My Wedding Dress In The Garage His Widow In My Home Chapter 21
When the court papers were served, Paige was in the Reed Family Crew group chat, complaining about me.
She said I was using my high-paying job to hire lawyers and bully her. She also said Owen had personally promised to take care of her and Sadie for life, and that the first floor of the house had always been his way of compensating her.
No one responded for a long time.
Then Mark asked: *Compensation for what?*
Paige sent a voice message.
“After my husband died, Owen became the closest person Sadie had. Nora knew that and still forced him to cut us off. She just couldn’t tolerate a child in her life.”
This time, Owen appeared.
*She didn’t force anything.*
Paige immediately tagged him.
*So you finally decided to talk? Then tell them—weren’t you the one who offered to give us a home?*
Owen stared at the screen, his fingers resting on the keyboard for a long time.
*Yes.*
Paige followed up at once. *See? Everyone can see that now.*
The next second, more messages from Owen appeared.
*It was also me who used $4,800 from our joint account to pay your rent without Nora’s permission.*
*It was me who signed the one-dollar lease behind her back.*
*Most of the down payment on that house was Nora’s. You and I planned to wait until she wired the funds before giving you the first floor.*
The chat went completely silent.
Paige quickly unsent her last message and typed another.
*So now you’re throwing all the blame on me because you want her forgiveness?*
*I’m not asking for her forgiveness,* Owen replied. *She won’t forgive me.*
*Then why are you helping her?*
*I’m not helping her. I’m admitting what I did.*
Owen forwarded two pages of the one-dollar lease from the shared drive into the group.
The first page with the tenant’s name, and the final page with his electronic signature, were now there for everyone to see.
The first person to ask a question was someone who had once left a heart under Paige’s photos.
*Unlimited term? And Nora really didn’t know?*
*Yes,* Owen answered.
Someone else asked: *What about the kiss at the door?*
Paige jumped in before he could answer. *He was just comforting me!*
Owen closed his eyes for a moment before typing.
*No. We kissed. Nora’s doorbell video shows it clearly.*
Paige’s profile icon went dark almost immediately.
A few minutes later, she left the group chat.
She had thought that as long as she invoked her dead husband and her child, everyone would fall silent for her, just like they always had.
But this time, the bank records, the lease, and that damning text message had already been laid on the table. The more she insisted she had nowhere to go, the more glaring that rent payment became. The more she claimed the house was hers, the more the one-dollar lease looked like exactly what it was—a scheme with a price tag.
Near midnight, Mark sent me screenshots of the group chat.
I replied with only one line: *Received. Thanks.*
After a moment, he wrote again: *If you need it, I’m willing to testify.*
*My lawyer will contact you.*
I didn’t ask why Owen had suddenly decided to admit everything.
His regret was no longer my concern.
But the facts he owed me had finally been spoken, in his own voice.