on top of the table,” I state. “You could just sign them and be done with it.”
“Do you have the money?” Her irritated voice makes me want to scream at her, but I try my best to keep the tone in place.
But I lose my cool when she gives me a challenging glare. “For fuck’s sake, Leyla, I already told you that I wouldn’t receive the inheritance until after next year. Either you sign, or you have to move with me to Baker’s Creek.”
“My price is half of the assets—deposited in my account.”
She lowered it, but it’s still impossible to meet, and I remind her of that. “You know I don’t have that much money, but I’ll sign the trust over to you. Ten billion dollars plus whatever the trust has made in interest. If not, you have to join us—or we all lose everything.”
Hayes takes a deep breath and stops the fight by saying, “I don’t want to interrupt you guys, but I came to discuss the move. Someone tipped the town off, and they know what’s at stake. They’re concerned about their future and what’s going to happen since none of us are there yet.”
“Small towns, they are always getting into your business,” she grunts.
“If you hate them, why don’t you just give me the fucking divorce,” I push one more time.
“Maybe I won’t go.” And when did my sweet wife become this vindictive woman?
“Listen, I don’t know anything about your relationship. I’m sorry things are rocky between the two of you,” Hayes interrupts the glaring match, and I almost burst into laughter with his poor way to describe what’s happening between Leyla and me.
Rocky...it’s the fucking Grand Canyon filled with boulders, cliffs, and even rapid rivers.
“I really hope you can come to some amicable agreement soon. In the meantime,” he continues, “I need you two to work together. Leyla, our father added you into the stipulations. You have to live with us for eighteen months. If one of us doesn’t move in by next week or moves out before the eighteen-month period, a lot of people are going to suffer. It’s not about us, but the future of the town and the people who worked for my father and still depend on his companies. My father wasn’t a very nice person. He’s toying with us, and if we were the only ones affected, I wouldn’t be uprooting my life or begging you to rethink your position. I’m hoping that you can get past your differences and help the town.”
She looks at me and says, “Ha, you’re just like daddy. And here I thought you were like all the Bryants.”
I’m tempted to tell her, which is why I’m trying to get rid of you, to protect you from us. These assholes are going to eat you alive.
Well, maybe not Hayes. He’s cool and mature. Henry could be the one, but perhaps he’s not. He’s demanding, and fuck if I don’t want to tell him to start controlling his tone of voice, but overall, he’s not that bad.
Hayes pulls me back into the conversation when he says, “The bottom line is that if we don’t move, thousands of people will lose their jobs and their homes. We can prevent it. If you give him the divorce, you don’t have to come, but if you don’t, I beg you to join us.”
“So, it’s true?”
I nod instead of saying, “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you really think this was some elaborate scam to get rid of you?” Then, I’m reminded of everything I hid from her, and well, how can I expect her to trust me?
My heart completely stops when I hear her say, “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Just like that, she is doing it, but what the fuck is she going to do? “You’re signing the divorce papers?” I swallow hard and realize that I’m struggling with her decision. But this is good, right? “That’s good.”
“No. I told you that if I do it, it’ll be when I’m ready.”
But can’t she understand this means uprooting her life? I can’t let her do that, and I now understand how crazy she’s making me feel and sound. We should just let each other go.
“What the fuck do you need from me?” I pull my hair, upset at her and myself because I should be happy with her decision. I want her with me. However, this is so bad for her that she should leave me now.
I am bad for her.
“Take everything. Just