I knew it.
Reid knew it.
And apparently, Everett knew it before either of us was willing to admit it.
One October evening, he asked me to come into his study.
“Laurel, I know you care about Reid.”
I immediately shook my head.
“Everett, nothing has happened.”
“I know.”
He looked almost amused.
“But something doesn’t have to happen before an old man recognizes love.”
I looked at him.
“I’m your wife.”
“On paper.”
His expression softened.
“Our marriage began as an arrangement. Somewhere along the way, you became family. Those are not the same thing.”
The Folder Everett Had Prepared in Secret
A few weeks later, Everett experienced a serious cardiac emergency.
He survived, but it frightened all of us.
When he returned home, Brielle hardly left his side.
Reid came down from Charlotte and remained through Christmas.
That year, all four of us sat together for dinner.
Everett lifted his glass.
“To my family.”
Later, after Brielle had gone to bed, Everett asked me to remain in the living room.
He took a gray folder from a drawer.
Then said:
“I want us to end our marriage.”
My entire body went cold.
My first thought was that I had done something wrong.
“Is this because of Reid?”
Everett frowned.
“That is exactly what worries me about you. Someone mentions leaving, and you immediately assume you’ve failed.”
He opened the folder.
Inside were legal documents.
The townhouse he had promised after three years had already been transferred into my name.
There was an education fund for Brielle and another savings account.
“Everett, we haven’t even completed the three years.”
“You fulfilled your side of our agreement the moment this house became a home again.”
I shook my head.
“I can’t repay everything you’ve done by falling in love with your nephew.”
Everett reached across the table.
“You don’t repay kindness with your life, Laurel.”
I could hardly speak.
Then he said what I needed to hear most.
“I never bought a wife. I never bought a granddaughter. I certainly never bought the right to choose your future. We helped each other, and somewhere in the middle of that arrangement, we became a family.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
He smiled.
“You won’t. I’m just changing jobs—from pretend husband to full-time grandfather.”
I laughed through my tears.
