Chapter 3

There was a week left until Christmas Eve. In that stretch of time, Valerie was out with Grayson almost every day.

One night she came home, pulled out a thick stack of cash she'd withdrawn from the bank, stuffed it into an envelope, and tossed it in front of me.

In the past, I would never have let it go, would've kept asking Valerie whether she'd come home with me, refusing to give up until the very last moment. But now I just looked calmly at the fat, bulging envelope on the table.

My mother's illness couldn't actually be cured anymore. Money like this meant nothing to her one way or another. All she wanted now was for me to be happy and safe.

Maybe my silence threw her off, because Valerie had clearly braced herself for a fight. When I didn't reach for the envelope, she pressed her lips together and spoke first.

"Chris, this is the last year. I've decided to concede early, worst case I hand over my company shares. Your mother's always wanted to see us married, hasn't she? Once this year's over, let's get married."

I listened to all that and still felt strangely calm. If anything, it struck me as ironic.

"Didn't you say you'd play this for life? You're willing to end it now?"

Valerie's face darkened, and she forced her temper down.

"It's almost Christmas, I'm not going to fight with you over this. It's just a game, we've gotten through all these years the same way. Grayson said once I get the marriage certificate with him, the game's over."

My hand curled at my side. My eyes drifted, unbidden, to the framed photo of the two of us on the wall.

A marriage certificate, huh?

Ten years with Valerie, and my proposal had failed, the ring never even given. Meanwhile, all it took was one word from Grayson and Valerie went scurrying off happily to register a marriage with him.

I let out a short laugh.

"Why don't we just break up. You and Grayson suit each other better anyway."

Valerie's eyes widened slightly. She clearly thought I was being unreasonable.

I didn't have the energy to argue either. I turned and went back to my room to pack for the trip home.

While sorting through the specialty medication I'd bought for my mother, I found it gone, nothing left but an empty bag.

My head buzzed.

Just then, Grayson's voice carried in from the living room. I strode out.

"Which one of you touched my things?"

He saw the empty bag in my hand and seemed to realize something.

"You're looking for what was inside that? Last time I was here, the smell was so strong I figured it was trash and tossed it. I checked with Valerie, and she said it wasn't anything important either."

Fury shot straight up in me. My eyes burned red as I stared at the two of them.

"That was the medication I had specially compounded for my mother!"

I'd driven to pharmacies across several cities for that, even called in favors just to get every ingredient together. And Grayson had thrown it away.

"It's just medication. If you're missing something, I'll have someone buy you a fresh batch," Valerie said flatly.

I wasn't in any mood to argue. I dug through the drawers instead, checking whether Grayson had thrown out anything else, so absorbed that when my phone rang on the table, I didn't even have time to pick up.

When I looked up, Grayson had already picked up my phone and was waving it at me. Then he answered the call.

My mother's aged voice came through from the other end.

"Chris, when are you coming home?"

"Hi, Mrs. Richton, Val isn't coming home for Christmas this year either. I'm Chris's buddy. Val and I are about to register our marriage..."

I didn't let him finish. I snatched the phone back and shouted into it, my voice shaking.

"Mom, don't listen to a word he says. Mom?"

There was only silence on the other end. I looked down and saw the call had already been disconnected. Panic surged up in me all at once.

Even Valerie hadn't expected Grayson to go that far. She stood frozen for a long moment.

The next second, a text came in from my mom's neighbor.

[Chris, your mother's collapsed. We're taking her to the hospital now. Get here quick.]