Page 23 of Beginning at the End
“My mother was a servant in the imperial house of the emperor.The old one, not the new one.When I was on the way, he gave her to one of his generals, they married, had me, and she settled in a distant colony.My stepfather was happy enough with me, and she was happy with him, so they settled down and had children.Den was one result of that union.”
“Oh.Right.”
“Now, I have a question for you.Why did you agree to Likon’s offer?”
“Well, I obviously didn’t have any legal exposure at that point, and I was living at a women’s shelter.My house had burned due to a neighbour’s fire, and I lost everything.I had just started at the media company a few months earlier and didn’t have much savings.So, I ended up at a women’s shelter, went to work, volunteered, and tried to figure out what to do next.That is where my blocky wardrobe came from.It was from thrift stores.”She shrugged.“Not fashionable, but it served the purpose.I started to collect enough funds to get first, last, and a deposit, and in that time, Likon was steered toward me when I was working with Tyler at the afterschool program.I guess I was what he was looking for.He told me what he wanted.I agreed based on a separate bedroom, and a few days later, the prenup arrived.Then a legal marriage and a name change, and you know the rest.”
“The name change was real.”
“Of course it was.I had to pay for it.”She grimaced.
He frowned.“We can file for a return to your original surname.”
“Another five hundred?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.I will put it on the list for a few weeks from now.That cheque is going to be doing some heavy lifting.”
He smiled.“I will assist in any way I can.”
“Feeding me once a day is plenty.”She chuckled.“I eat a lot.”
They laughed and talked about why he wanted to be a lawyer and why she wanted to be in advertising.
Their food arrived at some point, and they continued to talk and eat as they had their meals.
He looked at her.“I will get the name change drawn up.”
“Don’t be too hasty.I am trying to think of a cool last name.”
He paused and then snorted.“Why didn’t insurance cover your house?”
She ticked things off on her fingers.“It wasn’t my house.It was a cousin’s house.They had insurance but had not listed me as a tenant, so I was unable to get renters’ insurance.They renovated the house and gave it to their kids, so I was out on my ass.”
“And into a shelter.”
“Yup.That’s where I met Arwell.She owned the shelter and said that if I ever needed anything again, I could call her, so when Likon did what he did, I called her before I factory-reset the phone.She told me where to go and met me there.”
He nodded.“A good friend.”
“One of the pale ones with jagged ears.I think she’s currently in some kind of courtship because she takes a lot longer to return calls.”
“Interesting supposition.You are correct, by the way.I have looked into everyone associated with you, and she is forming a connection with a pair of my people.”
“So, two dudes.”
He grinned.“Yes.Too much?”
“Yeah, not really my thing.I was raised to believe that one partner was sufficient, and that was that.Stuck in my ways, I guess.”
“Your parents are still alive?”
“Yes.And I have one sister and one brother.No one talks to me.I had to be allindependentand not want to follow the pattern and get married right out of high school.”She shrugged.“The urge to travel and find a place to do my tech thing was a compulsion.Why did you travel here?”
He smiled.“Because all the non-official descendants of the emperor were being sent off to colony worlds, just to space us out and keep the bloodlines safe.Our lines are emergency reserve.”
“Oh, nice.Good to know you have a place somewhere.”
