“Your way of keeping a promise.”
“I don’t want anything from you. Not your money, not your name. Nothing.”
“If it’ll give you peace of mind, we can sign a legal agreement right now–cut all parental rights.”
“Sound good?”
Every term I offered benefited Evan.
And yet he just stood there, cold and speechless.
Then suddenly, he grabbed my wrist, hard.
His voice dropped, intense and forceful:
“What the hell do you want from me?”
“Do I have to give you everything I own just to make you come back? Stop being so greedy!”
I laughed.
Laughed until my eyes burned.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Evan.”
“All this time, and you still think everything comes down to money.”
“In your world, everything has a price tag–feelings, kids… even me.”
“What now? Planning to start a new betting pool with the boys?”
“See how much it takes to buy me again?”
“Money isn’t everything.
“I didn’t leave you because you were broke.
“I left because I stopped loving you.”
Evan stumbled back a step.
He couldn’t believe it.
Back when he was broke, Claire walked out on him.
Everyone told him–money fixes everything.
Get rich, and you can have whoever you want.
So he got rich.
Found a wife who obeyed him as long as he paid.
Even Claire came crawling back
How could I say money wasn’t everything?
I didn’t wait for him to answer.
I stepped around him, heading for the street.
A semi came barreling down the road, way over the speed limit.
Too fast.
Will Be Very Real
Chapter 9
I couldn’t move in time.
But someone shoved me out of the way–hard.
Clutching my stomach, I stumbled to my feet–and saw Evan.
Dragged almost fifty feet under the truck.
A long, dark trail of blood behind him.
I ran, collapsing beside him.
His mouth moved, trying to speak.
Blood pooled beneath him, unstoppable.
The crushing panic hit me all at once–and everything went black.
