Every single time, I refused without hesitation. I told her, word for word: I don't want your money. I only want Julian.
It wasn't until I got the call from the hospital that everything changed.
My mother's kidneys were failing. She needed surgery immediately.
Five hundred thousand dollars. It might as well have been five million.
Julian was overseas on business. His phone went straight to voicemail, again and again. I couldn't reach him, and my mother couldn't wait.
So I went to Aileen.
She didn't say a word. Just smiled that cold smile of hers and threw a document at my face, along with a check. A breakup agreement.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I signed my name. I grabbed the money and rushed to the hospital.
That's when the doctor told me it had been a misdiagnosis. My mother's kidneys were fine. She'd never needed a transplant at all.
I stood there, frozen, unable to process what I was hearing.
The doctor leaned in before I could leave. "Miss Harding, Mrs. Gilbert asked me to pass along a message. What happened today stays buried. Otherwise..." He paused. "No one can guarantee your mother will survive her next medical emergency."