“I’m so sorry about what I did, Ashly, but I was young and—”
“How could you dump me like that in front of all my friends and family?” I shouted, cutting him off.
Tired of the drama, the lawyer interrupted. “Folks, if we’re going to read the will, we must get on with it. If not, we should reschedule. I don’t feel comfortable being in the middle of this very personal argument, and I have a family obligation tonight.”
Jake pulled a chair and motioned me to sit down.
“Fine, but you’d better read it fast, because I can’t stand being in the room with this jerk a minute longer than I have to be.”
Jake met the lawyer’s gaze and winced. “In case you didn’t notice, she hates me.”
“Can you blame her?” Mr. Shelby said, much to my surprise. “You left this beautiful woman at the altar. I was there when she told all of the guests there wouldn’t be a wedding. What you did to her was…it was just deplorable.”
“Thank you for defending my honor,” I said, smiling sheepishly.
“Well, since it’s clear that neither of you are in my fan club, is there any way we can make this short and sweet?” Jake asked.
“The pawn shop closed at six,” I said. “What’s your hurry?”
“Number one. I’m a fireman with a nice sized studio, so please quit treating me like a homeless man. Number two. In case you haven’t noticed, you could cut the tension in here with a knife. Then again, I’m more worried that you’re gonna cut me with this guy’s letter opener if I’m here much longer.”
“You never should have come back, Jake.”
“I’m sorry if my presence upsets you.”
“You didn’t even thank my mom for getting those assault charges dropped. Even after everything you did, my mother used her connections and helped you out. She only did that because I begged her to. I loved you so much that I couldn’t bear to see you hauled off to jail. Now, I’d like to put the cuffs on you myself and throw you in a hole where you’ll never see the light of day.”
“I only punched that guy because he nearly tried to rape you. You know that as well as I do.”
“Ahem.” The lawyer cleared his throat. “Are you both ready, or would you like a little bit more time to discuss things?”
“If you don’t mind, Counselor, I’d like to talk to Ashly alone,” Jake said.
I shook my head and vehemently proclaimed, “Not a chance!”
Wanting to get it all over with, the attorney ignored Jake’s request and began with the proceedings. I almost tuned him out as he went over all the legalities of the will. Anger flooded through me like a stormy ocean, and I couldn’t even think straight, let alone focus. I was fuming. What is he doing here anyway? Why in the hell would my mother give him anything? She had begged me to break it off with him countless times. She’d told me constantly that he’d never amount to anything, warned me that he was a loser, and she’d yelled at the top of her lungs, “My daughter deserves better!”
I took a quick peek at Jake as he wiped the water from his brow. My mind drifted back to months after the breakup. I dreaded telling people I was single. Nadia encouraged me, telling me my renewed bachelorette status was going to be a fun and wonderful experience, but I only considered it a punishment, as if I’d committed some terrible crime that had pissed fate off. I was sure nobody could ever love me again. Nadia assured me that wasn’t the case, but I refused to listen. My world had crumbled and shattered all around me. Maybe if I was prettier, sexier, or smarter, Jake would’ve stuck around, I told myself. I felt upset, worthless, and beyond depressed. “What did I do that was so wrong?” I often asked. Nadia was insulted by such questions and made me write down a list of twenty-five things that I loved about myself. Learning to value and accept myself had helped with the healing process, and eventually I did feel a little bit better, but there was no therapy that could help me put my broken heart back together; Jake had, after all, taken some of the biggest pieces with him.
“Are you listening?” he asked. “Did you hear what the man just said?”
“What?”
His eyes were wide in shock. “Your mother left her estate and the sum of fifty million dollars to…us.”
“What!?” I shouted, standing back up. “Why would she leave anything to him?” I pointed to the will. “Check it again. This has to be some kind of mistake!”
“My team and I were the ones who put it together,” my attorney said. “Your mother’s intentions were quite clear.”
“No! My mother would never do that, not in a million years.” The room started to spin, and everything grew hotter. He handed the official documents to me. As I ran my fingers over the raised notary seal and stared down at the words and my mother’s signature, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why?
“She did not just flatly leave the money to him. There
are some, uh…stipulations to getting the money,” my lawyer said.
I sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. I was frazzled, confused, and discombobulated all at once. “What kind of stipulations?”
“I think it’s best that you sit down, Ashly,” Jake said. “Let’s figure this out together.”