by Ella Miles
Larkyn and Kade’s house is a nice suburban home with a large garage, plenty of space, four bedrooms, three baths. It’s beautiful and homey, but not too big. It doesn’t show off the true wealth that Kade has. Larkyn didn’t want her kids growing up in something too grand.
There was a time when I thought a house like this would be the last thing I want. But when the kids come running at me, and I scoop each of them up, my heart all of a sudden feels empty. I’ve never wanted kids, never thought I’d be a good father, but I want to learn to be one. Millie would help me become a good father. And she’d make a great mother. I want everything with her.
“Millie, Sebastian, I’m so glad you could make it,” Larkyn walks over and gives each of us a hug.
I watch Millie closely. I don’t touch her. I don’t put my hands on her. But I also won’t be the one to start a fight.
“Happy birthday, sis,” I say.
“Thank you!”
“Is my big brother treating you well?”
“Of course, he went all out for the party. He’s out back arranging a band for dancing later.”
I smile. I love that my brother takes such good care of Larkyn.
“He’s spoiling me,” she says.
“No, he’s loving you. And you deserve every bit of it.”
She lights up. “Enough about me, I want to hear about how you two are doing! It’s been weeks since I’ve seen you together.”
I keep my mouth shut, waiting for Millie to speak first. If she wants to fake a fight, here is her chance. An awkward silence spreads between us.
“Picture! I take picture,” Iris says.
“Oh goodness, yes, you should get a pic of us,” Larkyn says to her child.
Larkyn stands next to me, leaving Millie no choice but to stand closer to me. I put my arms around her as the squirt takes our picture.
But as soon as she’s finished, Millie runs off, with some mumbled excuse about finding Oaklee.
“What’s going on?” Larkyn asks, as soon as Millie is out of earshot.
I flash her a wicked grin. “I’m proposing to Millie tonight.”
“I’m confused since I thought you already did that.”
“If I did, I don’t remember.”
Larkyn’s eyes widen. “I knew it! I knew you weren’t together the night you got married. We weren’t there, but I knew you couldn’t have been hiding a woman like Millie from us. So why did you get married? Why pretend?”
I shake my head. “It’s a long story, but I want to make it real.”
She claps her hands together, excitedly. “Oh my god. You fell in love. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“You thought I had married Millie but didn’t love her?”
“Well, I thought there was some reason you weren’t telling me at first. But lately, every time I’ve seen you two together, you are all over each other. So if you are going to propose tonight, why does Millie look like she’s about to explode into a million tears?”
“Because tonight was the night we were supposed to end it.”
“Oh.”
“Yea, oh. Instead…” I pull out the ring. “I’m going to propose.”
She looks at it closer with recognition in her gaze.
“You know where the ring came from,” I say.
She frowns. “Maybe.”
“Where?”
Her eyes flicker up at me. “You don’t remember that night?”
“No.”
She smiles. “Let’s just say it’s the perfect ring for you two.”
“Tell me.”
“Nope. Now, go win your girl. But be careful with big gestures, and don’t take her first reaction as her truthful reaction. Give her time to realize that you love her for real. That will take time.”
“I will.”
I turn and start to head off to look for Millie and avoid Kade. I don’t want to hear him yell at me for not getting her to sign the damn prenup again.
I bump into a caterer. I get tackled by Henry, one of Larkyn and Kade’s kids. But I don’t find Millie.
I head out back to where the band is setting up, and then I see her in a heated discussion with the guitarist.
I run over, afraid that the man will hurt her when I hear him speak. “You took half my fucking money! That makes you a gold digger!”
I step between the man and Millie. “Sir, step back.”
He growls, looking from Millie to me. “You, her new husband?”
“Yes, and if you speak to my wife again, I’m going to punch you.”
He laughs. “I’m done with her. Tell the Kings I’m sorry, but I can’t play tonight, not with her here.”
“And you are?”
“Her ex-husband, Noah. And a piece of advice from one ex-husband to you, her next victim—make sure you get a good lawyer when she files for divorce. Which will be about six months after the wedding. That’s when she knows she’s been married long enough to ask for half of everything. She has an excellent lawyer.”
He stomps off, and I can’t process what he said.
“Let me explain, please,” Millie says quietly from behind me.
I turn slowly. I notice others in the backyard, watching us closely, but I no longer care what anyone thinks. I just want the truth. I want to know my future with her isn’t at risk.
“Is what he said true? Were you married before?”
She sucks in a breath and then nods. “Yes.”
“And the rest?”
“True,” she says without hesitation.
I look at her through a new light. Do I even know her at all?
Millie has her arms wrapped around her chest, and she looks like she’s about to be sick.
“What else? What else haven’t you told me?” My voice is angry. I can’t hide it, and I can’t keep everyone in the yard from noticing our fight either.
“I’ve been married three times,” she says softly.
Three.
Fucking.
Times.
Holy shit. She’s thirty. How does someone get married three times? Unless the bastard was telling the truth. Unless she really is a gold digger. Spots rich men to marry and then fucks them over with a divorce settlement. That’s why she never works a real job. It all makes sense.
I take a step back when she reaches her hand out to touch me. I can’t handle her touch right now. I need to get out of here. I need…
“That’s what you get, you asshole,” Oaklee says, coming up to support her friend. Her pregnant belly is round beneath her black maxi dress.
“That’s what I get?”
“You hurt us, so we found your weakness. We got you drunk and then tricked you into marrying her so she could take half your money and pay you back for what you did. You’ll lose half of everything,” Oaklee continues.
I look at Millie dead in the eyes, and I know without her reacting that it’s all true.
“How long have you remembered? This entire time?”
Millie swallows hard, and I realize I don’t want to hear the answer.
I hold up my hand, stopping her from speaking as I feel all eyes on me. I feel the ring in my pocket—a ring of unknown origin. But one I plan on throwing into the ocean as soon as possible.
My heart has never beat faster, never been more panicked, more pained, more broken. I look at the only woman I ever imagined as my wife. A wife that will be able to take half of everything I own. She said it was pretend, but it wasn’t, it was real. The marriage certificate was real. Legally, we existed. And emotionally, I fell for her. This is as real as it gets.
I thought I’d make it real tonight. I thought I’d cement us together forever.
It became real, but we won’t be locked together forever.
And then I say the words that I thought I’d only say under false pretenses, but they have never been truer.
“We’re over.”
38
Millie
We’re over.
I thought I was prepar
ed to hear him say those words. But hearing them with all of the pain in his voice rips through me like an ax.
Our fight was supposed to be pretend, but there was nothing fake about our fight. It was completely real.
The crowd is quiet as we stand. They part when Sebastian heads back into the house.
I close my eyes, needing some strength before I chase after him.
“It’s for the best,” Oaklee says next to me.
I open my eyes, sending her a glare. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“That was the plan all along, though.”
“I didn’t remember the plan until the other night. And he didn’t deserve that.”
“But—“
“We were wrong. It was a mistake. Boden did what he did on his own.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod.
“Shit.”
I don’t have time to explain everything to Oaklee. I start running, even though I’m wearing uncomfortable wedge heels that I struggle to run in, I run.
I was prepared to say goodbye tonight, but only on good terms. Only if we parted as friends. I can’t part Sebastian like this.
I see Larkyn in the house, who gives me a puzzled look then points to the front door. I’ll have to thank her later. I run out the front door and see Sebastian about ten feet from his car.
I open my mouth, but if he hears me coming, he might get in the car and take off before I get to him. So I run, flying as fast as I can and I fling myself in front of him just as he reaches his car.
“Listen. Please.”
“I don’t need to hear any more. Not from a liar like you.”
“Sebastian, just listen. It’s not what you think.”
“There isn’t any possible explanation you could give me for not telling me you were married three times, stole money from unsuspecting men like a leech, and then are trying to pull the same thing on me. You’re a con-woman.”
I wince at his harsh words. I deserve that, but it doesn’t help the situation. He doesn’t understand why.
“And you were an asshole when I first met you!”
“I called you fat. I didn’t try to steal half your wealth.”
“I thought you had been helping Boden cheat on Oaklee. I thought you were a monster.”
“And I thought I loved you. I guess we were both wrong.”
There is a crack of lighting when he says his final sentence, followed by the rain pouring down in sheets.
Just like that, the world declares us over. We’re over.
It’s for the best.
“I’ll see you in court,” Sebastian says, pulling his door open to escape the rain.
“I don’t want your money.”
“And I don’t want you.”
His door slams shut, and then he’s driving off.
Leaving me breathless as I stand in the rain.
I don’t know how long I stand there in the pouring rain. Eventually, Larkyn finds me and brings me inside, wrapping me in a blanket.
“I’m sorry, I’ll call an Uber and get out of your way.”
“No, you’re staying here tonight. I know Sebastian needs his space. And Oaklee doesn’t seem like the best friend of yours to be around.”
“But you’re Sebastian’s family. I shouldn’t be here. Not when I hurt him.”
She smiles as she hugs me. “That’s exactly why you should be here. Now tell me everything.”
So I do.
39
Sebastian
I drove until I could find the shittiest, ugliest bar in town. The kind with cockroaches and everything is sticky where you walk. The kind that only serves one brand of beer and two brands of whiskey.
That’s where I’m sitting, holding a whiskey glass in my hand filled with some cheap shot.
I haven’t taken a sip, and yet, I still feel drunk.
The bartender walks back to me. There are only three other people in the bar. It’s a slow night.
“Want to try the other whiskey? Or I can mix some fruity shit in it if that’s what you need to get it down.”
I glare up at the rude man. “I’m good.”
He chuckles and then walks away.
I go back to staring at my glass, feeling the effects without drinking. I’m drunk not on the liquor, but on Millie. I’m drunk on the pain, the misery.
I realize there is no going back to my life before. Not after I’ve realized what I’m missing. Even if Millie faked everything, for me, it was real. And I want it. I just can’t have it with Millie.
She’s a liar.
A fraud.
A mistake.
A mistake that’s going to take half my money. Not that I give a damn really. I don’t need my wealth. I don’t need any of it.
Millie was married three times.
She’s a gold digger.
She remembered that night.
I wish I could remember. I wish I could understand what really happened. If I could rewind and remember, maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here like a chump who just got his heart ripped out.
I can’t shoot the whiskey. I can’t drink. I won’t do drugs. But I can find a woman to drown my misery in, not that I’ll find one in this bar. It’s probably why I chose it, so I wouldn’t be tempted to do something that stupid.
“King?” A man says from behind me.
I turn, not in the mood to talk to anyone tonight. And when I see him, I’m really not in the mood.
“I wouldn’t come any closer, not unless you want to get your ass beat again.”
Trevor doesn’t hesitate. He takes a seat at the bar next to me.
“I don’t want to cause a fight. I’m here to apologize. I shouldn’t have laid a finger on Millie.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” I grip the drink tighter, wishing I could drink it and not lose myself. “What do you want?”
He studies me a moment. “I’m here to talk about Millie.”
“You want her, you can have her. We’re through.”
There’s a pause and then a soft chuckle. “So she told you.”
“Yea, she told me she’s a fucking gold digger who has been married three times before me.”
“Wait…you think Millie is a gold digger?”
“Yes. I met Noah. She took half his money. And that’s the only reason she’s married to me.”
Trevor hangs his head low, and he shakes it. “Oh man, I’m going to regret this. I’m really enjoying watching you hang out your misery, but you don’t have a damn clue what you’re talking about.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You don’t have a clue. Millie is a lot of things. She’s all over the place, wild, carefree, but she is not a gold digger. The one thing in the world Millie could care less about is money. Trust me, I was married to her for two years.”
He might as well have punched me. The bastard was married to her longer than I will be.
“And why should I listen to a criminal like you?”
He laughs hard at that. “I’m not a criminal; I’m a lawyer. Your investigator must have spelled my name wrong, too. Trevor with an ‘o’ is me, a lawyer, but Trever with an ‘e’ has a nasty rap sheet. We share the same last name. I found out about it when I got mistaken for him during my bar exam, so don’t kick yourself for screwing it up.
“In regards to Millie, I never hurt her physically. I would never lay a hand on a woman. We just didn’t belong together, and I’m afraid I hurt her in more ways than I realized at the time. I know that, now that I’m in a good relationship, which is why I’m here.”
“I’m confused. If you are in a good relationship, why did you stalk Millie?”
“Because I needed to give her this.” He lays a stack of papers in front of me. “Make sure she gets them. And if I were you, I would listen to her before you throw away what you have. Millie and I didn’t work out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what a catch she is. I saw the two of you together. You fit. We didn’t. She was looking for a
man who could tame her. But she doesn’t need to be tamed, you know that.”
I narrow my eyes and watch as he leaves. “And don’t worry, she can’t get half your money. But if you aren’t careful, she’ll get away with half of your heart.”
40
Millie
I need to get up off the couch I’ve been sleeping on all night in Larkyn and Kade’s home. I need to pick myself up. I need to start over. And I need to explain and apologize to Sebastian.
Not because I deserve forgiveness, but because he deserves to hear the truth. He deserves to know what happened. He deserves to understand the pain that led to me hurting him.
I can’t sit here on this couch, and yet, I’m putting off seing Sebastian because the next time I see him could be the last time. Having Sebastian in my life, even when he’s upset with me, seems better than not having him in my life at all.
And then I feel him. Without looking up, I know he’s here. Apparently, today is going to be the last day I see him.
“Can we talk?” I ask as I look up at him. I should be the one to speak.
“No.”
His word cuts through me. But he continues toward me even though he said no. Does he want me to leave? I can understand since this is his brother and sister in law’s house.
He sits down on the couch next to me silently before finally saying, “We can’t talk. You should talk, and I can listen.”
He leans back, not giving me a clue to how he’s feeling. To what he’s thinking. But it’s clear he won’t be talking. This is my chance to come clean about everything. To tell him everything.
“His name was Gavin. We grew up together. Had that epic kind of love that you just know is going to last forever. Except it didn’t.” I swallow, it’s been a long time since I talked about Gavin. But it’s where my story starts—the first man who ever destroyed me.
“We were twenty when he proposed. We were poor. Neither of us went to college. We both worked three jobs a piece just to survive, but we were happy. We were going to have forever.” My voice cracks, reliving the pain.
“I said yes immediately. We got married in the courthouse that weekend. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for us. But then things changed.
