The Brother's Wife Chapter 11

But James wasn't done with us yet.

The next morning, he showed up at the courthouse before we could file our paperwork, Miranda at his side.

"You're not taking my daughter from me," James said, blocking our path. "I have rights."

"You have nothing," Claire shot back. "You abandoned your infant daughter. You have no legal claim."

"Then I'll make one." His eyes were wild. "I'll tell everyone the truth about your precious Ryan. About how he's been impersonating me for ten years, committing identity fraud, living in my house—"

"That was never your house," I interrupted. "Claire bought it with her own money, years after you left."

"Because she was taking care of my family! It should have been me reaping those rewards!"

Miranda stepped forward, her designer clothes not quite hiding how much she'd fallen. "Ryan, baby, please. We can start over. I made a mistake choosing him. We can go to Paris together like you planned—"

"I don't love you," I said flatly. "I probably never did. You were just... a symbol of success I thought I needed."

Her face crumpled, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

James grabbed my arm. "You're not listening. I will destroy you. I'll go to the press. I'll tell everyone how you stole my identity, manipulated my wife—"

"She was never your wife!" I shouted.

People in the courthouse were starting to stare.

A security guard began walking toward us.

James's expression shifted, becoming desperate. "Fine. You want to know the truth? I don't care about Sophie. I don't care about Claire. I care about the lifestyle they represent. And I'm not letting you keep it when I could have it instead."

At least he was being honest now.

"James," Claire said quietly. "I'm prepared to give you money. Enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life. You'll never have to work. All you have to do is sign away your parental rights and leave us alone."

"How much?"

"Five million dollars."

The number hung in the air.

James's eyes flickered with greed, then something like shame. "I want ten."

"Seven," Claire countered. "Final offer."

He looked at Sophie, who was clinging to my hand, her face buried in my jacket. For just a moment, something like regret crossed his features.

Then it was gone.

"Deal," he said.

Two hours later, the papers were signed. James walked away with a check for seven million dollars and Miranda on his arm. We walked away with full custody of Sophie and a marriage license application in hand.

"Did you mean it?" I asked Claire as we drove home. "About never regretting this?"

She took my hand. "Ryan, I told you. There's never been anyone but you."

Sophie piped up from the back seat. "Are you really going to marry Daddy? Like, legal and everything?"

"Yes," Claire said, smiling at her in the rearview mirror.

"Good. Because he's my real dad anyway."

My throat tightened with emotion.

We'd started this journey as a lie. A vengeful deception meant to hurt my brother the way he'd hurt me.

But somehow, along the way, it had become the truest thing in my life.

Epilogue: Six Months Later

Our wedding was small, intimate. Just close friends and Sophie, who served as both flower girl and ring bearer because she refused to let anyone else have that honor.

As I watched Claire walk down the aisle in her simple white dress, I thought about the man I'd been ten years ago. Angry. Bitter. Determined to hurt James's family to get revenge.

I'd ended up hurting myself instead. Because the family I'd tried to destroy had become mine, and the thought of losing them had nearly killed me.

"Do you, Ryan James Parker, take Claire Elizabeth Morrison to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Claire Elizabeth Morrison, take Ryan James Parker to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

We kissed as husband and wife, and Sophie cheered so loudly that everyone laughed.

Later, at the reception, Claire pulled me onto the dance floor.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For staying. For choosing us. For being the father Sophie needed and the partner I'd always dreamed of."

I pulled her closer. "You saved me first."

She smiled against my shoulder. "Then I guess we're even."

We danced as the sun set over Boston Harbor, Sophie eventually joining us, taking my hand and Claire's hand and making us spin in circles until we were all dizzy and laughing.

Somewhere across the city, James was probably spending his seven million dollars on whatever would fill the empty spaces inside him.

I hoped he found what he was looking for.

But I'd already found everything I needed right here.

My real family.

The one I'd built, not stolen.

The one that had chosen me back.