Page 19 of Bitter House

The man straightens his stance, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I was hoping you’d reconsider. Let me tell you, I’ve run some comps…” He whistles. “You two are sitting on a goldmine here.”

“Not interested.” Cole locks his jaw, gripping the door. “You should go.”

Something about the way the man twists his lips catches my eyes, and my heart stops. There’s something familiar about him I didn’t notice before. His lips crack into a wry, lifeless smile, and my chest constricts.

He looks just like his mother.

Noticing, Cole looks down at me.

“Zach.” I mutter the word, breathless. I haven’t seen my cousin since he was a child, but there’s no doubt in my mind that’s who this is, all grown up and trying his hardest to get our grandmother’s house from me. No doubt his mother is in on this.

His eyes flash to me, a hint of bitterness in them, but he plasters on the smile again. “Okay. Yeah, you caught me. Good to see you again, cousin.”

Cole turns his attention back to the door. “You lied to me yesterday.”

Zach shakes his head. “I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you my name.”

“You told me someone called you. You told me Bridget called you.”

The smile warps from his face. “Right. Okay, technically that was a lie, but I knew if you realized who I was, you’d kick me out before you heard what I had to say.”

“Look at that, B, he’s a fortune teller.” Cole moves to shut the door, but Zach catches it.

“Hear me out. Please. I just want to talk. My mom is devastated about not getting Bitter House. This place is all she has left of her mother.” His blue eyes find mine. “Surely you, of all people, understand that.”

My breathing catches because of course I understand that. Am I wrong for keeping the house away from Aunt Jenn? Does she really deserve it more than I do? Even if she does, it’s not like the decision is solely mine.

Though…the idea of her sharing the house with Cole is pretty amusing.

“Don’t do that.” Cole steps in front of me. “Don’t guilt-trip her. She was given the house because it’s what Vera wanted. I’m sure the millions she left you will buy you something equally as nice.”

“I can speak for myself.” I nudge Cole out of the way. “He’s right, though. This was Vera’s choice. I have to believe she wanted me to have the house for a reason.”

“She knew you wouldn’t sell it,” Cole says. “And they would. This house meant everything to her.”

Zach swallows, and I watch anger overtake his features—wrinkling, dimpling, darkening. “Vera was an old bitch who hated everyone around her. Who cares what mattered to her? She loved this house more than she loved her family.”

I flinch at the harsh tone of his voice. “Look, you should go. Like I told your mom yesterday…feel free to take this up with the lawyers. I’m not selling the house. And you can tell your brother the same thing before he tries to sneak over here.”

“My brother is in Shenzhen with my dad. There’s no reason we can’t handle this ourselves. Name your price.”

Cole nods toward the driveway, starting to close the door. “You should go.”

Zach curses under his breath, stepping back with a frustrated wave in our direction, as if he’s batting us away. “Call me when you change your mind.”

“We won’t,” Cole says. He shuts the door and crosses the room quickly on his way through the living room.

I double-check the lock before following him. When I find him in the kitchen, he’s staring into space as if he’s seen a ghost.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something. I don’t know if it means anything, but…you should know.”

“Tell me what?”

“Vera and Zach were fighting before she died.” He blurts the words out as if they were lava on his tongue.

“Fighting?”

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