My Husband Chose His Ex I Became His Regret novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Lila

He looks at me intently. Studying my reactions… “Lila, when did your mother die?”

I’m startled by his question. “She died when I was 7, why?”

“And shortly afterward,” he continues, “your father married again. Patricia, I think.”

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“Yeah,” I say reluctantly, the old bitterness creeping into my voice. “What does that have to do with this?”

“Where are your mother’s assets? I mean, did she own anything; does she have investments, savings, or any other kind of financial assets?”

I blinked at him. “I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t ask, and my father didn’t tell me about any of that.”

A realization begins to dawn on me like a cold, sharp knife in my chest… “Are you going to explain why you’re asking me those things?”

He slid another folder across the table at me – this one’s bigger than the rest of them. This contains some official legal-looking documents with seals on them from law firms.

“When you signed your employment contract we ran our standard background check. This includes running your financial and credit histories, and doing the necessary due diligence required by law.” He looked at me for a moment then continued, “While conducting this standard background check our team found something unusual. You have a trust in your name that has been dormant for the last 18 years.”

At that point I felt a spike of dread shoot straight through my heart. “What?”

“Your mother – Elizabeth Stark – set up a trust fund for you before she passed – it was put into place to vest for you when you turned 25,” He opened the folder and began flipping through the documents, many of them containing too many legal terms for me to understand. “You turned 25 just a few months ago.”

At this point I was beginning to feel very light-headed and I could barely make sense of what he was telling

“My mother left me money?”

“No – your mother left you everything she possibly could. There are numerous types of property that existed as a result of your mother’s estate prior to her death; there is an inheritance from her parents – she left you every single asset she owned; also, every savings account she owned; plus she has made numerous investments…” He looked at me gently with kindness in his eyes – so much compassion in those beautiful eyes of his… “Lila… when your mother passed away 4 months ago, her estate was worth $50,000,000,”

I swear I felt the room move. “My father has never said, he has never mentioned…”

“Your father likely never knew the full extent. If he did, he decided against telling you.”

Aidan’s voice is strained with a barely contained rage. “The trust has been managed by an independent company. They have been reaching out to you for four months by letters sent to your last known address.”

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Chapter 32

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“That was my father’s house,” I whisper. “I have not been there since I married Mark. After my divorce…”

“You were at the Roosevelt. No forwarding address.” Aidan pushes more documents across the table.

“The company tracked you through Storm Industries. They contacted our legal office yesterday.”

I stare at the documentation. My mother’s name. My name. 50 million dollars – a number I don’t understand.

My mother, who died when I was seven. I hardly remember her except for parts of warmth and love and bedtime stories left me 50 million dollars.

“Why did my father not tell me?” My voice breaks down. “All these years I worked and struggled, and my father ‘let’ me he ‘let’ me wait tables, he ‘let’ me marry Mark for money; he let me think I had nothing and all this time I …”

I start to cry. “I know,” Aidan states as his hand covers mine. It feels warm; it feels grounding.

“I am sorry; I am so sorry.”

“He had to have known,” I respond in disbelief. “He must have known; the trust company would have contacted him as my legal guardian.””He knew about it but never told me.”

If I had known about the financial resources available to me, I would not have needed him anymore. I would not have needed Mark because I would not have been desperate enough to accept anything less than love. I would have been free.

“That’s why he pushed me towards Mark,”

Aidan says as all the pieces come together in my head. Mark’s father helped his business; I was the real prize for Mark. If I married well, would continue to be dependent, and thirty years from now had never known about my money, he would have complete control over me. Aidan says when I turned 25; he would have convinced me to reinvest in his failed business, and I would have remained trapped.

However, I divorced Mark before I turned 25. I had disappeared before my birthday and never even had a chance to make a claim to my inheritance.

“Can I access it?” I ask Aidan, looking up at him through my tears.

“It’s legally yours and without question,” he states as he holds my hand. “Your mother wanted you to have this, Lila, so you could be taken care of, independent, and free.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Aidan says and takes out additional paperwork to fill out the claim, verify my identity, and set up a bank account. “We’ll put you in touch with an independent advisor who will help you appropriately manage this money, which is yours; your mother’s legacy is free from any strings or conditions.”I stare at the pile of documents in front of me. My mother’s signature from twenty-three years ago, when she set up a trust for me at two years old when she must have know she was sick. When she knew she would not be around to protect me.

She created this opportunity for me the only way she could – with money, with freedom, and with choices.

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“She knew,” I say softly. “She knew my father was going to remarry and that I would need a way out.”

“And she gave you one,” Aidan runs his thumb over my wrist, going around in a small circle. “She gave you power. You just didn’t know it.”

I can’t stop crying. I am really crying now, not sad tears, but tears of joy and gratitude, and total amazement.

“I wish I could tell her thank you,” I say through my tears, “I wish I could tell her she saved me and it’s so hard to believe that it’s been eighteen years since she saved me.”

“I think she does know,” Aidan reaches into his pocket and gives me some tissues. “And I think she would be very proud of the woman you are today. The woman who walked away from Mark. The woman who is creating a new life for herself. The woman who is taking what belongs to her and not being apologetic about it.”

I use the tissues to wipe my face and try to pull my wits about me. “This is all so crazy – the job, the pay, the apartment, and now this money from my mother – fifty million dollars that have always belonged to me.”

“And it still belongs to you,” Aidan adds. “Nothing about this job changes in any way. Your pay, your stock options, and your benefits are still intact with this new information. This is a separate inheritance. Your birthright.”

“So I’m…,” I start to do the math in my head.”I have plenty of money.”

“I don’t need this job.”

“No.” He releases my hand. Leans back. “You don’t.”

Something shifts in his expression. Guarded. Careful. Like he’s waiting for me to say what he thinks I’m going

to say.

That I’m leaving. That I don’t need Storm Industries or him or any of this.

That I’m taking my inheritance and running.

“But I’m staying,” I say firmly.

His eyes snap to mine. “What?”

His gaze snaps up to meet mine. “What do you mean?”

“I said I am staying. I signed a contract; I made a commitment to work at Storm Industries. It isn’t just that I want to stay because I can make lots of money; I really want to stay. I want to learn; I want to grow; I want to become someone I can be proud of, and that my mother would have been proud of.”

“Lila-”

“And I want to get revenge.” My voice gets harder and more decisive. “Mark Knight should have to suffer for ruining my life. My father shouldn’t be able to act like he didn’t betray me for the past 18 years. They both need to see what I have become. They need to see that I have always been capable of becoming this person. I will need your assistance in making them aware of this fact.”

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Chapter 32

Aidan stares at me. I see something fierce and proud in his eyes right now.

“You really believe this?”

“I have never felt this strongly about anything in my life.”

He rises, walks around the table, and now we are directly in front of each other.

“Then we will make them regret what they have done,” he states gently. “We’ll do it together.”

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I rise, and we are very close to each other.I could almost touch his face; I looked at every inch – the contour of his chin, the darkness of his eyes, the catch in his breath.

“Together,” I said, repeating what he had just said.

The air between us is charged. Electric. Dangerous.

Then Aidan steps back. Clears his throat. “You should sign the inheritance papers. Get that process started.”

“Right. Yes. Papers.”

He returns to his side of the table. I return to mine. We’re both very carefully not acknowledging what just almost happened.

As he moved back to his side of the table, I moved back to mine; we were both very focused on pretending that nothing had just happened.

I began signing the inheritance forms that my mother had left for me. Money and freedom.

Once I finished, Aidan grabbed all of the paperwork and told me that Marcus would take care of the logistics; once everything had been verified through the Trust Company, the money should be available to me within one week.

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