It was tempting.
“I’m just trying to make sure you’ve got enough energy to get through your meeting,” she clucked, looking me up and down like a disapproving mother. “What if you get hungry in the middle of it and get distracted?”
I scoffed. “All I’m doing is signing a forfeit,” I replied. “Maybe being distracted from giving up everything I own wouldn’t be such a bad thing?”
She sighed, evidently giving up. “Fine. But when you’re all grumpy later because you have low blood sugar, don’t come barking at me.”
“Duly noted.”
Elizabeth emerged from her room wearing a black pencil skirt and a matching black blazer. She looked like a sexy librarian, which was yet another possibility for distraction.
“You’re not going for a job interview, Liz,” her friend pointed out.
Liz sauntered up to me, reading in my eyes how much I loved the outfit.
Saucy minx. She did this on purpose.
“Isn’t it you who says to always dress to impress?” Elizabeth directed her question at Cressida, but she only had eyes for me.
“Yeah, when you’re going to the bar,” Cress replied. “Not when you’re only going to be in a room with stuffy old white guys.”
I gave Cress a flat look.
“Okay, and one less stuffy, less old white guy.” She threw her hands in the air. “You crazy kids do whatever feels good for you,” she said. “I’m just going to stay here and clean.”
“The place is spotless,” Liz pointed out.
“Nuh-uh.” Cress pointed to my abandoned muffin. “There’s garbage all over the counters.”
“We should go.” Liz grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. “Bye, Cress!”
Once we were in the hall, Liz squeezed my hand and smiled apologetically. “She gets frustrated when there’s a problem she can’t fix with food.”
“She must get frustrated a lot,” I observed.
“Less so than you’d think.” Elizabeth laughed. “You should’ve eaten the muffin, though. She made them special for you.”
I glanced back at the door, as if Cressida would be standing outside, watching us go. Guilt settled into my stomach at the same time as a strange warmth. Gratitude.
“She shouldn’t have done that,” was all I said.
“Cressida stress bakes. Better get used to it until we find our own place.”
Our own place.
The thought of moving in with Elizabeth should have been frightening. After all, I’d actively campaigned against getting that close to anyone for so long. Even before I was aware of my grandfather’s will, I hadn’t been ready to get serious and then after I wasn’t willing to even give the thought a chance.
Now I couldn’t imagine things any other way. I needed her close to me always.
We’d woken up in my mansion together this morning, after spending an exhausting night trying to have sex in as many of the rooms as possible for the final time. Tonight we would fall asleep together on her queen mattress, which she claimed was the most comfortable bed in the world. She was wrong.
But I was still excited about it. I would sleep on a bed of nails if it meant getting to be beside Elizabeth.
Damien had offered to drive us to the law office, but I wanted to take my car out for a spin one last time. The forfeiture of the will meant that all of my assets would be seized at midnight tonight. Granddad hadn’t been fucking around. We’d put it off as long as possible, but fall had crept up on us. As soon as I started school, I’d be breaching the conditions of the will anyway.
Better just to get it over with.
As we walked up the steps to the office, Elizabeth stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Last chance.”
I pulled her toward me, resting my forehead against hers. “I’m surer than sure,” I said. “I’m super sure.”
She giggled. “Them’s the good words that are going to get you through law school.”
“Don’t you doubt it.”
“I’m serious though, Oliver.” She reached for my face, resting soft fingers along my chin. “I love you. I love you enough to let you go if you have any doubts.”
“I’m serious too, Liz.” I captured her hand in mine. “I’ve never been this serious about anything in my life. Believe me when I say I love you, and that you’re everything I want in this world.”
She blinked, and I knew her eyes were threatening to fill with tears again. I held her hand and gave it a squeeze. I’d come to realize that what we were about to do sounded more difficult than it really was. The truth was that it was simply the last roadblock left between me and the next stage of my life, and I was completely ready for that stage to begin.
Anxious for it, in fact.
That night on her couch, when I told her I loved her and I’d always choose her, I’d meant it. Even if there ever came a day when her love for me withered, giving everything else up would still be worth it, just to have the time with her now. To have this. There would be no regrets.
I could no longer even imagine turning away to spend my life without her. All the money in the world couldn’t fill the hole that would be left in my heart.
The lawyer didn’t make us wait for long. Apparently, the nature of the will had caused quite a stir in the office, and my granddad’s lawyer was waiting excitedly for us in the conference room.
“Could he look any more eager?” Elizabeth whispered into my ear.
I shrugged. “It’s not every day you get to make a man poor with just a couple signatures.”
“Good afternoon!” Fred Gurnsted greeted. He reached for my hand, shaking it with gusto. “Please, please, come in.”
I took the seat at the head of the conference table. Liz sat on one side, Gurnsted on the other. For a man of advanced age, he was practically buzzing with energy. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him start to vibrate. I may have made peace with what we were about to do, but his eagerness still made me want to punch him.
“I understand you’ve come to undertake the forfeiture clause of your grandfather’s will,” he began.
“I have.”
“And you’re sure this is what you want to do?”
“I am.”
With shaky, liver spotted hands, Gurnsted reached into the manila envelope in front of him. On the front of it, there was a label with my grandfather’s full name, followed by the words “will” and “forfeit”.
“Has that envelope just been sitting in Oliver’s file since his grandfather’s death?” Elizabeth asked. “That’s kind of discouraging.”
Gurnsted laughed, revealing impossibly straight and white teeth. Pretending that it was simply a nervous laugh was all that kept my growing desire to punch him in check.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” he replied, eyes wide as he nodded emphatically. “It was sealed, however. I only opened it for the first time last night.”
And released all the cocaine inside of it?
“Shall we begin?” Gurnsted asked.
I nodded.
My stomach churned, but I forced myself to take the paper and pen he handed me.
“I’ve marked the two areas you need to sign and date,” Gurnsted explained. “Please take a moment to read through the text before you do so.”
I did as he said, but there was nothing unexpected or surprising. It was short but clear—by signing the document, I was forfeiting all the assets my grandfather had granted me in his will. Forever.
The pen hovered over the signature line. Despite how much I’d convinced myself that I’d made peace with this moment, I still felt ill at the thought of finally going through with it. But I mentally shook it off and put pen to paper. I signed once, then twice, and then I dated both the lines. In less time than it took to put on my shoes in the morning, I’d signed my entire life away.
My old life, anyway.
I looked over at Elizabeth, who gazed at me through pink-rimmed eyes. She knew how h
ard this was for me, but I wanted to make sure she understood that it was completely worth it. I had no doubts about that anymore. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“All signed then?” Gurnsted asked. His voice was almost so high now that it squeaked.
“Yep.” I slid the paper back across the table. “What now?”
His face split into a smile. “Now, Mr. Bentley, I would like to congratulate you on still being a billionaire.”
“What?” Elizabeth gave voice to the same word I would have used, if I hadn’t been stunned into silence.
“Is this a joke?” she pressed.
Gurnsted laughed jovially, his face turning bright red. “No!” he declared. “it’s not a joke at all. Although I suppose it was a bit of a prank on the behalf of your granddad, making you think you’d given up everything.”
“I don’t understand,” I stated flatly. “How is that possible?”
“Imagine my surprise when I went to prepare your forfeiture documents last night, and I found a slip of paper in the envelope that your grandfather had notarized by another attorney—presumably so I wouldn’t know to tell you. The old trickster added a final clause to the will that stated if you did forfeit your inheritance for true love, then you had learned what the pursuit of happiness really meant.”
“So you’re saying…” Elizabeth trailed off.
I understood. I dared not say it out loud though, in case it stopped it being true.
“You may now enjoy your full inheritance without any restrictions,” Gurnsted finished for her. “Congratulations, Oliver. And congratulations, miss… Whatever your name is.”
I leapt out of my chair and pulled Liz into my arms, spinning her around right at the table. She giggled happily and I kissed her again and again, savoring how it felt for our love to finally have no drawbacks.
Nothing would have kept me from loving her—but now nothing could.
“He left you a note,” Gurnsted interrupted. “I presume you’ll want to read it.”
He produced it from the envelope and passed it over to me. It was written in my granddad’s cursive, and the paper was rich and thick. I held it reverently.
Dear Oliver,
If you’ve reached this point, no doubt you’ve partaken in some cursing and ill feelings directed toward myself and my unique last will and testament. I don’t blame you. How cruel it must have seemed when you finally began to but up against the restraints I placed on you. How unfair.
I’ve never made a decision lightly in my life. I weighed all the pros and cons. I was shrewd. But I was cold. Because of this, I lost my son before I ever got to know him, and neglected a wife that deserved more from me than I was ever willing to give.
And then you came into my life, and it was a second chance. Not for me—I was far too old. I was far too broken. But I knew what a beautiful life I could make for you, and I did everything in my power to help you achieve that.
In my own way.
You were a wonderful child, despite many moments of snobbery and petulance. But those are typical of all children, and you’d had a particularly rough childhood. Deep down, though, you were always good. Your only fault was that you looked up to me too much. You still do. And as I watched you try every dream under the sun on for size, only to find none of them fit, I began to realize that your true passion would likely be found in sharing your life with someone else.
As tough as you liked to act, you always had a big heart.
But for that same reason, I feared that your love and admiration for me was what drove you and that once I was gone, you’d try to take up my legacy out of a sense of obligation. I feared that my passion would become yours, and that you would make all of the same mistakes.
So I did my best to guide you away from that life. To give you the means to explore the world without restriction or responsibility so that you could find your true calling. Not just for what you wanted to do with your life, but for who you wanted to spend it with. Truly spend it with.
It may have been misguided, but I decided the best way to make sure you chose wisely in where you placed your most important asset, your heart, was to make you believe that you could only have love if you were willing to give up everything else.
And you did. You risked losing everything. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.
If you are reading this note, Oliver, then it means that I am at peace. That I will spend the afterlife with no regrets. I once had so many. But knowing you found your own, immutable love, means that my life and existence wasn’t completely without purpose after all.
Thank you.
Epilogue
Elizabeth
I heard the slam of the front door and raced toward it, trying not to trip over myself in my enthusiasm.
“Hey, honey,” I greeted, slipping into Oliver’s arms. “How was school?”
He frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t say it like that.”
I grinned. “Sounds like somebody’s been having trouble with the other kids. You’ve got your grumpy face on.”
“This is just my face,” he defended. “I’m a billionaire business owner with a wife waiting at home for me. I’m not a little school boy.”
I kissed his downturned lips until they became upturned lips. Then I kissed them some more.
“You’re awfully friendly today,” Oliver murmured. His eyes grew dark with lust. We’d only been apart a few hours, but even that always seemed like forever.
“Aren’t I allowed to be friendly?”
“No,” he replied flatly. “It’s how I know you’re up to something.” He stroked his fingers down my arm to my hands, intending to thread his fingers through mine. When I didn’t open my fist, Oliver raised one of his eyebrows.
“What’s this?” he asked, tapping the back of my hand.
“It’s a present.”
“Is it a present I’m going to like?”
I giggled. “I sure bloody hope so.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Is it going to make a mess?”
“Probably,” I said with a thoughtful nod. “And before you ask, it’s not a mineral or a vegetable.”
Oliver chuckled and brought my hand up between us, unfolding my fingers one at a time. When my palm lay flat, my package exposed, Oliver stilled. I don’t even think he was breathing.
“Is this…” He looked up at me with wide eyes. “Are you… did you… pee on this?”
I let out a bark of giddy laughter. “Is that all you can think of?” I accused. “Yes I peed on it. I also rinsed it off. Look at the damn lines you fool.”
But Oliver had already looked at the lines and he knew exactly what they meant. As usual, he was just trying to get a rise out of me.
His lips crashed down against mine in the next moment, stealing the breath from my lungs. The pregnancy test clattered to the floor between us, echoing through the foyer as our bodies entwined together.
“I’m so happy,” Oliver said between kisses. “God I love you, woman.”
“I’m so happy you’re happy!” I cried. “I love you, too.”
“And I’m so happy both of you are happy,” Todd interjected. “But what exactly is it we’re all celebrating again?”
I laughed, separating just far enough from Oliver to meet Todd’s eyes. He was standing by the library doorway, brandishing a bottle of silver polish and a cloth. We told him he didn’t have to do it, but he claimed that polishing all the silver and brass in the house made him feel zen.
“I’m pregnant,” I announced. I hadn’t said it out loud yet, and I liked the sound of it so much that I repeated it. “I’m pregnant!”
Todd’s jaw dropped open. “No.”
“Yes!” I confirmed.
He bared his teeth in a beatific smile. “This is wonderful news! Congratulations.”
Oliver squeezed me back to his chest, muffling the thanks I was going to give Todd in his chest. His voice rumbled through me. “This is the best gift you could have ever given me.”
My heart flopped over in my chest and dissolved into a big pile of goo. If Oliver hadn’t been holding me up, I might have just collapsed at his feet. A baby. Our baby. What more could I ask for in the entire world?
“Just remember that if it’s twins,” Todd interjected, “I’ll have to charge more to look after them.”
I shoved back from Oliver’s chest, fixing Todd with an inquisitive stare. “You do babysitting, Todd?”
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