“It must be. Why else haven’t I heard from him? His dad probably threatened to take away his trust fund again, and he decided it was better this way.”
“You’re making assumptions, Briana.”
“But…”
She raises her hand. “You don’t want to keep the money, correct?”
“No.”
“And you still have the check.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure it’s not because you want to keep the money?”
“No, not at all. I love Julian. I want to be with him, money or not. But I don’t want him to suffer for the rest of his life to be with me. I’m used to getting the shit end of the stick, but someone like Julian doesn’t know how to make it in the real world without money and connections. I don’t want him to end up hating me for ruining his life.”
“You should let Julian decide what he wants,” she counters. “Have you considered calling him?”
I shake my head. “I can’t hear his voice. It will kill me.”
“Have you considered sending the check to him?”
“Yes,” I admit.
“If you care more about Julian than the money, it would make a statement to him. It sounds like he’s been controlled by money for most of his life. Maybe he needs to see that he means more to you. His father never puts him first. None one does. But if you do, it could help repair your relationship with him.”
“I don’t want to ruin his life,” I say for what feels like the hundredth time.
“You have to let him decide what he wants.”
She’s right. I have to stop worrying about what I think is best for Julian and let him make the choice, whether it’s the money or me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Julian
“Rivers,” Harker yells from the living room, his deep voice protecting up the stairs. “Get your ass down here, bro.”
With an irritated groan, I slide off my bed and open the door.
“He’s still moping around,” Harker tells someone.
“So is Briana,” a female voice says. It must be Sadie. “She’s been so miserable all week.”
Cole must like Sadie more than he lets on. He never keeps women around for this long.
I shuffle downstairs in gray sweats and no shirt, stopping at the bottom landing. “What’s up?”
Sadie walks over to me and hands me a rectangular gift box with a wide grin. “This is from Briana. She wants you to have it.”
Eyes narrowed at her, I take the box, wondering why Briana would send me a present after refusing to speak to me all week. She ran away after my father shoved a check in her face. I still have no idea what to think about that. But I’ve left her alone just in case I’m wrong and she cashed the damn check.
My mouth falls open when I flip open the lid of the silver box. Inside is the check my father wrote to Briana. She turned down ten million dollars… for me.
I let out a sigh of relief. “I knew she wouldn’t cash it.”
Beneath the check is a slip of pink paper that has my name scrawled on the front in Briana’s handwriting. On the other side, it says, I love you, Julian. I choose you. I’ll always choose you.