Page 92 of I Wish I Would've Warned You

I nod. “Yeah.”

“I’m going to send you a plan,” he says, his tone shifting from casual to clinical. “You’ll follow it to the letter.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Worst case,” he says, “the truth doesn’t come out for another four years. He pays you four million and two of whichever properties you want. Best case? He self-destructs trying to cover it up, tells the truth himself, and… I don’t know what you’ll get, but I’ll make a million either way. So I’ll be happy.”

I stare at him. “Has anyone ever told you you’re shady as fuck for a lawyer?”

He smirks. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He slides a card across the table. It’s blank, except for one sentence:

Welcome to the firm.

“I’ll be in touch,” he says. “Bide your time. And trust me.”

PART 6

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

Unless your heart has been through more than enough …

42

EMILY

Six Months Later

The “time heals all wounds” philosopher should be excavated and stoned for having the audacity to ever publish such a lie.

My heart is still beating in pieces, and every second that passes is just a cruel reminder that I’ve lost everything.

And everyone.

Despite changing my number and moving away for the umpteenth time, all my nights end the same:

Crying on the phone to an online therapist.

Even though she must be weary of my endless tear-stained sessions, she still picks up. Every time.

She even offered to help track down that lying philosopher.

Apparently, he’s buried somewhere in Virginia.

43

COLE

When I open the door to my studio gallery, Matt is sitting on the chaise.

I avoid his gaze as I move through the space, shutting all the blinds one by one.

“Did you come here to talk shit and judge me, too?” I ask.

“No.” He shakes his head. “I would never.”

“Well, in that case, I’m not accepting commissions at this time, but you’re free to look around and see if there’s something you like.”

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