“I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“There he is!” A big black SUV pulled up alongside of me. The Svensson brothers stuck their heads out.
“Dude, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Josh said. “We thought you were kidnapped.”
I shook my head. “I fucked up.”
“We’re working on the divorce,” Eric assured me.
“Just let her have half the money,” I said, dejectedly climbing into the car. “She deserves it. This was my fault.”
“Dude,shescrewedyouover,” Eric said in disbelief.
I clenched my jaw. “No. My father did. He made it all up. Him and Addison, I’m sure. He wanted the inheritance. Had a prospective wife lined up and everything.”
“Oh shit!” Josh said.
“I was so fucking stupid.”
“We can still try to hold the divorce papers,” Eric said in concern.
“No,” I said, “just go ahead and file them. Even if I take the inheritance, everyone already knows what I did to Grace. No one is going to take me seriously. Let it go to my dad or charity.”
“You can’t let your dad win,” Eric insisted.
“He’s already won,” I said. “I lost Grace.”
“You need soup and bourbon,” Eric said, patting me on the back.
“And a shower,” his brother added.
* * *
All I wantedto do when we arrived at the front door of my penthouse was to crawl into bed. Or actually no. I couldn’t because it would make me want Grace back.
I’d sleep on the living room couch.
But I couldn’t even do that because Addison and my father were in the living room, arguing loudly with my mother.
“Out! Now!” I roared at him. “You especially, Dad. You cost me everything.”
“I saved you from a scheming gold digger,” he complained.
“No,” I said, clenching my fists. “You cost me the greatest love of my life because you wanted that inheritance for yourself.”
“I never!” He pressed a hand to his chest.
“Save your bullshit,” I snapped. “I found out all about it from Grace, no less, because for some ungodly reason she is one of the most connected women in Manhattan and had just had a lovely wedding planning session with a Ms. Frankel.”
My father blanched.
“Did you think I wasn’t going to find out?”
“Of course he didn’t!” my mother cackled. “He thinks you’re stupid, but you’re smart like me.”
I closed my eyes for a second, trying not to completely lose my shit.
“It’s ironic,” I continued, “that Grace was the person to save me. I should have seen it. Because unlike all of you, Grace actually loves me.”
