Everything stopped.
My mother had left me a substantial inheritance, held until I turned 21.
I had told Jake about it when we began discussing marriage.
He’d held my hand and said, “That belongs to you. You never have to explain it to me.”
I believed him.
Now I looked at his mother.
“How did you know about my inheritance?”
She seemed surprised.
“Jake told us years ago.”
“How many years?”
Neither answered.
I looked at Jake.
“You told them before we were engaged?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
Maya reached for my hand.
I barely felt it.
His mother shook her head.
“Don’t make it sound sinister. We wanted to know you two would be comfortable. You had security. He had stability. Why shouldn’t that matter?”
I stared at Jake.
“You told me your family didn’t need to know about my money.”
“I didn’t think it would hurt anything if they knew.”
