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I give her a smile that I hope says I’m unaffected. “Thank you. I didn’t know her. She and my grandfather made my mother choose between loving my father or being a part of their family. Mom chose Dad, and well, here I am.” I wave and huff out a laugh.
“What did she send you?” Roman asks.
“A letter.”
There’s a long pause, and I’m not sure anyone in the room is breathing. It’s obvious that I’m upset, and they know I wasn’t close to her. My friends are smart, and they know something about that letter is what’s causing my sour mood.
“And?” Forrest prompts.
“Just a letter.” I shrug as if the letter was insignificant. It is insignificant. She has no control over my life. However, the reminder of those words on the page still lingers in my mind.
“Ladies, shit’s starting to get deep in here. You might want to roll up your pants legs,” Maddox says, crossing his arms over his chest.
I chuckle, because they’re my friends and my family, and they know me better than anyone. I should have known I wouldn’t be able to fool them. “Har har.” I barely contain the urge to roll my eyes. I’m irritated that I can’t keep this contained, but at the same time, I need to talk about this. To someone other than my parents. They’re too close to this. Too close to me to think about this objectively.
Not that there is anything to think about. It’s a bogus apology and an attempt to control my life.
“Listen, man,” Lachlan speaks up. “You don’t have to tell us, but we’re your family. Something is bothering you, so you might as well get it off your chest.”
I hang my head and expel a heavy sigh. The letter burns a hole in my back pocket. “My grandparents left me some money.” I scoff. “But there are terms I have to meet in order to get it.”
“What? Like reach a certain age?” Emerson asks.
“No. Like get married.”
“Seriously? What the fuck?” Lachlan blurts. “Can they do that?”
“The letter was accompanied by legal documents from their attorney, so yeah, she can do that.” Leaning my head back on the couch, I close my eyes. How is this my life?
“How much money are we talking about, Legend?” Forrest asks.
“Enough that we can buy the plot a few times over and still have money to build a state-of-the-art facility.” I pause, letting that sink in. “Five million dollars.” My voice is gruff, and it feels like gravel coats my throat as I tell them the amount.
A chorus of colorful words and disbelief fill the room.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out the crumpled letter, holding it up. “It says it all right here in black and white. If I marry and remain married for twelve months, I’m to meet with their attorney on the date of my one-year wedding anniversary, and I will receive a cool five mil.”
“Damn,” Lachlan mutters. “That’s some heavy shit.”
“What are you thinking?” Maddox asks.
“Five million?” Forrest repeats.
“You’re not even dating anyone,” Roman adds.
“I’m thinking this is her final fuck you from the grave. They made my mother choose between my dad and her family. Not once in my life did they try to reach out to my parents or to me. They obviously knew about me. They’re trying to control me, just as they did her.”
“What does the letter say?” Emerson asks.
I hold it up, and she stands from Roman’s lap and walks toward me. When she’s close enough to grab the letter, she does, but she also keeps walking until she’s close enough to pull me into a tight hug. On instinct, my arms wrap around her and return her embrace.
When she stands and makes her way back to Roman, he welcomes her, wrapping his arms around her, his hand resting over her belly where their child is growing. My best friend is one lucky bastard.
“Read it,” I tell Emerson. It was inevitable that I tell them the details. They might as well hear it word for word. I hang my head, my elbows resting on my knees, and keep my eyes on the floor as Emerson reads the letter out loud.
I feel a hand on my back, and I know it’s Monroe trying to offer me comfort. I don’t know why I can’t get past this. I didn’t know them. Now, from the grave, they’re trying to control me just as they did my mother. I think that’s the crux of all of this. They hurt my mother, disowned her, and made her choose the love of her life, her soul mate, over her family. She should have been able to love whoever she chose and have the support of her family behind her.
She didn’t.
