I pressed my lips into a tight line. "That's not just some ordinary restaurant."

"How is it not ordinary? It's a building, a few private dining rooms, a handful of tables. That's it."

"Sure, your dad spent his whole life on it, but that was his thing. What does it have to do with me?"

"I married you, not that restaurant."

I frowned. "That's not what you used to say."

"Used to?" She let out a cold laugh. "Exactly. Used to. I went along with whatever you said back then because I didn't want to fight. I didn't want problems between us."

"But I've had time to think, and I'm done. I'm not spending the rest of my life chained to some run-down restaurant, dealing with customers who get wasted and cause scenes."

"I have my own plans. I don't want to manage that place anymore. I want a better life, a more relaxed life. Is that so wrong?"

After a long silence, I asked, "Who'd you sell it to?"

"My high school classmate, Oswald Gilbert." She shrugged. "Good thing it was someone I knew, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten that much for it."

I looked at her without responding.

My stare made her uncomfortable. She glanced away. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I had someone appraise it." I spoke slowly, deliberately. "Based on the reputation that restaurant has built over the years, plus the monthly revenue, it's worth a lot more than a hundred and eighty thousand dollars."

She blinked, then scowled. "Who did you get to appraise it? They were talking out of their ass. Do you have any idea what the restaurant industry looks like right now?"

"I know exactly what it looks like." I nodded. "And deep down, so do you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She shot to her feet. "Oswald offered a fair price. You think restaurants are easy to sell right now? I negotiated with him for ages before he even agreed to take it off my hands."

"Negotiated for ages? When did these negotiations start?"

Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.

"While I was away on my business trip?" I pressed. "Or earlier than that?"

"What are you getting at?"

She glared at me.

"Julian, if you've got something to say, just say it. Stop with the passive-aggressive crap."

"I'm not getting at anything." My expression didn't change. "I just want to know when you decided to sell the restaurant, and how the deal came together."

"We first talked about it last year. Oswald runs a restaurant chain now. He liked our location and wanted to acquire it for one of his brands."

I kept pushing. "A hundred and eighty thousand. Was that your number, or his?"

Something flickered in her eyes. "Does it matter?"

"It does," I said. "If it was his number, then he took advantage of you not knowing the market."

"And if it was yours, then you sold my father's legacy for pennies."

Her face changed.

"Julian! You'd better explain yourself. Who sold anything for pennies?"

"I've been running that restaurant for two years. I know better than anyone what it's worth!"

"Then tell me. How much?"

Her mouth opened again, but no words came.

I watched her. Waited.

"The contract's already done anyway." She turned her face away. "There's no point arguing about it."

"Done?"

"We sign tomorrow." She paused. "The letter of intent is already signed."

I said nothing.

She waited a moment, and when I stayed silent, she spoke again. "Julian, I know you think of it as something your dad left behind. I know it's hard to let go."

"But have you actually thought about it? What are we keeping it for?"

"You never bothered with it. I've had enough of it. While we can still get a decent price, why not just sell and be done with it?"

"A hundred and eighty thousand is a decent price?"

"Maybe not to you, but it is to me." Her voice grew sharp, the words tumbling out faster. "All these years together, what have you ever given me? All you do is travel for work. Have you ever once taken care of things at home? Have you ever once dealt with the restaurant? Now that I'm selling it, now you decide to show up and have an opinion."

I shot back, "So you're selling the restaurant because I travel too much for work?"

"Don't flatter yourself." She let out a cold laugh. "I'm selling it because I'm sick of waiting on those people. I want an easier life. Is that a crime?"

"No."

"Then it's settled." She stood up. "We sign the contract tomorrow. Once the money comes through, we split it fifty-fifty. You want a divorce? Fine. I couldn't care less."

I looked her in the eyes. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious."

I nodded. "Alright. Don't come crying to me later."

She scoffed, turned on her heel, and disappeared into the bedroom. The door slammed hard enough to rattle the walls.

I stood in the living room for a while, then went to the guest room, grabbed a blanket, and lay down on the couch.

I couldn't sleep.

My phone buzzed.

I picked it up. A message from Connor.

"Julian, I found it. The car is registered to a guy named Oswald Gilbert. Runs a restaurant company."

"This guy's no small fish."

Several attachments followed.

I read through every document carefully, then replied: "You free tomorrow? Come with me to the restaurant."

"You got it!"

I set the phone down and closed my eyes.

Some time passed. I was drifting off when the phone rang.

I picked it up. Mrs. Henson.

I answered, but before I could get a word out, she was already tearing into me.

"Julian! What the hell do you think you're doing? You want to divorce Meg?"

"What has she ever done to you? She's been running that household all by herself, plus managing that whole restaurant. You think that's easy? And now you just want to walk away? Are you even human?"

I listened. Said nothing.

"Let me tell you something. If you dare divorce her, I will make your life a living hell!"

"Don't think you can push the Hensons around! Meg gave you seven years. Seven years! And what did you ever give her?"

"That run-down restaurant your father left behind? She managed it for you! Worked herself to the bone every single day, and now that she wants to sell it, you throw a fit?"

"It's not even yours! She's the legal representative! She can sell it whenever she damn well pleases, and there's not a thing you can do about it!"

I finally spoke. "Are you done?"

She faltered.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, if you're done, I'm hanging up."

"Don't you dare! You're going to explain yourself right now!"

I hung up and powered off the phone.

The living room was pitch black. I sat up and lit a cigarette.

Smoke curled upward, dissolving against the ceiling.

I thought about my father's funeral. Meg had held me and cried.

Through her tears, she'd told me we'd build a good life together. That she'd take care of the restaurant. That my father could rest easy.

In the beginning, she went to the restaurant every week. She'd sit down with the chefs to discuss new dishes, hold meetings with the waitstaff, reconcile the books at the end of every month to calculate profits.

Then, gradually, her visits tapered off.

I asked her about it a few times. She said she was exhausted and wanted to hire a general manager.

I agreed.

After that, she stopped checking the books altogether. Whatever the manager reported, she accepted at face value. She just stopped caring.

I figured she was worn out. I didn't push it.

Looking back now, that was probably when she'd started planning to sell.

I finished the cigarette and lay back down.

I drifted off at some point. When I opened my eyes again, daylight filled the room.

The next morning, Connor and I walked into the restaurant.

It was the pre-lunch rush. Servers were setting tables, and the rhythmic thud of knives on cutting boards echoed from the kitchen.

A few of the longtime employees froze when they saw me walk in, then quickly came over to say hello.

I greeted each of them. They looked at me with something unspoken behind their eyes.

One of them opened his mouth, seemed to think better of it, and said nothing.

Connor leaned in behind me and murmured, "Julian, something feels off in here."

I didn't respond.

I made my way to the kitchen entrance. William Finch, the head chef, was prepping ingredients at his station. He looked up, saw me, and his knife went still.

"Julian?"

He set the knife down, wiped his hands on his apron, and walked out from the kitchen.

"When did you get back? You didn't even call."

"Last-minute decision," I said.

His eyes flicked to Connor standing behind me, then back to my face. He pulled me aside into the stairwell.

"Tell me the truth. Is she selling the restaurant?"

I looked at him.

Twenty-three years he'd worked here. He'd been with my father since the very beginning, back when the restaurant first opened. Started as a kitchen hand, worked his way up to head chef. He'd watched me grow up.

"Yes, Uncle William."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

His expression darkened. He was quiet for a few seconds. "She's really going through with it?"

"She's already in talks."

"Then what about you—"

"Don't worry." I cut him off. "This restaurant isn't going anywhere."

He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded. "Good."

"No matter what happens, me and the rest of the staff, we're with you."

Warmth flooded my chest. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." He waved it off. "Your father treated me like family. This place was his life's work. I'm not about to stand by and watch someone run it into the ground."

He turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, one more thing. Yesterday, she brought people by to look at the place. Some guy in a Mercedes, plus a few of her relatives."

"They walked around the whole restaurant, pointing at everything, talking like they already owned it."

"I know."

"Alright. As long as you're on top of it."

He gave my shoulder a firm pat and headed back to the kitchen.

Connor and I sat down in the dining room and ordered two glasses of water.

At eleven thirty, a black Mercedes pulled up out front.

Oswald got out, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door. Meg stepped out and looped her arm through his as they headed inside.

A white Buick followed behind them. Four people climbed out.

Meg's mother. Her uncle. Her aunt. And her cousin.

When they walked in and saw me, none of them looked the least bit surprised.

Mrs. Henson even smiled—the kind of smile that said she'd come to watch a show.

Oswald approached me with his hand extended. "Julian, right? I've heard a lot about you. Oswald Gilbert."

I looked at his outstretched hand and didn't move.

His hand hung in the air. A beat of awkward silence. He pulled it back and smiled. "Meg told me you were away on business. Didn't expect you to be back already. Perfect timing, actually. Let's talk."

"Talk about what?"

"The transfer." His smile stayed perfectly in place. "Meg and I have already worked everything out. We're signing the contract today. After that, this place is mine."

"Yours?"

"That's right. A hundred and eighty thousand dollars. More than fair. I'm planning to turn this restaurant into a flagship location for a chain brand."

I looked at him and said nothing.

Meg walked over, dropped her purse on the table, and pulled out a thick stack of documents.

"Oswald, I brought the contract." She slid it across the table. "Go ahead and sign."

Mrs. Henson sidled up beside her, sizing me up, and launched straight into a warning. "Julian, let me tell you something. Don't you dare cause trouble."

"Meg is the legal representative. She makes the decisions. You don't get a say."

I ignored her and looked at Meg. "I'm asking you one more time. You really want to sell?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Mrs. Henson jumped in before Meg could answer. "Why else would we all be here? You think we've got nothing better to do?"

The rest of them piled on immediately:

"Exactly. Oswald is a major business owner. The fact that he's even interested in this run-down place is doing you a favor. Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Meg gave you seven years of her life. What did you ever give her? Now she's selling the restaurant and splitting the money with you fifty-fifty, and you're still not satisfied?"

Meg's cousin hung back near the door, phone raised, recording. He muttered under his breath, "Let me get this on social media first. Let everyone see what a cheapskate my cousin married."

Connor shot to his feet and jabbed a finger at him.

"Put that phone down. Now."

He stumbled back a step, but his mouth kept running. "Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!"

Meg handed the contract to Oswald.

"Oswald, ignore them. Just sign it."

Oswald took the contract and pulled a pen from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "Julian, relax. The restaurant will be in better hands with me. You're welcome to come by anytime. I'll always have a table for you."

He uncapped the pen.

"Hold on."

I reached out and blocked his hand.

Oswald looked up, pen frozen in midair.

Meg frowned.

"Julian, what are you doing?"

Mrs. Henson's shrill voice cut in immediately. "I knew he'd pull something! Oswald, don't pay him any attention. Sign it!"

Meg's aunt planted herself in front of me. "Julian, I'm warning you. Don't push your luck!"

I ignored them both and looked at Meg.

"Don't rush. Once you've seen what I have, you can decide whether you still want to sell to him."

I took a manila envelope from Connor and set it on the table.

Meg blinked. "What is this?"

"See for yourself."

She eyed me with suspicion, then picked up the envelope and slid out the documents inside.

One look at the first page, and her pupils contracted sharply.