The first time I went to my girlfriend’s home, she took me straight into a Luxury Postpartum Retreat.
As soon as we stepped inside, her younger brother walked up holding a baby in his arms.
“Future brother-in-law, come check out your little nephew. Isn’t he cute?”
“We haven’t had enough fun yet, and you and my sister don’t have kids. Why don’t you take him for two years to practice parenting?”
Before I could even process what he was saying, he shoved a bill into my hands.
“This is the bill for my girlfriend’s stay here—total comes to $50,000. You can help pay for it.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “This is your kid. What does that have to do with me?”
Ryan shot me a glare. “What do you mean it has nothing to do with you? You’re about to marry my sister—this is what you’re supposed to do.”
“Don’t forget my sister is now an investment director. Plenty of men are lining up to marry her. The fact that she chose you is your blessing.”
I was speechless.
If not for me, does he really think Claire could have climbed to the director position this quickly?
…
I turned to look at Claire Moore, who was staring at the floor, avoiding my eyes.
I sighed and refused again. “I’m not paying this $50,000.”
Ryan’s face instantly darkened.
Claire quickly pulled me aside, speaking in a low voice:
“Ethan Carter, Ryan might have gone a bit too far this time, but he’s still young. Don’t let this ruin his future. Why don’t we just help him this once?”
“And besides, this means he considers you family. You should be happy about that.”
I stared at her. “Claire, why didn’t you tell me about this before we came here?”
She nervously brushed her hair behind her ear. “I wanted to surprise you.”
A surprise?
I almost laughed from anger.
Ryan overheard our conversation and raised his voice:
“What? I’m kindly letting you practice on my son so you won’t mess up raising your own kids with my sister in the future. Shouldn’t you be happy about this? Shouldn’t you be paying up?”
“When I get discharged, the kid will stay with you and my sister. Oh, and that downtown condo of yours with the great school enrollment spot—perfect for my son when he starts school.”
Ryan got more and more carried away. “If it’s too much trouble for you, I can move in with my girlfriend too. We’ll help babysit when we have time.”
“And we can help manage your household finances too, so you don’t waste money.”
I let out a cold laugh, cutting him off. “Ryan, you sure have some imagination. I’ll say this one last time: I won’t pay this money, and I won’t raise this kid.”
The moment I finished, Ryan let out a dramatic scream:
“Claire! Look at him! We’re not even married yet and he’s already bullying me!”
“You’ve never scolded me once growing up—why does he get to treat me like this?”
I turned to Claire. “Is that what you think too?”
She said nothing, which was as good as admitting it.
It all clicked.
She knew everything from the start—knew her brother’s plan to extort me, knew he wanted me to raise his kid, and she was fine with it.
She had been planning to make me the scapegoat all along.
And to think I pitied her for losing her parents young and raising her brother by herself.
“Claire, you’ve really opened my eyes.”
I sneered, slapped the bill down on the table, and said, “This ‘blessing’? Whoever wants it can have it.”
Then I turned and left.
Ryan screamed behind me:
“Ethan! Get back here! Go on, walk out that door—I’ll make my sister break up with you!”
I stopped for a second and glanced back at him.
Did he really think his sister was some priceless treasure?
