Chapter 7
I said, “How many times do I have to say it? Cheating isn’t just about sex. Your behavior toward her crossed the line ages ago. And you wanted to buy her a house? What am I to you, some kind of Hello Kitty plush toy?”
Dorian, sitting next to Linda on the couch, tried to take the high road. “Linda, maybe our traditions are just a little different. You might not understand, but we just wanted to honor our eldest son.”
Linda didn’t even look at him. She said, “Right. I’ve only got one kid, a daughter. I don’t have a dead son trying to haunt his younger brother’s marriage. So no, I don’t understand.”
Dorian’s face dropped. “Can’t we be civil here? We’re all parents. Try to see it from our side.”
My dad, Charles, couldn’t take it anymore. He raised his voice. “Exactly- we’re all parents. So how the hell can you do something this shameless? My daughter marries into your family, and you expect her to share her husband? You think we’d just accept that?”
Stellan quickly turned to Charles. “Please, don’t get upset. We talked it over and thought, if Lyra and I have a kid, we could let the first one take my brother’s name. That way, he’d still have a legacy.”
I nearly choked on my water and burst out laughing. “Stellan, are you seriously dreaming? Who the hell said I was gonna have your kid? And
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even if I did, you want to hand them over to your brother’s memory? What do you think this is, a royal succession plan?”
Stellan looked heartbreakingly sincere. “Lyra, I love you. I’m not
divorcing you. But I’m the only son in the family–I have responsibilities. I hope you can understand that.”
Charles didn’t wait. He kicked him square in the leg. “Understand this, you lunatic–get out of my house before I lose it!”
Elysia finally dropped the act and pulled out a spreadsheet from her purse. “Whether the kids divorce or not, since Charles still has the energy to kick my son, I guess he’s fine. Let’s settle the wedding money.”
Called it. I knew this trio didn’t show up out of kindness–they were here for money. Then I said, “You could’ve just led with that. Why waste our time putting on a whole show?”
Elysia unfolded the paper. “I did the math this afternoon. Guests from Lyra’s side gave over thirty thousand dollars. Ours gave just over ten thousand dollars. The wedding itself cost about twenty thousand dollars. plus a few grand for the planner. That leaves around ten thousand dollars. Hand it over.”
Linda grabbed the paper and shredded it. “You think you can just show up here and shake us down? Did you ever mention splitting costs before the wedding? No? Then get the hell out.”
Elysia lost it. “So what, you think you can rob us? You took all the money this morning, and now you’re trying to push Lyra into divorcing my son?
How much do you think she’s worth–five thousand dollars a night?!”
Without missing a beat, Linda slapped her across the face. “You hag! Watch your disgusting mouth!”
The whole thing was about to spiral into total chaos. I pulled out my phone and waved it. “This afternoon at the wedding. Dorian literally said the cash gifts were for us newlyweds. Now your wife shows up trying to collect like a debt collector? Don’t worry–I recorded everything.”
I turned to Dorian. “You’re so obsessed with saving face. If you can’t control your family, I’ll upload this whole mess online and let the internet decide who’s in the wrong.”
The next day, Rowena showed up at my place again.
“Lyra,” Rowena said softly, “I think you must’ve misunderstood me. I never wanted to steal Stellan from you.”
Just looking at her fake–ass face made me want to puke.
