This was the rage born from being played and manipulated by an evil, gleeful psycho who got off on fucking with your life, and making you look like the crazy one. It was the kind of rage that filled me just before the thought entered my mind that I could do it.
I could kill my sister, and not feel an ounce of guilt over it.
“Okay, okay, just slow down,” I breathed, putting my hands up in surrender. “Listen, I know I’ve done awful things to you. I’ve lied, I’ve messed you around, I blamed you for all of it, and I never took responsibility. Whatever resentment you have toward me, I’ve earned it.”
Rhodes’s lips peeled back from his teeth. “Oh, nice. We get Insincere Apologies and Fake Accountability Sue today. You haven’t brought this personality out in a while.”
I weathered his sarcasm with a hard face. “No, Rhodes. I’m not being insincere. I’m not being fake. This is the one hundred percent truth: I don’t want a divorce.”
Of course I didn’t want a fucking divorce! I can’t divorce men I’m not married to, and widowed men don’t get divorced in the first place!
“And I’m not going to fight you for custody, or demand child support, or anything like that,” I heard myself say. “I’ve got more than a sense that Soo Min Kim hasn’t been the world’s greatest mother.”
The three of them exchanged looks, trading disbelieving expressions.
“My point being,” I continued, “that if you’ve been her primary caregivers all this time, then you’re the ones who know what’s best for her. I’m not going to even think about getting in the way.”
Micah dropped his arms, stepping back. “Sue, what the hell is this? What are you saying? You’re the one who demanded the divorce. You’re the one who said you wanted allfourof us out by the end of next month. You’re the one who said we were a couple of dickless wonders who couldn’t find your G-spot even if we put our empty heads together, and you were replacing us with a man who could get the job done.”
I blew out a hard breath, stifling a scream.Hera’s sake! Even in death, I’m cleaning up after Sue’s cruelty! Why couldn’t that woman ever, for once, spare the jugular?
“I lied,” I dropped. “I didn’t mean any of that. I just said that to hurt you because I’m a childish, spiteful bitch that gets off on tormenting people for my own amusement.”
Three pairs of brows bounced up to their hairlines.
“There’s no affair. There’s no other man. I don’t want a divorce,” I said forcefully. “But... but I will tell you what I do want.”
Their expressions hardened.
“Here it is,” Alex scoffed. “Knew it was too good to be true.”
“Let me guess,” Rhodes added. “The cost of thisamicablesplit will be a cool eight figures and—”
“I want you to take the manor,” I sliced in. “I’ll be the one to leave, and you three can stay here—live here—and raise Nari in her home.”
“I— Excuse me?” Micah blurted.
“The only thing I ask is that you buy me out of my share of the manor. Whatever the cost would’ve been if we sold it, give me a fourth of it and that’ll be more than fair.” A thought occurred to me. “Well, also Omma’s personal things, her books, photo albums, and the rest. But otherwise, I don’t need anything else.”
If I thought I shocked them before, it was nothing compared to the thrice astonishment looking back at me now.
“Buy you... out of your share of the manor?” Rhodes slowly repeated. “But it’s yours already. Why would you just give it to us for a fraction of the price?”
“Because you have to raise Nari here.”
“But why—”
“Because no mother should ever throw their child out of their home!” I shrieked, blowing them back. “This is her home! It’s herhome! And Nari will leave when she’s ready, and not a minute sooner! Got it?”
“Yikes, we got it,” Micah grumbled—though his tone was ten times milder than when he tossed me against the wall.
“Okay.” My chest heaved, breaths coming hard. “Good. Then, just two more things. First, I know that things aren’t great between us and it’ll be awkward but, please, don’t ask me to move out until... until Omma...”
For the first time since I walked through the door, something approaching a real and kind emotion toward me crossed Rhodes’s face. “Sue, come on, of course you can stay with your mother until the end. We’re not monsters.”
I blinked rapidly, swallowing hard around the lump in my throat. “Okay... thank you.” Ducking my head, I dug in Sue’s bag. Lucky for me I was already holding it when they carried me out like a sack of potatoes. “Now, for my last request.” I took out the folder and handed it to them. “Here.”
Alex looked at the folder like it might bite him. He made no move to take it. “What’s that?”
