They Billed Me For Eighteen Years Of Love And I Sold Every Memory Chapter 04

By nine, the party was winding down. Evelyn still hadn’t shown up.

Nobody said anything out loud, but the looks aimed at the Whitmores got sharper by the minute.

A guest muttered under their breath.

“Nine hundred grand in memories, and it’s all little stuff? Come on.”

“Nobody in that family bothered to ask what she sold?”

The guest next to them dropped their voice.

“Not our business. Stay out of it.”

Maren caught every word, and the knot in her stomach pulled tighter.

It wasn’t Evelyn she was worried about. It was her own reputation.

She’d invited half of New York’s elite to watch the family come back together tonight.

Now, with one of the guests of honor pulling a no-show, the Whitmores looked like the villains.

“Cut her from the program.”

Graham finally broke his silence.

The emcee faltered.

“Mr. Whitmore, Evelyn’s also supposed to give a toast later.”

“I said cut it!”

Graham’s tone left no room for argument.

“If she has no respect for this family, why should we save her face?”

Bennett snatched a program off the table, ripping it in half right there in front of everyone.

“I told you from day one. We let her get away with way too much.”

“She barely scrapes the money together and suddenly she’s too good for us? Like nine hundred grand is some astronomical sum?”

Maren slipped the necklace she’d brought back into her purse.

Evelyn had had her eye on that necklace since she was fifteen.

Maren had promised it would be hers for her eighteenth birthday.

Then Tessa came home, and Maren got so wrapped up in her younger daughter that the promise slipped her mind completely.

“She’s not getting that necklace.”

Maren’s voice was tight with anger.

“She can have it when she learns some respect.”

Adrian snapped his gift box shut.

“The engagement’s on hold.”

“If she stands me up tonight, she can crawl to the Mercers’ estate and beg me herself.”

Tessa dabbed at her eyes, playing the peacemaker.

“Please, don’t.”

“Maybe Evelyn’s scared to come home. She lost so many memories all at once. It has to hurt.”

Graham’s brow furrowed.

“Lost what? She’s not stupid. You really think she sold anything that mattered?”

“She probably dumped years of useless junk just to hit that number.”

Tessa dropped her gaze, her voice barely there.

“But the money did come through.”

Bennett snorted.

“Memories don’t come with a sticker price.”

“She’s a manipulative liar. She probably dressed up a couple of nothing moments as the best days of her life.”

“If they want to overpay, that’s on them.”

Adrian nodded.

“Evie’s sharp. She’d never let herself get the short end of the stick.”

“Worst case, she sold a few tests, a couple of vacations, some old toys.”

“She’s skipping tonight to throw a tantrum. That’s all this is.”

That killed the last of Maren’s doubts.

They were right.

Evelyn had always been too clever for her own good.

At five, she’d figured out how to hide the carrots she hated in her napkin.

At ten, she’d lost Maren’s necklace and had a replica bought and ready before anyone noticed.

A girl that resourceful wasn’t going to meekly sign away the memories that mattered.

She’d probably found a loophole in how the bank ran its appraisals.

All they’d asked for was proof she’d make a sacrifice.

What she’d actually sold was beside the point.

Moments later, the hotel manager escorted in a representative from the memory bank.

She handed Graham a sealed envelope.

“Here’s the final receipt for all of Ms. Evelyn Whitmore’s transactions.”

“Every sale is final. None of them can be undone.”

Graham snatched it, leaving the seal intact.

“Understood.”

The rep studied him for a moment.

“You’re not going to open it?”

“What for?”

He passed the envelope off to his assistant without a glance.

“The money cleared. Our private family matters are none of your concern.”

The rep didn’t push.

But before turning to leave, she dropped one last thing.

“Mr. Whitmore, Ms. Evelyn Whitmore is on her way here now.”

Maren’s eyes lit up.

“She’s actually coming?”

Bennett didn’t look the least bit surprised.

“Knew she’d crack. When she walks in, nobody runs over to comfort her. Got it?”

Adrian tapped his fingers against the box with the cast-off dress on the table.

“She apologizes first.”

“If she walks in with an attitude, she doesn’t even get the dress.”

Graham flagged down the emcee, who was already packing up.

“The apology’s back on.”

“The second she walks through those doors, put a mic in her hand.”

“I want her to stand up in front of everyone and admit Tessa spent eighteen years suffering in her place.”

Word spread that Evelyn was on her way, and the remaining guests settled back into their seats.

Ten minutes later, the screech of tires echoed outside the ballroom.

Maren smoothed her hair. She had it all planned out.

When Evelyn walked in, Maren would keep her expression frigid, letting the girl sweat it out for two minutes.

The moment the girl admitted she was wrong, Maren would pull her into a hug.

She’d raised her for eighteen years.

Teaching her a lesson was one thing, but cutting her off entirely was something else.

Bennett had the bike key cupped in his palm.

He’d even rehearsed what he’d say.

If Evelyn called him “big brother” even once, the key was hers.

After that, nobody got to bring up the past again.

Adrian waited at the foot of the stage steps, unsmiling.

He planned to make Evelyn come to him first. Then he’d drop the news that the wedding was pushed back.

She had to learn that passing a test didn’t mean everything snapped back to the way it used to be.

Slowly, the ballroom doors swung open.

I stepped inside.

Maren got to me first.

“Well, Evie. Look who finally found her way home.”

“Half of New York has been waiting on you. Where are your manners?”

Graham didn’t get up from the head table. His voice came low and clipped.

“Get over here.”

“Tessa first. Apologize.”

Bennett strolled up and dangled the bike key in front of me.

“Alright, drop the sad act.”

“Behave from here on out, and I’m still your brother.”

Adrian came over too, sounding like he was doing me a huge favor.

“I’ll let it slide that you were late.”

“Go apologize to Tessa. Do it right, and we’re still engaged.”

The whole room waited for me to say something.

I looked from one face to the next, lost.

“I’m sorry… do I know you?”