His expression became hard and calculating as he looked around the room we had picked out together. “Don’t start with the drama because my name is on the paperwork too and Melody needs a stable home for the baby,” he stated.
It took me a moment to realize that he actually expected me to just give up the house to them. “You want to move her in here?” I asked while my heart hammered against my ribs.
“It just makes more sense for you to step aside so we can start our family in a proper environment,” he answered. He went upstairs to grab a few things and came back down with a suitcase he had apparently already packed.
He had the nerve to kiss my forehead before leaving as if he were doing something noble by abandoning me. The next two weeks were a blur of tears and silence as I stayed in my old apartment and ignored the world.
I kept my phone off to avoid going crazy until I eventually saw a post from Melody online. She was standing on the porch of the new house in a tight white dress with her hand on her stomach.
Garrett was hugging her from behind and the caption said that this was finally their new beginning. I grabbed my keys and drove to the house immediately because I realized they were actually moving in that very day.
The moving truck was already parked out front and men were carrying a cream colored sofa onto the porch. Melody was standing at the entrance wearing dark sunglasses and barking orders at the movers like she owned the place.
She didn’t even flinch when she saw me get out of my car and walk toward her with purpose. “It is good that you showed up so we can avoid any scenes later on,” she said with a smug smirk.
“Get out of my house right now,” I told her firmly while standing on the walkway. She just laughed and told me to get over it because Garrett had already made his final decision.
I tried to push past her to open the front door with the key I still carried in my pocket. I put the key in the lock but it would not turn no matter how hard I tried to force it.
I realized right then that the lock had been replaced with a brand new one to keep me out. “What did you do?” I asked as I turned to face her again with my hands shaking.
Melody stepped closer to me so she could enjoy the moment of my realization and pain. “I didn’t do anything, but Garrett changed the locks this morning to ensure our privacy,” she explained.
“You can’t do that because my name is on the mortgage,” I argued while trying to stay calm. “His name was on it too when you signed, but things are different now,” she replied with a venomous calm.
She pulled a beige folder out of her bag and showed me some notarized documents with official stamps. “Garrett put the house into a family trust and I am the official beneficiary along with the baby,” she bragled.
I stood there frozen because I couldn’t believe they had tried to steal the property from under me. “You are lying to me,” I whispered while looking at the signatures on the papers.
“I wish I were, but you were basically just an unwitting sponsor for our new life together,” she mocked. I went back to my car with my legs trembling and I found that I didn’t even want to cry this time.
I stared at the house and felt a cold sensation of pure determination growing inside my chest. I took out my phone and called Barnaby, who was a real estate lawyer I had contacted a week ago.
I had noticed strange bank transfers and withdrawals from Garrett’s accounts recently and grew suspicious. “Tell me that they have already moved into the house,” Barnaby said as soon as he answered the call.
“They are inside right now and they changed the locks,” I told him while watching Melody through the windshield. Barnaby let out a short laugh and told me that this was actually the perfect scenario for us.
“It is perfect because now there is no doubt that they will both face the full consequences of their actions,” he explained. “I need you to tell me exactly what is going to happen next,” I pleaded.
“Those trust papers are completely worthless if they don’t match the registered deed at the county office,” he said firmly. I remembered the past few weeks of looking through emails and discovering Garrett’s plan to leave me.
I had made the silent decision to let him sign the closing papers without reading every single page of the final contract. “So who actually owns the house?” I asked as I held my breath.
