Tonight, I had finally seen the last expression.
Fear.
“What agreement?” Walter asked.
I turned toward him.
“The one you signed in Attorney Michael Bennett’s office. The one Gerald signed right beside you. The one that has been sitting in a safe deposit box ever since.”
Walter placed his wineglass on the table.
“That was a private business matter.”
“Yes,” I replied. “It was.”
Gerald pushed his chair back slightly.
“Terry, don’t start playing games.”
I almost laughed. Games. That was an interesting word coming from a man who had apparently spent the morning arranging the end of a forty-year marriage without bothering to tell his wife.
“I’m not playing anything, Gerald. I’m simply wondering whether your lawyer knows about it.”
He stared at me. Then he looked at Walter. And in that brief exchange, I understood something important. They hadn’t forgotten the agreement. They had assumed I would never have the courage to mention it.
Walter cleared his throat.
“Whatever you think you have, Teresa, it doesn’t change the fact that the house belongs to Gerald.”
I nodded slowly.
“You’re right about the house.”
Gerald seemed relieved.
“Good. Then we understand each other.”
“No,” I said quietly. “We don’t.”
I stood, picked up my napkin, and placed it beside my plate.
“Thank you for dinner.”
Gerald looked irritated.
“Where are you going?”
“To bed.”
“You have forty-eight hours.”
“I heard you the first time.”
I walked out of the dining room. Behind me, I heard Walter mutter something about ungrateful women. Then Gerald said something I couldn’t quite make out. I didn’t turn around.
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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