Emily looked into his eyes and realized he was right. If she broke down then she was giving a small victory to the woman. She refused to do that.
"Do you want to leave?" he asked her.
"No, you are right; I'm not going to let her ruin my wedding day. If you'll give me a few minutes to freshen up, I would like to dance some more," she said to him with a brave smile.
"Anything you want," he answered her.
Emily walked into the house and began attending her smeared make up. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she was surprised by the look of determination in her own eyes. You're stronger than you thought, she mumbled to herself. She placed a smile on her face and then walked out to enjoy the rest of her wedding night with the new family she was so lucky to have become a part of.
"I'm sorry your honeymoon is being postponed," Mark said to her, as they flew down to California in the luxury jet.
"Oh, Mark there's no way I could enjoy a honeymoon with this stuff hanging over our heads."
"Well still, it's not right."
"I don't need some fancy honeymoon, or this big diamond on my finger. I just need to know Trevor's safe and you're in my bed each night," she said sincerely.
"Woman, you are a gift from the heavens," he whispered to her before kissing her with his usual passion. They were interrupted by the perky Lana as she brought them their lunch.
"I know this is petty and mean but I'm not comforted by the fact you'll travel at times without me and be alone with that woman. She's far too pretty and nice," Emily said with a slight pout.
Mark threw his head back and laughed out loud. "I have to say I enjoy this jealous side of you," he teased her.
Emily glared at her new husband. He wasn't going to enjoy it when she poked him in the eye with her fork, she thought.
"I'm sorry for laughing but Lana is perfectly harmless. She's very happily married to the pilot in front so you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Do you really think Amy and Jessica would allow their husbands to travel the world with a single lady?"
Emily didn't know why she hadn't asked the girls if Lana was single. The topic had just never come up in their whirlwind trip.
They reached their destination far more quickly than Emily had expected and were driven to an attorney's office. They had a scheduled meeting with the Jackson's before the hearing the next day. Mark said he thought he could get them to drop the case.
She was praying Mark was correct and the whole mess could be left behind them. She wanted nothing more than to have a worry free and normal life. She was a little afraid though, after the danger went away Mark wouldn't feel the marriage was necessary.
They'd only been married a few days and it would destroy her if he asked her to get an annulment. She was strong though and could make it through anything, as long as she had her son with her.
They walked into the fancy attorney's office, holding hands, showing a united front. She was shaking on the inside but to anyone looking at them, she looked confident and at ease. She was thankful no one could see the pounding of her heart.
"Just breathe," Mark whispered to her as they neared the conference room.
"I'm trying."
They were led into a huge room with a square table surrounded by chairs. There were two extremely well dressed men sitting at one end, otherwise the room was empty.
Mark led her over to the chairs next to the men and sat down. A woman came in bringing coffee and tea. There were several baked goods sitting out as well but there was no way Emily would be able to get anything down her throat. She was barely even able to sip the coffee and did so more to occupy her hands than for any other reason.
"Thank you for arriving early Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. We have the papers all drawn up and the investigators report. I think this meeting will go in your favor and you can put all this behind you and get on with your lives," the older gentleman said.
Emily was a bit confused, as there hadn't been much time for Mark to fill her in on everything. He'd told her a private investigator had been hired to look into the Jacksons past and current lives but she didn't know much beyond that.
Mark glanced through the papers and then sat back with a huge smile on his face. "You've done your usual amazing job Dillon, thank you," Mark said.
Emily looked at him questioningly but at that moment her ex in-laws stepped through the door with their attorney. Mrs. Jackson glared at both Emily and Mark but didn't say anything as they moved around the table to sit across from them.
"Hello I'm Mr. Abrams and I'm representing Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. I'm glad you wanted to meet before the hearing, as this could speed things up. My clients went through the legal system to secure custody of their poor and neglected grandson. Ms. Jackson, um excuse me, Mrs. Anderson now, thought she was above the law and fled. It's pretty cut and dry she's not fit to raise the child. We have agreed to a supervised visitation schedule, which I think is more than generous, considering the circumstances," the man said as soon as were seated.