Chapter 20 The Past
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Grandma spoke so righteously, but it was too bad I didn’t believe them anymore.
“Even if I ever get married, I’ll have a prenuptial agreement in place. Besides, the house is my personal property. And as for the company, the day it was handed over to Archie, it ceased to have anything to do with me.”
I had made myself perfectly clear, yet Archie still wouldn’t let it go.
“Just say yes, Jillian.”
I was silent for a long time before I finally said, “I can’t give you the house.”
That was the truth.
Archie suddenly let out a laugh. For a moment, his expression was so unfamiliar, it was unsettling.
“Evie was right about one thing. You’d spend a fortune on a total stranger, but when I ask for a house, you refuse. Now that I’ve taken over the family business and I’m struggling, you won’t lift a finger to help. Jillian, have you ever really considered me your brother?”
Never in my life had I imagined he would say something like that.
I took a deep breath. A few seconds later, I grabbed the glass on the table and hurled it at him.
The glass struck the side of Archie’s face before shattering on the floor. A thin trail of blood trickled from his temple.
“Have I ever considered you my brother?”
I stepped forward and grabbed his collar before spitting out my words one by one.
“That’s a damn good question. When you racked up gambling debts and got cornered by loan sharks who threatened to break your limbs, did you stop to think about that before calling me, sobbing for help?
“When I stood alone in front of those thugs, risking my neck to negotiate and buy you time, did you ever question whether I thought of you as my brother?
“That stranger you’re so bitter about at least knows when I’m upset and actually tries to cheer me up. Meanwhile, I’ve cleaned up your mess more times than I can count, and not once have you ever cared how I felt!
“Fine, you want to split the family assets? Let’s do it. Let’s settle this once and for all!”
Archie stumbled back, his face drained of color.
Grandma had insisted on having her way, and Archie had completely burned the bridge. I had no energy left to carry a family full of dead weight.
“See you in court. This time, we’re cutting all ties.” I glanced at the three of them. “I just hope you won’t regret it when all is said and done.”
Logan brought me the documents.
Back then, when Archie had racked up a mountain of gambling debt, the debt collectors had come knocking. They had wanted his hands as collateral.
Archie had been scared out of his mind, bawling and begging me to save him.
He was my brother, after all. I couldn’t just stand by and watch them mutilate him.
I’d had no choice but to scrape together the money.
But that kind of sum wasn’t something I could just conjure up overnight. And those loan sharks weren’t running a legal operation. Every day, the interest had compounded, ballooning the debt even further. A single delay meant an even bigger price to pay.
I’d had no idea how to navigate that world, and Archie had been too terrified to think straight. When I had asked him who to contact, he hadn’t had a clue.
So I’d had to find a way myself. After running around, I had finally gotten in touch with Logan.
Back then, he had seemed like a typical rich kid to me. He was born into a prestigious family yet hung around all sorts of people. But thanks to him, I had managed to meet the guy Archie had owed money to.
Loan sharks never worked alone. They always had muscle with them, each with a menacing look.
I had dealt with plenty of people in my life, but if it hadn’t been for Archie, I would never have come into contact with guys like them.
Meeting them had been a gamble in itself. No one could have guaranteed I would walk away in one piece. They had been the real deal–men with nothing to lose.
But in the end, all they had wanted was money.
I had met with them and seen the IOU Archie had signed with his own hand.
“I’ll get you the money,” I had said. “But after this, you leave Archie alone.”
“Fine. Come back here in three days. I expect the full amount.”
I had frowned. “That’s too soon. The sum is too large. I need at least six days,”
“Five.” The man had smirked. “Ms. Houghton, we’re only giving you this much leeway because of Mr. Harmon, Don’t make things difficult for us.”
I hadn’t realized Logan had been pulling strings behind the scenes. I had been genuinely grateful.
Five days hadn’t been just tight. It had been suffocating, I had liquidated everything I could–investments, properties, anything that could be sold. Even then, I had still been short by a significant amount.
Desperate, I had gone back to Logan and offered him a portion of my shares in exchange for the remaining funds.
He hadn’t even hesitated before agreeing
But then he had said, “I have one condition.”
“What is it?” I had asked.
Logan’s lips had curled into a slow smile. “Marry me.”
Snapping back to the present, I thought about how rushed that marriage had been and how uncertain I had been about the future.
And yet, looking back now, there wasn’t a single moment I didn’t feel grateful for the way things had turned out. A good man was rare, and I had been lucky.
Logan waved a hand in front of my face. “What are you thinking about? You’ve been zoning out.”
Chapter 20 The Past
“Nothing “I glanced at the share conversion document and sighed. “I just can’t believe it’s come to this.”
Logan said, “With your brother’s personality and your grandma’s bias and pushy behavior, this was bound to happen.”
