Chapter 13 - The Family That Tried to Take EverythingEmmett had never been a confrontational man.
Phoebe used to tease him because he'd apologize to furniture after bumping into it.
He was the sort of person who returned an extra dollar if a cashier accidentally gave him too much change.
Claire knew that.
Perhaps she'd believed his reluctance to fight would extend to the financial arrangements surrounding their failed marriage.
Her attorney's correspondence listed numerous expenses associated with the wedding and their planned future together.
Some were legitimate matters to resolve.
A portion of the venue deposit.
Certain travel arrangements.
Furniture Claire had purchased.
Personal belongings she'd intended to move into Emmett's home.
But other claims surprised him.
Claire sought reimbursement for professional opportunities she said she'd declined because of the anticipated marriage.
She also asserted that she'd contributed money toward proposed renovations to his property.
Emmett forwarded everything to his attorney.
His accountant reviewed the relevant transactions.
Fortunately, he'd maintained detailed records.
There was no shared bank account.
Claire's name hadn't been added to the property title.
The renovation work she'd discussed had not begun.
The attorney explained that the validity of any financial claims would depend on the applicable law, evidence, and the eventual disposition of the marriage proceedings.
For me, the emotional reality was simpler.
We'd already endured the collapse of a wedding.
Now every receipt seemed capable of becoming another argument.
Patricia called again.
This time, she didn't bother with pleasantries.
"My daughter gave Emmett two years of her life."
"Emmett gave her two years of his."
"She planned an entire wedding!"
"Which he helped pay for."
"She loved his child!"
I closed my eyes.
"Patricia, please don't use Margot to negotiate money."
The silence that followed was icy.
Then she said, "You think your family is better than ours."
"No."
"Then what is your problem with Claire?"
I took a breath.
"My problem is that she told a five-year-old girl she wasn't important to her father, and afterward she repeatedly blamed the child."
Patricia's voice became strained.
"People say terrible things under pressure."
"Yes. And sometimes they have to live with the consequences."
She disconnected.
I set the phone down and wondered whether Eleanor would have handled the situation better.
Probably.
She'd always possessed a remarkable ability to remain firm without allowing anger to consume her.
I missed that about her.
The next complication arrived unexpectedly through Marcus.
He had been helping Emmett organize certain wedding payments when he noticed that a requested vendor reimbursement didn't match the original invoice.
The discrepancy wasn't necessarily suspicious.
Weddings were complicated.
Deposits, cancellations, and revised contracts could produce confusing paperwork.
But Marcus recommended confirming everything directly with the vendor.
Emmett did.
The vendor explained that a portion of the amount had already been refunded to the original payer.
That payer was Claire.
Emmett forwarded the correspondence to his attorney.
It was a small matter financially.
But it reinforced the importance of handling the dispute through records rather than emotional negotiations.
Meanwhile, Claire's online statements continued.
One afternoon, she published an emotional message about how difficult it was for women to enter families where a deceased spouse remained idealized.
Several people expressed sympathy.
And I could understand why.
Being compared to someone who could no longer defend herself, change, or make mistakes might be painful.
I genuinely believed a second spouse deserved love and consideration.
But the problem in our family wasn't that Claire had wanted a meaningful marriage.
It was that she'd demanded a little girl surrender part of her father's affection to prove that marriage mattered.
The distinction was enormous.
Hannah visited me that Friday.
She looked exhausted.
"Mother isn't speaking to me," she said.
"I'm sorry."
"Claire says I ruined her future."
"Do you believe that?"
She shook her head.
"Not anymore."
We sat in my garden while Margot played indoors with Emmett.
Hannah watched the three rose bushes we'd planted.
"Who are those for?"
"Phoebe and Eleanor."
She smiled faintly.
"They're beautiful."
"Margot chose them."
Hannah looked toward the house.
"I keep thinking about something."
"What?"
"When we were little, Claire once told me there wasn't room for both of us to be special."
I said nothing.
"She was ten. I was seven. Mother had praised a drawing I'd made, and Claire got upset."
Hannah sighed.
"I spent years believing I needed to become smaller to keep her happy."
I looked at her.
"And now?"
"Now I think I should've stopped doing that a long time ago."
We talked for nearly an hour.
Before leaving, Hannah asked whether she could send Margot a birthday card when the time came.
I told her to discuss it with Emmett.
He agreed, provided the card remained simple and contained no references to the dispute.
It was a small gesture.
But it mattered.
Claire's actions did not automatically make every member of the Whitmore family an enemy.
I didn't want Margot learning that love required choosing entire sides and rejecting everyone connected to a painful experience.
That would simply be another version of the lesson Claire had tried to teach her.
Two weeks later, an initial legal conference took place.
I attended at Emmett's request.
Claire arrived with Patricia and her attorney.
She wore a navy dress and looked noticeably thinner than she had at the wedding.
For a brief moment, our eyes met.
There was no satisfaction in seeing her distressed.
I wished the wedding had never happened the way it did.
I wished she'd been the woman we thought she was.
I wished Margot had been able to keep believing in her.
But wishing couldn't change what had happened.
During discussions, Claire's attorney proposed resolving the marriage through a negotiated agreement.
Emmett's attorney reviewed the possibilities.
No final resolution was reached that day.
As we prepared to leave, Claire approached Emmett in the hallway.
Her attorney was several steps behind.
"Can I ask you one question?"
Emmett stopped.
"What?"
"Did you ever really love me?"
He looked at her for a long time.
"Yes."
Her expression softened.
"Then why won't you fight for us?"
Emmett swallowed.
"Because I spent the wedding day discovering that you saw my daughter as somebody standing between us."
Claire's eyes filled.
"That isn't fair."
"Maybe not from where you're standing."
He adjusted the folder beneath his arm.
"But Margot isn't a problem I'm willing to negotiate."
Then he walked away.
I followed him toward the parking lot.
Before we reached the car, my attorney's phone rang.
She listened quietly.
Her expression changed.
When she ended the call, she looked directly at me.
"Arthur, we're going to need you to prepare a formal statement."
"About the wedding?"
"Yes."
"Why now?"
"Because the other side has challenged your account of the conversation."
She paused.
"And the hearing may require you to explain exactly what you heard."
May you like
For the first time, I realized the words I'd spoken at the wedding might have to be repeated somewhere far more intimidating than a ballroom.
Under oath.
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