My mother had offered the man I loved $20,000 to disappear from my life.
And for five years, neither of them had told me.
“Ethan,” I whispered, “what are you saying?”
He took my hand.
“Before our wedding, Linda asked me to meet her privately. She told me I wasn’t good enough for you. She said I’d eventually ruin your life the way she believed your father had ruined hers.”
My chest tightened.
“Mom said that?”
He nodded.
“She pushed a check across the table. Twenty thousand dollars, made out to me. She said the money was mine if I promised never to marry you.”
From the phone, my mother interrupted.
“I was trying to protect my daughter!”
“Protect me from what?” I demanded.
“From making the same mistakes I made!”
Ethan gently squeezed my hand.
“I told her I loved you. I told her I wasn’t going anywhere. And I never cashed the check.”
