“They thought that before you put on the ring.”
“They’ll destroy me.”
He held my gaze. “Only if you let them.”
I let out a sharp, unsteady laugh. “Why me?”
“Because you notice what others step over. Who gets ignored. Who gets used. People who’ve been unwanted usually do.”
“I thought I was the desperate one in this marriage.”
Rick lowered himself into the chair by the fire. “No. Just honest.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“You would’ve run,” he said. “And I needed time to prove I wasn’t offering you a cage.”
“So what now?”
“Now they’ll try to put you in your place. But this marriage—it was about giving you security too. And you’ll have it.”
A few days later, Violet cornered me on the terrace.
“I heard Grandpa changed his will.”
I turned to face her. “You’ve barely spoken to me in weeks, and that’s your opener?”
“Did you marry him for money or not?”
“I married him because I was terrified of being poor forever.”
“And now?”
“Now I think your family is worse than I imagined.”
The following Sunday, Angela introduced me at church as “Dad’s brave little surprise.”
I smiled. “And you’re his long-term disappointment, Angela.”
A woman nearby choked on a laugh.
She leaned closer. “You really think you belong here?”
“I do. More than people who mistake cruelty for class.”
By the time we got home, Daniel was already in the foyer with a lawyer.
Rick had barely stepped inside when he stopped, pressing a hand to his chest.
“Rick?” I caught his arm.
Violet came running. “Grandpa?”
“Call an ambulance,” I snapped.
Angela waved it off. “It’s probably just stress—”
I lowered Rick carefully to the floor. His breathing had become shallow, thin.For illustrative purposes only
Violet was shaking so badly she nearly dropped the phone.
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