"Once that paperwork is filed," Gregory continues, "I can give you more information and advice. But until then, my hands are tied by the estate's terms. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"I'm sorry this is happening," he says quietly. "For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice."
My eyes burn. "Thank you."
"Take care of yourself, Julie."
"I will."
I hang up and set the phone down on the couch beside me. Jamie and Ryan are both staring at me.
"What did he say?" Jamie asks.
I take a breath. "He said I need to file to make it official, legally. He gave me the name of an attorney. He can't give me any more information until the paperwork is done."
"Information about what?" Jamie asks. "What gift were you talking about? What about the business?"
I look at my sister. At her confused, worried face.
"I have something to tell you," I say.
We sit down at the dining table. Ryan closes his laptop and pushes it aside. Jamie sits across from me, her hands folded on the table. I don't know where to begin. So I just start talking. "When Dean called me into his office the night before the wedding," I say, "he told me he'd paid off our business loan."
Jamie nods. "I know. You told me that."
"There was more." I swallow. "There were strings attached."
Her brow furrows. "What kind of strings?"
"The kind no one wants." My voice is shaking now. "He didn't just pay off the loan. He bought the entire building and all of the retail space. For me."
Jamie's eyes widen. "What?"
"He called it a wedding gift. But it came with a condition." I force myself to keep going. "If Asher and I divorce before five years, I have to repay the full amount—the loan, the building, all of it—or vacate within ninety days."
The silence that follows is deafening. Jamie stares at me. "How much?"
"I don't know the exact number, not really. But it's tens of millions of dollars." I shake my head because even now, I can't wrap my mind around it. "It's more than I could ever pay back. Even if I sell the house, it wouldn't cover what he paid for the real estate.”
“What the fuck,” Ryan mutters.
Jamie's face has gone pale. "So when you divorce Asher?—"
"I lose everything.Welose everything. " I finish. "The shop. The building. All of it."
She stares at me. "Julie. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I couldn't." My voice cracks. "Dean said I couldn't tell anyone. Not even you. And then after he died, Gregory called and told me I still couldn't say anything."
"That's—" Jamie shakes her head. "That's insane. That's?—"
"A trap," I say. "Dean knew exactly what he was doing. He locked me in. I realize now he did that because his son is a selfish, twisted piece of shit. He knew Asher would fuck up at some point, and he was trying to keep me there."
Jamie's eyes fill with tears. "So all this time—the last nine months—you've been stuck. You couldn't leave even if you wanted to."
"No. I couldn't."
