He Called Me His Mother’s Killer And Tried To Transfer Me To His Friend Chapter 04

Grant hurried to soothe her.

“Tessa, I never wanted to shortchange you.”

“I know $300,000 isn’t much, and you deserve better.”

“Believe me, you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”

“Just calm down. I’ll send you the money right away.”

“We’ll finish the divorce this morning. Why don’t you come over now so we can register our marriage this afternoon?”

I let out a cold laugh.

Grant had resented me for asking for an $80,000 cash gift back then, yet $300,000 was nothing when it came to Tessa.

So it wasn’t that he was heartbroken over how his mother had worked herself to death to raise that money.

He just didn’t think I was worth that much.

As soon as he hung up, he called Deke.

“Buddy, I need your help. Send me the money first. Tessa won’t register until she sees the cash.”

Deke hesitated. “You know I don’t have that kind of money. I scraped it together through payday loans.”

“Mara won’t even give me the time of day. If I hand you the money and she still won’t marry me, it’s down the drain.”

Grant promised him, full of confidence.

“I guarantee you’ll marry Mara.”

“I know her. Once you send the money, grab your driver’s license and birth certificate and get to the county clerk’s office as soon as possible.”

“I’ll provoke her. I’ll register my marriage to Tessa right in front of her and say some nasty things to rub it in.”

“Then you step in, defend her, and confess your feelings. She’ll marry you just to spite me!”

“And even if she doesn’t, consider it a loan.”

Deke bought it. He transferred the full $300,000 on the spot.

Grant didn’t waste a second before sending every dollar to Tessa.

But Tessa wasn’t done.

“Send another $150,000 for my jewelry set right now, or I’m not registering with you.”

Grant frowned a little, but he didn’t seem fazed.

He hung up and started tapping away on his phone.

I assumed he was scrambling to borrow more money.

Then my phone buzzed—a credit card fraud alert.

Someone had charged $150,000 to my card.

I was furious, but I stayed calm. I called the bank and reported the card as fraud.

Then I called the police.

When Grant returned, he couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes, though he tried to play it cool.

As we reached the counter to finalize our divorce, he turned to me.

“Even after the divorce, you’re still the boys’ mother.”

“Do what you can for them, money-wise and otherwise. Come back to Cedar Falls to see them when you can.”

I signed the paperwork first, then shot him a mocking look.

“After everything you’ve done, drop the devoted-father act.”

He said nothing. Just stood there like he deserved every word.

The moment Grant received the final divorce papers, Tessa called and summoned him to come pick her up.

I turned to leave and spotted Caleb smiling at me, holding up his driver’s license and birth certificate.

I hadn’t expected him to actually show up.

But I’d meant what I said, so I went ahead and registered the marriage.

While Caleb was in the restroom, Grant arrived with Tessa, his arm wrapped intimately around her.

When he saw I hadn’t left yet, surprise and unease flashed across his face.

Tessa deliberately pressed herself closer to him.

I’d never even spoken to the woman before, yet she’d learned everything about me from Grant. She didn’t bother hiding the hostility in her eyes.

Afraid I’d make a scene, Grant rushed to set the record straight.

“Tessa only agreed to marry me after she saw the final divorce papers.”

“Our divorce had nothing to do with her.”

I gave him a mocking smile.

“What’s there to be nervous about? You think I care?”

My calm, indifferent act seemed to get to Grant more than he’d expected.

Then Deke showed up. Right on cue, he rushed over to defend me.

“Grant, you actually divorced a woman as good as Mara? What the hell is wrong with you? Did you hit your head?”

Grant pointed at me with a sneer.

“Her? Even if she paid a man to take her, nobody would want her!”

“If anyone ever wanted her, I’d eat my hat!”

Deke was already stepping forward to play the hero when a deep, commanding voice behind him cut him off.

“A promise is a promise. Hope you’ve got a good appetite.”

Caleb strode up to Grant and held up the marriage license for him to see.