Page 290 of The Lies We Play

Halston’s eyes lift to mine.

“The codicil amends the trigger. I assume direct management of the trusts when I turn thirty, or if I am married.”

I don't move.

Liv doesn't move.

He says, “Once I am married, the trustees lose fiduciary authority. Everything comes to me.”

The apartment seems to pull in around that sentence.

The island between us is suddenly not enough space and too much space at the same time.

He puts his hands together on the marble and looks down.

“I am grateful,” he says. “I am furious. I am sad. And I have to make a decision.”

I say, “That tracks.”

Liv says, “Walk me through this. How do we solve the situation without killing anyone?”

That is Liv.

Exactly Liv.

In the four minutes since Halston put the codicil on the table, she has moved to architecture. I have seen her do it before. It is what she does when someone she loves is in danger. She stops shaking inside and starts building a bridge.

Halston nods.

“We have to get married,” he says. “Which is not the way I wanted to propose⁠—”

“Who are we proposing to in this scenario?” I ask.

My voice comes out too calm.

I hear it.

He hears it.

Liv hears it.

Because we seem to be going from one day I’ll propose to you two, and we’ll figure out what this looks like to⁠—

What the fuck are we doing here?

Halston’s nostrils flare. “We need to make sure it looks real. We need receipts. Something they can’t deem fraudulent.”

“If we marry,” Liv says, “Whelan will not be able to prove fraud.”

Halston nods. “We file the marriage certificate before he files anything. We deliver the codicil to the probate court the same week. We make the trigger a fait accompli. Then his contests are after-the-fact challenges to a transfer that has already happened. They become much harder to win and much more expensive to pursue.”

Liv says, “Speed is the defense.”

He nods and almost smiles knowing that she gets it. “Exactly. Speed is the defense.”

I watch them discuss the best way to prove their marriage.

Their marriage.