Cole(40)

“Because he’s a pompous ass.” Heather sighed. “Addison, oh my God. Whose money did you use to buy your home?”

Liam’s, but… I took the papers from her and began reading. The more I read, the more my stomach sank. The money had come from Liam, but it was my house. It had been our house together. Our home. It was my choice what happened to it now.

They couldn’t take the house away.

“I’m his wife, though. I thought that mattered.”

“It does. This is complete bullshit.” Heather lifted her hands in the air. “With lawyers and the courts…” Her hands dropped to the table. “Who knows what they can do. Liam didn’t put you on the title. He said he was going to add you later, but he never did. Do you know why he did that?”

“Fuck.” I had no idea. A headache was forming. I pressed on my temples, but knew it wasn’t going to go away. “He had a new job. He was busy. And I didn’t think about it. I mean, who would ever think about this? Liam had the money. He said he had enough saved up. We bought it outright. There’s no mortgage or anything. I didn’t even know about his money until the funeral, but I mean—” What should I do? “What can I do?”

Heather leaned close, a hard look in her eye. “You get a lawyer. You know any?”

“I…” I did. “My neighbor’s a lawyer.” I’d forgotten for a moment.

“Does he specialize in property law?”

That nice relieved feeling I’d just gotten vanished. I slumped back in my chair. “I have no idea.”





Jake welcomed me from the elevator that evening with a look of surprise. “Hey, Addison.” He still wore a business suit from work. A pot of coffee had started to sputter alive behind him. “Sia’s not here, if that’s who you’re looking for?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m looking for you. I might need legal help.”

His eyes lit up. “Well, in that case, you came to the right place. Come in.” He gestured to the living room. “Do you drink coffee—no. You don’t, but Sia does. That’s right. She told me you’re not a big coffee drinker.”

The elevator doors closed, and I waited on the couch as he got organized. He hung his suit coat on a nearby chair and sat down across from me.

“Okay. What do you have for me?”

I took out the papers. “I was given these a few hours ago.”

“Yeah?” He took them and leafed through.

I hated this. I hated that Liam’s family had put me in this position. I glanced around. This was my neighbor. I wasn’t supposed to be a client, not this way. I clasped my hands together.

This was the worst part. The waiting.

“Okay.” He finished reading and placed them on the table. “Um, well, first, how are you?”

“What?”

“How are you?”

“I’m…” I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

His eyes went to the floor, then came up as he cleared his throat. “Sia told me about you and Liam, how much you really loved him, and these are your in-laws doing this. So, I guess, how are you? I’m not asking as your lawyer, but as your neighbor and the guy in love with your best friend.”

“Love, huh?” I sat back.

“Yeah. I love her. I haven’t told her, but this isn’t about that.” He tapped the papers. “How are you feeling about Liam’s parents doing this?”

“I’m furious.” My voice was monotone.

“Okay. Yeah.” He coughed into his hand. “I can see that. My firm does work in property law. You paid for your home in full?”

I nodded. “With cash.”

“And who primarily paid for it? Was it you and Liam? Was it mainly just Liam?”

“It was Liam.” I slid my hands under my legs. They were beginning to tremble. “I paid for the insurance, and I helped with the furniture, but it was mostly his money.” I had to swallow a lump in my throat. “It was all his money.”

“Okay.” His eyes drifted from me to the papers, then to the floor. “Your name isn’t on the title, but you’re his wife. They don’t have a case. However, if you wanted to make this go away more quickly, you could show them a copy of your accounts—where it shows that it was Liam’s money, and not money put into his account by your in-laws. That would be enough to make this completely go away, but you don’t have to do that. As your lawyer, I wouldn’t advise you to show your bank statements for any reason.”

“And as a friend?”

“If you want to make this go away so your in-laws aren’t fucking with you, I’d just show them the proof. They have to go away then.”