Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 200

Chapter 200: You Want My Signature? That’ll Be $300,000

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Aubrey walked out onto the balcony, standing under the warm sun. “How much is the payout?” she asked casually.

3rendan sounded annoyed. ‘Sis, why are you already asking about the money? This is Dad’s money.”

If it’s Dad’s money, why do you need my signature? Just let him sign it.”

Well… he’s in prison.”

He hasn’t lost his civil rights. Just send a lawyer to visit him. He can sign the papers there.”

Well… Brendan stammered, his mind racing for an excuse.

Aubrey might have lost her memory, but she hadn’t lost her brain–or her legal expertise. She kept her voice cool and steady. “Is it because Mom left a vill while she was sick? Does a share of that old house belong to me?”

Realizing he couldn’t hide it anymore, Brendan finally cracked. “Fine,” he said, his voice dripping with resentment. “When Mom was sick, you were the one who paid the bills and looked after her. She saw how devoted you were, so she went to see Dad in prison. They worked out a will for the hree–story house. The first floor was for them, the second was for me, and they left the third floor to you.”

What if I don’t sign?” Aubrey asked, playing dumb. “Does that mean the developers can’t touch it?”

Why the hell wouldn’t you sign?” Brendan snapped, his temper flaring. That old place is a dump. The payout is $20,000,000! With that money, we could buy a $4,000,000 luxury apartment downtown and invest the rest. It’s a no–brainer!”

I’m a sentimental person, Aubrey replied casually. “I like that old dump. I don’t feel like signing.”

Are you out of your mind, Aubrey?” Brendan yelled. “You have amnesia! What kind of ‘nostalgia‘ are you even holding onto? You have places in Crestview and New Haven. You have a rich, powerful boyfriend. You’re never coming back here. Why keep this piece–of–shit house? To collect

cobwebs? Or to breed rats?”

Nope.” Aubrey smiled, leaning against the balcony railing. She looked up at the bright blue sky, feeling a rush of satisfaction. “I’m keeping it just to piss

You off.”

You’re F**King crazy!” Brendan snapped. Before she could respond, he slammed the phone down and cut the call.

Aubrey let out a dry laugh, her gaze drifting to the tall trees outside.

As far as she was concerned, Brendan was just a stranger who happened to share her blood. She wasn’t going to be guilt–tripped by “family.” If he wanted to play dirty, she could play dirtier.

One, two, three…” she counted under her breath, eyes on the sky. She was confident. He’d call back within ten seconds.

But she’d overestimated his willpower. It only took four seconds for her phone to vibrate again.

She picked up but stayed silent.

Brendan’s tone had done a complete 180. He was all sweetness and light now. “Aubrey, sis… what will it take for you to sign? Let’s talk termus.”

Til sign,‘ she said calmly. But on one condition. I want a third of the payout.”

Fine. You’re a lawyer. It’s not like I could cheat you out of this money even if I wanted to.”

‘And…”

Brendan panicked. And what else?”

‘Send me $300,000. Think of it as my travel expenses for coming home to sign

Brendan exploded. “Why don’t you just rob a bank?! A plane ticket is a few thousand dollars at most, and you want $300,000? Look, I’ll buy your round–trip tickets and get you a private car. How about that?”

“Back when I was so sick I felt like I was drowning–when I was barely even human–Damon asked you to come to New Haven City to sign for my surgery. How much did you milk him for?”

“He gave me that money voluntarily!”

“And if he hadn’t? Would you have even shown up?”

Brendan went silent.

19.06

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“Whatever. I’m done wasting my breath. Zelle me the $300,000. Once the money hits my account, I’ll find the time to head back.”

“Can you take a little less? I’ve already spent what I had.”

“Spent it? Then go borrow it. Get a loan. You’ve got the payout coming anyway; you can pay it back then.”

“Do you seriously not give a damn about us being family?” Brendan snapped.

That made Aubrey laugh. “What about you?” she shot back. “When have you ever cared about me? My memory is still a bit fuzzy, but I remember enough from when we were kids. You’d screw up, and Mom and Dad would hit me for it. You’d do something wrong and pin it on me. If there were three pieces of candy, you took two. If there were two, you still took both. You’ve always been selfish, Brendan. I don’t need a perfect memory to know exactly how greedy you were.”

“Fine. Let’s not talk about the past,” Brendan gritted out. “I’ll get the money.

Aubrey hung up, feeling a wave of relief.

She tilted her head back, letting the warm sunlight soak into her skin.

Lately, fragments of her childhood had been trickling back. They were blurry, but they all pointed to the same thing: her parents‘ blatant favoritism.

But looking back now, she didn’t feel the sting anymore. She had moved past the bitterness.

Her mother had favored Brendan her entire life, yet she’d still left Aubrey a house when she fell ill.

Wasn’t that a form of love, too?

Human nature was just complicated like that.

She remembered a line from a Somerset Maugham book: “Mediocrity and greatness, malice and kindness, hatred and love can all exist in the same soul, and not one of them excludes the others.

The sound of a car engine pulling away echoed from the courtyard.

Her phone buzzed twice. She picked it up and saw a message from Damon on the Grid.

Bree, I’m taking Mom home. I’ll be back later.

She sent back a nodding emoji.

Then, she opened her chat with Victoria Stone and typed: “Mom, please come visit more often.

Victoria replied quickly: “I will. You and Damon should come stay at our place when you’re free. Don’t let your father get to you. He’s stuck in his ways and can be a real pain.

Victoria was such a good mother. She was kind and warm, doting on Bree simply because she loved her son.

Bree wasn’t sure how to reply properly, so she just sent a sticker of a little girl with a shy, polite smile.

She set her phone down and sank into a wicker chair in the shade. Closing her eyes, she let the cool late–autumn breeze wash over her. It carried the faint, crisp scent of grass and flowers.

Weather this perfect was made for studying.

She headed back to her room and locked into her work.

At lunch, the housekeeper prepared a meal for her. Eating alone felt a little too quiet. She instinctively reached for her phone to text Damon, but then stopped herself. He’d said he’d be back later–he was probably busy helping his mom get settled and would eat lunch there

Once she finished eating, she went back to her room and picked up her books again.

Only learning and moving forward made her feel like her life had meaning. Even with her memories gone, the world didn’t seem so scary as long as she was growing.

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