JONATHAN'S POV

I closed my phone and shut my eyes in relief when Danielle's phone began ringing. I knew how much shock she would be in and this had been the best idea I'd gotten, having gotten the hint on what her mother had said almost a mile away. The phone rang and rang until the sound died down. I sent a text to Eleni telling her there was no need to make any more calls. Danielle didn't seem like she was going to pick it, regardless of who was calling.

"Why did he tell you that? What were you talking about? And why were you with him? Or did he call you?"

I could feel her mother's growing confusion at Danielle's almost hysteria. "What happened? Was there a reason he shouldn't have told me, or is the problem with me finding out?"

Someone began tapping the chair and I glanced back. As I'd expected, it was Danielle. The expression on her face was beginning to scare me and coupled with that nervous taps, I needed to make a decision and fast.

"No. I mean I would have loved to tell you my news but how did you… Or how did he tell you? Have you been seeing each other frequently? Last I checked, he lived about five minutes from me, and that's over an hour away from you."

"He told me he lived in the area. We've been running into each other for months now. Since that time I told you he visited my shop to get his hair cut and started referring his friends to me, we've been seeing each other a lot. Why? What's going on? You're scaring me." Her mother replied.

"So… he kept on running into you. All without informing me." She muttered. "But what did you mean by what you said earlier? What were you helping him with?"

"The last few times we ran into each other, he has always had a cookie or coffee for me, not that I asked, so I took him out for a drink. Actually, I had to beg him to allow me to buy him a drink because he kept on refus…"

"Mom." Danielle interrupted her mom's tirade. "You're digressing. Get to the point."

Her mother sighed deeply and muttered something I didn't get. "Fine. After he allowed me to buy him a drink, I started asking him some questions about him. Since you mentioned that he was a college friend of yours and all I've been doing have been receiving rather than giving. He then mentioned that he was single, after I asked, and I tried to introduce your charms to you. That was when he mentioned you had gotten married. He even sent me the link to all the sites you were on and sent the address to your office. Why? Thanks to him, I never would have found out."

I'd closed my eyes during the mother's explanation, knowing exactly how that news was going to affect Danielle. I knew how much stock she had put in her friend. Even though she might never have told him exclusively to keep the news of her marriage from her mother, anyone that had been in his place would have called her first to clear up what would have felt like a misunderstanding. Not revealed everything possible to her mother, knowing how she would have reacted. The very fact that she hadn't been in the wedding should have been proof enough.

"Wow." Danielle whispered. "Can I see the text he sent you?"

Her mother gasped. "I forgot. He told me to delete it immediately and not to mention his name to you. No wonder something felt strange during this questioning. Is that all?"

"You should have kept it to yourself then." I heard Danielle whisper, her voice revealing her pain. "That's all with the questioning. How about you? Do you have any other question for me? I'm tired, and I really want to go home." Her voice broke.

I glanced at the backseat again and saw Danielle put her head on the headrest, ignoring her mother's questioning look. "I'll take that to mean you have no other question." Danielle said from her position when her mother kept on staring at her silently. I also turned back towards the front.

"I have another question. For your husband this time." The emphasis on the word 'husband' didn't escape me, and it took all my self-control not to flinch.

"What question…" Danielle started asking, her voice rushed when her mother hit the back of the chair I was seated in. I winced and turned back, keeping my face an impassive mask. "Is there a problem?" I asked.

She stretched her hand to me and I took it, the calmness giving way to genuine curiosity. "I'm your wife's mother, Linda."

"I'm Jonathan." I responded.

"I know. I saw it on the internet." She took a deep breath. "Now that we've known each other, it would be wrong for me not to know where my daughter lives, right? No matter how much her friend and I searched, we couldn't find any known address. That won't be a problem, right?"

I glanced at Danielle, who was staring at me for the first time since this farce started. "Of course. You're her mother." I responded and Danielle flinched.

Linda gave a satisfied smile and rested back in the seat, but I still had something to say. "On one condition, though." Both mother and daughter stared at me in surprise.

"Our place is not listed on the internet intentionally for privacy and security purposes. I don't mind you coming to visit where your wife lives, but the location and any form of description is to be kept a secret. Both from your friends and my wife's friends. Only few people have access to it, so if anything about it is revealed, it will be very easy to trace who had leaked it out. It won't be a question of easy apology if push comes to shove and there'll be nobody to profit from the news."

Danielle's eyes flashed, whether at my dig at her friends or indirectly saying her mother couldn't keep a secret, I didn't know and quite honestly, didn't care about that. "Are we ready to go?" I asked and they both nodded and started putting on their seatbelt. The tension was once again building in the car, and I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about riding with that kind of mood up. The headache that had disappeared after my brief rest in the office was now back with a vengeance.

I turned back to Danielle. "I understand how much you miss your mom and want to catch up with her on the way home, but you can have as long as you like to do that when we get home. For now, I would really appreciate it if you came to join me here in front."

Danielle glared at me for my speech while her mother sputtered. "I guess you should." She responded to Danielle, who had turned inquisitive eyes on her. "It's not like anything will happen to me here."

Danielle turned to her mother. "Of course not." and opened the door, coming down. My smile of triumph faded when she opened the door to my seat. I stared at her in surprise, and she gave me a blank look. "What are you doing? Aren't you coming down? Have you forgotten that you're on drugs and you need rest?" She asked the last question in a whisper.

I opened my eyes wider. "I feel well enough to drive. What will your mother think of me?" I also asked in a whisper and made to close the door, but she held it. Since I hadn't applied too much force in trying to close it, not much difference was made.

She shrugged. "I don't know. You wanted me to ride in front."

Linda stretched her neck to the front. "What's going on now?" She asked with concern.

I smiled, "Nothing." and looked at Danielle for a while. "Ride in front, not drive the car." With a huff, she moved to the other side and I closed the door. I opened the door for her like she had done earlier that day and she entered. "Thanks. How are you feeling now?"

I smiled. "Perfectly able to drive my mother-in-law home without causing alarm."

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