Theo pointed at me. “Barely.”
“What did you say to her?” Emily demanded. “Most times, she looked like you threatened to eat her.”
“I didn’t threaten,” I said mildly. “I merely implied.”
Callahan laughed under his breath. “I knew it."
“Okay, but why is she suddenly acting like you’re her favorite person?”
“Yes,” Theo added. “This is a very dramatic personality shift.”
Callahan leaned casually against the table. “That would be my fault. I told her we didn’t sign a prenup and I wanted a divorce.”
Emily's gasp was so loud I had to look around to make sure no one heard her. “You did not.”
“Oh, I did. But let's not forget that it was Vani's idea.”
Theo started laughing immediately. “Oh, my God. You really are terrifying.”
28- callahan
I sighed as I listened to my lawyer rant on the other end of the phone. His voice carried the same mix of outrage and exhaustion it had since the call began, and I suspected he had been holding onto this frustration since the moment my mother contacted him.
“Callahan,” he groaned through the phone, “your mother called my office at seven this morning. Seven. She demanded to know why I ‘failed in my professional duty’ to ensure you signed a prenup.”
I stared out the windshield of the car, watching a breeze ripple through the trees lining the quiet residential street.
“I imagine that was pleasant for you,” I said dryly.
“Pleasant?” he barked. “She threatened to report me to the bar association.”
Beside me, Vani sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead at her parents’ house. She hadn’t said a word since we pulled up ten minutes ago.
If the situation weren’t so predictable, I might have felt more annoyed, but as usual, my expectations held true.
Instead, I simply leaned back in the driver’s seat and listened while he vented.
Luckily for both of us, he had been smart enough to go along with her accusations rather than correcting her. If he had revealed that Vani and I already had a contract in placeprotecting both of our assets, my mother would have turned her anger in an entirely different direction.
“I tried explaining that two consenting adults can make their own decisions. Apparently, that’s not an acceptable explanation when the adult in question is you.”
I huffed out a quiet laugh.
“Relax,” I told him. “You handled it perfectly. That's why I'm treating you and your wife to a weekend at my coastal villa. All expenses covered.”
Thomas didn’t even hesitate. “You know what? Your mother is wrong. You’re a brilliant client.”
I smirked slightly. “I thought you might feel that way.”
I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket before turning toward Vani.
Normally, Vani had a way of filling silence without even trying. Whether she was teasing me, talking to Maria, or making spontaneous plans that left me wondering how she moved through life so confidently. But now she was staring straight ahead at the house, her shoulders tense.
Over the past two days, Vani has been filling me in on her family. My thoughts lingered on our recent trip with Maria to the store that she now owned. I still couldn’t fully process the fact that my wife had casually purchased a supermarket. Most people would have consulted ten advisors before making a purchase like that.
Vani had simply… done it. But then again, if she were predictable, she wouldn’t be my wife.
I smiled to myself as she suddenly puffed out a breath.
