They Billed Me For Eighteen Years Of Love And I Sold Every Memory Chapter 09

Three days later, Tessa tracked me down.

She set a debit card on the table.

“There’s exactly $900,000 on this card.”

“I haven’t spent a single cent.”

“Evelyn, it’s yours. All of it.”

I left it where it was.

“That money’s yours now.”

“But it came from you selling your memories.”

“Dad told me it was what I was owed. That’s the only reason I took it.”

“I didn’t know they’d actually make you sell everything that mattered.”

Tessa’s shoulders shook with sobs.

“All I wanted was to stay with the Whitmores.”

“I was scared that once they had you back, they’d decide I didn’t measure up.”

“So I made sure they thought you didn’t like me. I brought up the family trust on purpose. I weaponized Adrian’s pity.”

“But I never wanted it to end up like this.”

I studied her.

Maybe she hadn’t dreamed up the test. But she’d cashed in on every bit of the fallout.

My room, my parents, my brother, my fiancé, and my inheritance had all been handed to her like welcome-home presents.

“Ms. Vale.”

“If you wanted a place in this family, you should’ve carved one out for yourself.”

“Don’t stand in the ashes of my life and tell me you weren’t the one who lit the match.”

Tessa ‘s face drained of color.

“I’ll go public. I’ll tell everyone the truth.”

“That it was a setup. That we pushed you into it.”

The Whitmores had planned to bury the whole thing.

But the welcome-home party had been packed, and the video of the rep reading out my transaction records

was already everywhere.

Graham had tried to spin it as a simple family squabble.

Then the business partners started pulling out of projects. The foundation demanded answers. The Mercers

floated cutting ties. That was when Graham finally understood that one little test had torched the reputation

the Whitmores had spent years building.

Graham called a press conference and showed up with a prepared statement.

He pinned everything on the appraiser and claimed the family had no idea how risky permanent transactions

were.

So I released three audio files from the memory bank’s evaluation.

The first was the bank urging them to pick up the itemized statement.

Graham could be heard answering, “The money came through. That’s all that matters.”

The second was me, sobbing, begging them to lower what I owed.

Maren’s reply was right there on tape. “If you won’t sell, it means you can’t accept your sister.”

The third was me asking Adrian what would happen if I forgot him someday.

His answer was arrogant and clear. “You’re so in love with me, you’d forget the whole world before you

forgot me.”

The room erupted.

The picture-perfect image the Whitmores had spent so long polishing shattered on the spot.

Adrian came tearing backstage after me.

“Evie, I know I screwed up.”

“I told my family. You’re the only one I’m ever going to marry.”

“If you’ll come back, I’ll wait. However long it takes for you to fall for me again.”

His eyes were bloodshot with exhaustion.

“But why would I love you?”

He faltered.

“Because we were…”

“You keep bringing up the past.”

I didn’t let him finish.

“The Evelyn you knew loved you. That’s why you were able to hurt her over and over.”

“I don’t love you. That’s the only thing keeping me safe.”

“So what makes you think you get to ask me to be her again?”

Adrian’s mouth quivered.

I handed him back the secondhand dress.

“Mr. Mercer, you didn’t just lose an engagement.”

“You lost the girl who would have forgiven you for anything.”

“And she’s not coming back.”