He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 07

He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 07

Unable to contain his growing panic, Adrian grabbed his jacket and went looking for me.

But after all those years, he had no idea where I might go besides home.

Eventually, a neighbor told him about the convenience stores where I had often picked up shifts.

He waited outside them all morning but never saw me.

Then a formal demand letter from Tessa arrived on his phone, and he finally realized where to find me.

He drove straight to Tessa’s firm.

When the receptionist told me someone was there to see me, Adrian was standing outside in a pale blue dress shirt, looking as polished as ever.

But the dark circles beneath his eyes made it obvious that he had not slept.

Tessa caught my arm. “You don’t have to see him.”

After thinking it over, I decided to meet him once.

At the very least, I needed to put the last part of my former self to rest.

We sat across from each other in the café. It had been years since we had sat together this quietly.

—

Adrian spoke first.

“Lauren, I’m sorry.”

He drew a deep breath as though gathering the courage to continue.

“I was wrong about the marriage certificate. Mom was afraid you’d get a share of the house, and I didn’t want to be tied down by marriage that early. I thought keeping it unofficial would give both of us more freedom, so…”

His voice trailed off.

I let out a humorless laugh.

“So you handed me a forged certificate and let me spend five years working myself to death for your family. You got your freedom. Did I get mine?”

“Did you ever ask whether that was what I wanted?”

He lowered his eyes and rubbed his thumb repeatedly along the side of his coffee cup.

“I know I was wrong. Please come home. Everything is falling apart, and Mom can’t manage without you.”

“If you come back, I’ll end things with Vanessa immediately. I’ll come home every day and be there with you.”

“We can go to the courthouse and get legally married right away. Just forgive me, please.”

I took a calm sip of coffee and looked at him without expression.

—

“For five years, your mother was constantly sick and in and out of the hospital. She had two surgeries, and you never showed up once. I was the one who stayed beside her day and night, so of course she can’t manage without me.”

“But what about you? When I had a high fever and begged you to come home and help, you ignored my calls and sent back a one-word reply, [Busy].”

“When I asked you for money, you pretended not to see my messages. When I finally pushed hard enough to annoy you, you sent me fifteen hundred dollars as though it were charity. That did not even cover your mother’s hospital bill, let alone the mortgage and our living expenses.”

“When I tried calling you, I found out you had blocked me. Do you have any idea how I survived? I drained every dollar of my savings and worked convenience-store shifts every day. I never had a single day to truly rest.”

“Even then, I kept hoping you would come home more often. I told myself you were only with Vanessa because you were exhausted and trying to escape. I believed that if you ever turned back, I would forgive you.”

“But what were you doing?”

My voice rose, trembling with anger.

“You booked an entire hotel for her birthday.”

“And now you want me to forgive you and come back. Come back for what? So I can keep living as your unpaid housekeeper?”

—

The color drained from Adrian’s face. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Lauren, I know I’ve been a bastard.”

“But I gave you a home all these years. I made you Mrs. Mercer, didn’t I?”

I cut him off with another humorless laugh.

“But even that was fake.”

He had nearly forgotten that, legally, he and I had no relationship at all.

After a long silence, he finally said, “I’ll pay back everything on those statements. Could you come home first? Mom keeps asking for you too.”