my mother with the dinner rush. I didn't think about the way Castor had said be careful, Raina. I didn't think about the way his face had gone still when I mentioned the party. I refused to think about how I hadn't gone to the party because some small voice in my head had told me not to.I didn't

RAINAThe bills were paid by the end of the week.I don't know exactly how he did it. My mother told me one evening that the bank had called, came over with a lot of paperwork, she signed and the foreclosure was now off.Whatever Castor had done, he'd done quietly, the way he did everything.Two days later, another miracle happened. Malik called me from school. His tuition had been cleared. The hold on his account was gone.He kept asking me how. I didn't know what to tell him.My mother did, though.She told everyone.The neighbors. The regulars at the restaurant. The woman who delivered the bread on Tuesdays. By the end of the week, half of Kansas City knew that Castor Rowland had saved the Gonzalez family from ruin.She started cooking for him.Not the regular menu. Special things. The chicken with the lemon sauce my father used to love. The flan she only made on holidays. She'd send it to his office in a small basket in the afternoons, wrapped in a clean towel, with a note tucked

RAINAThe wedding preparation took only one week.Castor wanted to do it quickly. He said he didn't want to waste time. He said he'd waited his whole life for someone like me and didn't want to wait any longer. My mother thought it was the most romantic thing she'd ever heard. I thought so too, most days.There were days when I wondered why we couldn't slow down. Why we couldn't take six months, a year, like normal people. But every time I tried to bring it up, he had a reason. The campaign was heating up. He wanted me beside him for the events. His mother was eager for a daughter-in-law and some grandkids. There was always a reason.Every time I tried to push back, my mother would sit me down at the kitchen table and tell me how lucky I was.I stopped pushing back.The dress was chosen for me. So was the venue, the flowers, the cake, the menu, the seating arrangement. Castor said he wanted me to relax and enjoy the process. He said he had people who handled these things. He said all

RAINAI woke up alone the morning after the wedding.The hotel suite was bright with sunlight when I opened my eyes. White curtains pulled back. The city visible through floor to ceiling windows. A breakfast cart parked beside the bed with coffee that had gone cold and pastries arranged on a silver tray nobody had touched.The other side of the bed was untouched.I sat up slowly and pulled the sheet up around me. I'd worn the white silk nightgown my mother had picked out for me. She'd handed it to me the morning of the wedding with both hands and a small private smile and told me to save it for tonight. It was still smooth. Still arranged exactly the way I'd put it on. The pillow beside mine still had the faint indent of the housekeeper's hand from where she'd fluffed it the night before.He hadn't come to bed.I pulled my knees up to my chest and sat there for a long moment, trying to understand what I was looking at.The phone on the nightstand buzzed.I reached for it.A text from

RAINAThe next day the hotel checkout was simple.The week has finally come to an end, so did my Honeymoon.I left the suite at ten in the morning, the same way I'd done everything that week. Alone. The bellhop carried my suitcases down to the lobby. The front desk thanked me for staying with them. Someone shook my hand and called me Mrs. Rowland and wished me a wonderful day.Samuel was waiting outside.I'd seen him plenty of times during the courtship. He'd driven Castor to the restaurant. He'd driven me to the wedding venue. He'd carried my bags, held doors open, stood quietly in the background of every important moment of the last couple of months. I knew his face. I knew his voice. I knew the small nod he gave.But this time was different.He stepped out of the car when he saw me, and his face was different than I'd seen it before. Not warmer. Not colder. Just more formal."Mrs. Rowland."It still felt strange to hear it."Hi, Samuel.""Welcome home."He said grandly. Then opened