Grandma Faked Dementia So My Sister Could Steal My Fiancé. Chapter 06

Grandma Faked Dementia So My Sister Could Steal My Fiancé. Chapter 06

I moved into the little apartment above Megan Reed’s bakery.

Megan and I had been roommates in college. Now she ran the bakery downstairs.

When I dragged my suitcase in after midnight, she asked just one question. “Water or wine?”

“Water.”

She poured me a glass, then set a key on the table.

“The apartment’s empty. Stay as long as you want. Leave when you’re ready.”

I sat on the edge of the bed and didn’t sleep a minute.

By morning, my phone was blowing up.

Diane had called more than twenty times.

Robert texted, “Your mother’s blood pressure shot up because of you. Get home.”

Lily sent me a long message.

“Claire, I know you’re hurt, but love isn’t first come, first served. You can’t force Ethan to marry

you just because you’ve put more into the relationship.”

Ethan texted too.

“Claire, last night was a mess. Meet me. We need to talk.”

Grandma didn’t have her own phone.

But Diane sent a voice message for her.

Grandma was crying in the recording.

“Claire, Grandma’s head hurts. Come home and see me.”

I listened once, then deleted it.

I didn’t reply.

At nine, I called the bank and removed Diane as an authorized user from the card tied to my

account.

At ten, I canceled the recurring transfer to Lily.

At eleven, I called the wedding planner and canceled everything.

By noon, I’d had Ethan removed from the condo paperwork and instructed my attorney to handle. anything that still needed signatures.

That afternoon, Robert finally got through to me.

His first question wasn’t whether I was okay.

It was, “Why didn’t you send the household money this month?”

I leaned against the window, watching Megan arrange loaves of bread in the shop below.

“There won’t be a monthly household payment anymore.”

He exploded.

“What are you talking about? Groceries cost money. Your grandmother’s care costs money. Your

sister’s still in school!”

“I’ll cover my fair share of Grandma’s legitimate medical and caregiving costs. The rest of you can figure it out.”

“So now that you make your own money, you think you’re too good for this family?”

“Yes.”

He was speechless.

I continued, “And I’ve documented every dollar you redirected to Lily under the label of Grandma’s

care over the last three years. Pay it back, or I’ll take legal action.”

Robert’s voice shook with rage. “We’re family. You’re really going to keep score like this?”

“You didn’t treat me like family when you lied to me.”

I hung up.

My hands were trembling.

Not because I was afraid.

Because for the first time in years, I’d said no. And meant it.

Ethan showed up that evening.

After Megan closed the bakery, he stood outside the glass door holding the chestnut cake I used to

love.

Megan asked if I wanted to see him.

I shook my head.

She went outside and blocked the door.

“She’s not seeing you.”

Ethan said, “I’m her fiance.”

Megan gave a short laugh. “Not anymore.”

He looked up toward the second-floor window.

I stood behind the curtain and said nothing.

He waited half an hour, then left the cake by the door and walked away.

Megan brought it inside. “Trash?”

“Trash.”

She turned and dropped it straight in the trash.

She didn’t try to talk me out of it. Not once.

That nearly made me cry.

Someone who truly cared about you wouldn’t pressure you to be the bigger person.

They wouldn’t tell you the person who hurt you was struggling too.

They wouldn’t ask you to keep swallowing broken glass just to preserve the illusion of a whole family.

They’d only ask,

“Want something else to eat?”