Chapter 3

"You always resented that money, didn't you?" I said, the thought suddenly clear.

Sarah flinched.

A few years ago, just after her brother died, her family had some unexpected expenses, legal fees, things for Michael.

Around that same time, I' d received a small inheritance from my adoptive grandmother. It wasn' t much, but it was all I had from the only family I' d known then. I used it for the down payment on the townhouse.

We weren' t even engaged yet. My connection to her family was still new.

"It wasn't a fortune, Sarah," I reminded her. "And your family never asked for my help directly. They barely acknowledged me back then, except as your quiet boyfriend."

Her silence was telling. That seed of resentment, that I hadn't offered up my small inheritance for her brother' s immediate family needs, had festered. It explained her casual disregard now.

"David was there for them," she said quietly, looking away. "He stepped up."

"And I didn't?"

"You had your own priorities," she said, a hint of accusation in her tone.

My priority was building a secure future, a future I thought included her.

I remembered looking at an old photo of us from a trip we took early in our relationship, smiling, carefree. It sat on my nightstand. I picked it up now.

Sarah' s eyes softened for a moment looking at it. "We were happy then."

"I thought we were," I said. The moment passed.

"The townhouse, Ethan," she said, her voice hardening again. "It' s in my name. Legally."

"And I paid the down payment and every single mortgage payment since," I countered. "I have the bank statements, Sarah. All of them."

A flicker of something, maybe surprise, crossed her face. She always handled the mail, the bills. I just transferred the money to her account.

"You kept records?" she asked, a strange note in her voice.

"Of course, I kept records," I said, a bitter laugh escaping me. "It's my money. Did you think I wouldn't?"

She looked stunned, as if the thought had never occurred to her.

"Mr. Thompson is helping me with the legal side," I told her. "We'll be filing to reclaim my equity."

She paled slightly but tried to dismiss it. "Lawyers? Ethan, don't be ridiculous. We can sort this out."

"There's nothing to sort out, Sarah," I said. "You made your choice at that dinner."

She still didn't seem to grasp the finality of it, or maybe she didn't want to. She talked about wedding deposits we'd lose, about what people would say.

I just listened, my resolve hardening with every word she spoke. The relationship was over. She just hadn't accepted it yet.