Page 327 of The First Time
"Forget feelings. Forget everything except the cold, hard cash." Lizzy pulls me off the bench and trots towards a tree blooming with little white flowers. "He's offering you the rest of a million dollars. If you go through with this wedding, you're set. You can do whatever the hell you want. It's all your money. Yours, Kat."
"Ours."
"No," she says. "It's yours. I'm not saying you can't buy me dinner sometimes. Or pay my share of the occasional trip to the Caribbean, but it's yours."
"Lizzy—"
"I'm not taking his money. This is for you, Kat. If you can't handle the fake marriage, then leave. Take his sister's money. Or tell them both to go fuck themselves. You'll be okay without their money. We both will."
Maybe. I was barely making ends meet before I met Blake, but now that the mortgage is paid, a job waiting tables is plenty.
Or I can take Fiona's money. Use it to pay for college. To jump-start a better life.
I have options.
I try to imagine dumping Blake, convincing him I can't do this.
That weight sinks into my chest. It's an awful thought.
This means a lot to Blake. Yes, it's bullshit and he's lying to everyone who loves him, but he's doing it because he believes it's the only way.
He doesn't love me, but he does trust me.
Calling this off is breaking that trust.
I… I'm not sure I can do that to him.
Or that I want to.
But I do know something.
I need to talk to him. I need to look him in the eyes. I need to figure out if I can survive another six months proclaiming my love for him.
Lizzy checks a text on her phone.
"Can you handle dinner on your own?" I ask.
"Go get laid," she says. "I don't judge."
"That better not be a boy."
"And if it is?"
"He's meeting me before he takes you out." I pull out my phone and text Blake.
Blake: I'm at the office. It will be cleared out by seven. Come then.
It is the perfect place for a negotiation.
