Nathan
“Amari’s father?” I ask, shocked. 
“Yes, Sir. Thomas Brown killed his own brother and stole everything from his widow and daughter,” Brian responds. 
“I can’t believe this!”
I knew about Thomas stealing from Amari and her mother, but murdering his own brother never even crossed my mind. It seems I was surrounded by disloyal, pretentious idiots and murderers most of my life. 
“We were looking into him like every suspect we had for your accident when we found correspondents between him and the forensic guy who looked at his brother’s car after the accident,” Brian explains. 
“It was years ago when Amari’s father died. Why would Thomas keep all that and risk being caught?” I question. I assume that most murderers get rid of the evidence as soon as possible. 
“The forensic guy is still blackmailing him, Sir. Thomas has been paying him off for years now,” he responds and scrolls down on the tablet. 
I read the emails dating back to over a decade and shake my head at how cruel people can be. 
“This forensic guy has not worked for eleven years now, yet he lives like a boss with half a million getting into his account every quarter. He is milking Thomas,” Brain summarises while I read the emails. 
“How about my other fake friends?” I enquire. Michael, James and Thomas are as good as doomed. I need to know who else is joining that list. 
“They are just disloyal asses, but clean, Sir.”
“Okay. Get all this evidence ready and set up a media conference for tomorrow. Make sure that all my managers, including James, stakeholders, business partners and the police minister are in attendance. It’s time the country meets the UNLFA Co CEO,” I instruct, ready to shock the world. 
“Yes, Sir!” Brian beams. He has been waiting for this for months now, he can’t even hide his excitement. 
“Should I organise attire and transportation for you?” he asks with a huge grin. 
“No need, mate. I want to meet them like this first. I will bring my wheelchair for fun.”
Brain shakes his head. 
I want to know how the other business partners I never heard from after my accident react.  Pre-conference is a great and last opportunity for me to mingle and get to know who is who. 
I head back to my apartment and suddenly feel nervous. It’s time to come out clean to my wife and I don’t know how she will take this. She has been clear on how she hates lies and I have lied a lot. I pray that she understands my reasons. 
“Back so fast? Are you getting lazy with your exercises, Mr Lord?” my wife teases with a smile. 
I pull her into my arms and passionately kiss her before leading her to the lounge and insists that she sits on my lap. 
She wraps her arms around my neck and studies me. 
“Babe, I love you with every cell in my body. If you ever doubt anything, never doubt our love.”
She frowns at me. “I love you too, Nathan. What is going on?”
I swallow my saliva and confess. Her expression changes and her arms loosen around my neck as I continue to speak. 
“The accident and my injuries were real. Michael tried to kill me. I had to pretend to be poor to get to the truth,” I explain. “Please forgive me for not telling you the truth,” I add when she gets off my lap and stands a distance away. 
“So, you…” she halts and massages her temples. 
“The media humiliated you. Ella and Micheal humiliate us the park and assaulted you. James hurt, set you up and almost killed you…”
“I will make all of them pay, I swear,” I interject and she lets out a weak laugh. 
“You just let all that happen to you. Do you know how much it hurt me when those things happened? As your wife, I could not protect you. It was all game to you. You just lied and lied to me.”
Her voice trembles as she speaks. I get up and she backs away. 
“Babe, I know that this is too much to process right now, but…”
“You lied to me,” she accuses with a tone that sinks my heart. “Our marriage was based on lies. The only reason you would hide all this from me is if you thought I was after your money.”
I frantically shake my head. I understand why she would think like this. “Babe, that is not…”
She shakes her head, takes off the ring and puts it on the coffee table before heading towards the door. 
“Amari, wait!”
“I need time alone to think,” she says and leaves me cursing. 
I pace in the lounge wishing I did things differently. Yes, I did not trust Amari when we got married, but that changed within a week. Maybe I should have told her the truth. She would have never told anyone about it. Damn it!
I grab the ring and head to my bestie. She knows Amari better than me. She will know what to do. 
“Brother Lord?” Mrs Gail questions when I walk in and pace in her lounge. 
I walk past her and pace in her lounge. 
“Amari is mad. I can’t lose her.”
She lets out a sigh, pulls out two chairs and sits on one. 
“Take a deep breath, sit down and tell me what happened?”
I comply and confess. Her eyes widen with every word I say. She can’t stop laughing at how I plan to make a lot of idiots pay. She is the exact opposite of Amari. 
“So, you are filthy rich?” she asks when she finally recollects herself. 
I nod. 
“I have never had a rich person in my apartment. I never even spoke to one!” she beams. 
I am relieved that she is not mad at me for deceiving her. 
“You are best friends with one. Can you please help me get my wife back?” I urge. She does not seem the least worried about Amari while I am freaking out. 
She looks at me like I am crazy. “Get your wife back? You did not lose Amari. I don’t think you can.”
She sounds so certain, but I am not. I had never seen my wife so disappointed before. 
“She took off her ring and left the apartment,” I remind her what I already told her and she waves her hand dismissively. 
“She will be back,” she says dismissively but I am not so optimistic.  I would choose her over anything. 
“I need to speak to her and explain myself. Do you know where she would go?” I ask, desperate. Amari does not hang out with anyone in particular. I have no idea where she would go when upset.
“Yah, she will go and report you to God. Let’s go to the church. She will be there,” Mrs Gail says with certainty. That is exactly where Amari would go. She would never tell another person because that is gossip in her books. I don’t know why I did not think of the church. 
“You are going to continue visiting me when you return to your wealth, right?” Mrs Gail asks as we approach the church. 
“You are my best friend. I plan on remaining here, but I will take you everywhere I go if I ever have to go,” I vow and tell her the rest of the story, including the part about Amari’s father and the the details of tomorrow’s conference. 
“I am coming to that conference. I need to teach some idiots and murderers a lesson,” my bestie says and I have no doubt that she will do just that. I don’t really need it now, but I feel so much better knowing that she understands and still has my back.