ADVERTISEMENT
I kept my $17,500 monthly salary a secret from my fiancé. To him, I was just a girl living simply with a baby. I wanted to see how he treats a poor single mom, so I pretended to be broke and naive. He invited me to the family dinner, but as soon as I walked through the door…
“Move in with me. Both of you. Tomorrow, if you want.” He grabbed my hands. “I have a two-bedroom apartment. Rosie can have her own room. You won’t have to worry about rent anymore. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Graham, that’s—that’s a huge step. We’ve only been together eight months.”
“Eight months is long enough to know.” His eyes were intense. Sincere. “I love you, Bethany. I love Rosie. I don’t care about timelines or what’s appropriate. You need help and I want to help. It’s that simple.”
I stared at him, searching for the catch, the hesitation, the tiny flicker of doubt that would tell me he was just saying what he thought he should say.
I didn’t find it.
“Are you sure?” I pressed. “Your family would hate it. Your mother would have a stroke.”
Graham actually laughed. “My mother has a stroke every time I don’t do exactly what she wants. She’ll survive. And honestly, this isn’t about her. This is about us. You, me, and Rosie. That’s my family now.”
My heart cracked open a little.
This was exactly what I’d been hoping to hear.
But hope is a dangerous thing when you’ve been burned before.
“Let me think about it,” I said. “It’s a big decision.”
“Take all the time you need. But know that the offer stands—today, tomorrow, next month, whenever you’re ready.” He kissed my forehead and held me close.
And I felt like the worst person in the world for testing him like this.
But I wasn’t done yet.
Two days later, Graham called me with news.
“My mom wants to have a family meeting tomorrow night.”
“Okay. What time should I be there?”
Silence.
“Graham.”
“She didn’t invite you.” His voice was tight with anger. “I told her that was unacceptable, but she insisted it was family only. I’m sorry, Beth. I tried.”
“It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine, but it was expected.
“Go see what she wants,” I said. “You can tell me everything after.”
What Graham didn’t know was that I already had an inside source.
Nana June called me that afternoon.
“Patricia’s planning an ambush,” she said without preamble. “She’s been making calls all week, gathering ammunition. I think she’s going to give Graham an ultimatum.”
“What kind of ultimatum?”
Continued on the next page
