Page 45 of The Heiress Bride
A familiar dread fills me. I was serious when I said I didn’t need to marry a man.
That’s not what the trust stipulates. And honestly, marriage has never been a goal of mine, not the way it is for other people. Heck, I was just trying to survive my teen years and then college with my mental health intact. Then it was full steam into the company and trying to prove myself.
There really wasn’t a lot of time to daydream about dress silhouettes and place settings.
Across the pool, Alex and Gabe are sitting on the edge, talking to Beau.
“I mean, you kind of have a buffet to choose from,” Shon murmurs and then giggles.
She’s not wrong.
“What are we talking about?” Emma asks.
Shon fills her in.
“That rat bastard,” Emma hisses.
“That’s an understatement,” Shon agrees.
Emma throws her feet over the edge of the lounge, pivoting my way. Forearms braced against her knees, she leans forward, alive with concern.
Perhaps a better person woulddefend her flesh and blood, but I don’t. I won’t. Seeing how Gabe broke away from the toxicity of his family and reinvented himself makes me realize that sometimes that’s the only option. Some people’s actions are not defensible. Some people just aren’t… good.
It is what it is, and it’s okay to protect myself, to admit that the shit my grandfather did was wrong. Cruel. Maybe even criminal.
They stare at me, waiting for my input. I shrug. “You’re not wrong.”
“So?” Shon prompts.
My mother’s situation is going to make everything so much more complicated. And there’s admittedly a part of me that just wants to walk away and say fuck it. Fuck them and their money, holding things over my head. All those strings attached.
It’s not worth it. Itcan’tbe worth it.
Right? I have an amazing education, experience, and a good network. I won’t be hurting for work. Heck, the Saints have offered me a job more than once. I would do okay without the inheritance.
But as I stare at Gabe over the glittering aqua water and he stares back, I think of the little boy he once was. Alone in the middle of nowhere with his books, endless curiosity and very little means. Then to Emma, with all her connections and causes.
“Kay?” Shon asks.
I glance over at my childhood pen pal-turned-bestie, who grew up with so little and became so much.
My inheritance could change so many lives.
“Yeah,” I say. “I know what I’m going to do.”
13
KATHERINE
It’s late when we get back to Gabe’s house on the beach. Shon’s headed back to Boston. Emma and I shared a long hug and promises to get together more regularly. Gabe and King wanted to check something over before we head back to the city, and Alex and I are along for the ride.
There’s a large storage crate along the side of the driveway. Out back, the breeze is cooler and fresh in the way only salty sea air can be. A handful of landscape lights dot the perimeter of the yard. A pergola is partially erected at one end of the pool. I can’t wait to see it come together.
“Can we walk on the beach?” I ask Alex, knowing he’s going to want a team out there where we’ll be in the open.
His head lifts, and he stares out at the waves, then over to Gabe and King.
On the other side of the pool, King babbles away, but I can’t really make out what he’s saying. Gabe’s nodding along, inserting answers and comments here and there. On the horizon, lights sparkle, a reminder that the world is still turning.
