The Revenge of The Worthless son in law

08. Family Meeting: The Bill.

"Sire, the apartment is ready. And you don't have to worry about your furnitures because it has been taken care of as well."

"Okay, thanks a lot Matthew."

"I am just pleased to be working with you again, Sire."

Now that his apartment was ready, all that was left was for him to move out. Seeing as he didn't have to worry about moving anything, and his wardrobe wasn't that impressive, it wouldn't take more than one trip and a suitcase to move his things.

He immediately began moving the little belongings he had. After his last encounter with Lauren, he wasn't sure he wanted her to see him again in her apartment.

He finished packing in five minutes and without wasting any time, he left the apartment. He put his stuff into the taxi he had ordered earlier and soon, they were on their way to his new apartment.

As they passed by Erika's Store, his mind reverted back to her and he realized he hadn't seen her since she was at the apartment. Since he kissed her.

He thought about stopping and going to her, she seemed like she had something important to talk about the last time, but as the store moved out of sight, he decided it could wait. He would get settled first, then he would invite her over.

~•~><~•~

After he had completely settled in, he decided to take a nap to relax when he received a text. It was from Lauren.

(Mother wants to see you.)

He was about to reply her when another text came in, this time it was from a different number.

(If you're less busy, can we talk?)

Erika.

Jason felt like he was at a crossroad. Who would he reply? His ex wife whom he loved dearly, or his co worker and first friend he had made in a while?

He re-read both messages, then slowly he clicked on the latter and began typing his reply.

(Sure. Where are you?)

Her reply came in almost immediately.

(At the store.)

"I knew I should have stopped back then." He muttered to himself as he went in to grab his coat. It wasn't exactly cold but the weather was starting to look suspiciously dark so he thought it would be a good idea to be prepared for anything.

(On my way.)

After he locked the door, he remembered Lauren and he decided he would reply her as well. He thought about what he could tell her. He wanted to say he was busy but it didn't sound right. Maybe he was tired?...still not enough. Then it suddenly hit him!

(Tomorrow. I'm on a date.)

He put the phone in his pocket, pleased with his reply, then he made his way to the store.

~•~><~•~

Jason had agreed to meet up with his wife and her family by twelve PM, and thirty minutes later, he was still not there.

For some reason, they had fixed the meeting at their old apartment instead of at his mother in law's house. When he finally arrived, he waited by the door, adjusting his outfit to make sure he looked decent.

After confirming his look, he proceeded to knocking, like he was a stranger. Well technically he was.

"Come in." Lauren's voice answered from inside and he let himself in.

His wife was seated on the two sitter sofa, while his mother in law and her bodyguard—and son!—Marcus, were seated opposite her. Her text said her mother wanted to see him, but of course he came along. He was like a pet, following its owner wherever she went.

"Can we make this quick? I have to get back to work." He folded his arms, standing firmly in the middle of the room.

"Would you at least sit?" Lauren's voice was gentle, even more gentle than it was while they were married, and for some reason, Jason couldn't stop staring at her.

He grabbed a stool from the side of the couch and sat on it. "Well?"

"Thank you for coming." Lauren was the one who started. "With all that's going on, I was worried you might not show up."

"Well I…I'm here now." What was with the tenderness in Lauren's voice? It was throwing him off his game.

"Well, firstly I'd like to say I'm sorry…for whatever pain I might have caused you this last month. I honestly thought I was doing what was best for you, for us."

"By cheating?"

"It wasn't my intention! I thought that if I had someone like Phil in my life, it would be easy to get you connected and that maybe…maybe he could even get you a job.

That was my intention."

"Then what happened?" If truly she was only after his success, why did she ask for a divorce?

If she had just told him, explained it to him like she just did, he would have understood. Heck, he would probably even love her more.

"Things got out of hand."

Out of hand. Meaning, she fell for his riches and shiny jeweleries.

"Anyway, enough with the sob story." His mother in law interrupted. "You heard her. She was only looking out for you, so in a way…all of this is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes!" His brother in law added. "If you had just been rich like a normal person, none of this would have happened.

"If I had just been rich?" Marcus said it like being poor was an option he made for himself. Who the hell in their right mind would choose to be poor?!

With the few years he had known Lauren's brother, he had said some outrageous things from time to time, but this…this was one of the most outrageous statements he had ever heard. But of course, he wasn't going to say anything. In fact, he was already spending too much time with them. "Why exactly am I here?"

"Right. Down to business." His mother in law handed him a piece of paper which he reluctantly accepted. "Lauren tells me that you two were together for over a year before you had your little arcane wedding. So, plus the time you spent as a legal couple, that's three years and four months.

Then to go easy on you, we calculated the average amount a person spends in a day, multiplied it by that time and well….there you have it."

Lauren's eyes were meeting with the floor, as she listened to all her mother was saying. Jason on the other hand, couldn't believe it.

So that was it. The reason behind their meeting. His words briefly echoed in his head; I'm ready to pay you back, not leaving a single dime.

He had just said that to annoy her, he had hoped that she would relay his statement to her mother and the old snake would be pissed. Now they were actually giving him a bill, and an extravagant one at that. Was that the reason Lauren had been so gentle? She was ashamed at what her mother was making her do? Or was it just to make him calm so their plan would work out well?

"So, in conclusion, you owe my daughter a whooping amount of two point five million dollars. How do you intend to pay it back?" She finished her atrocious analysis with a smug smile.

"Where is the imbecile going to get such an amount?" Marcus mocked, laughing like he had just made a funny joke.

"So this is it?" Jason asked, his gaze focused on Lauren. "This is why you wanted to see me?" Deep in his heart he felt…disappointed. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, it just wasn't that.

"What? Were you expecting her to apologize for what she did and take you back? Don't be an idiot Decker. You were never worthy of my daughter and now that she has finally broken free of your charm, there's no way she's coming back."

She was right. Lauren was no longer his wife, and there was nothing he could do about it. All the plans they made together, the dreams for their future…gone, never to be seen again.

He sat up straight, regaining his composure. "This is absolutely unnecessary." He tore the paper in half, earning himself a scowl from his mother in law. "When I made that statement, my wif--Lauren was the only one present. So if I am going to pay your outrageous bill, Lauren and I will settle it." He rose to his feet, feeling pleased that he was able to get under her skin. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."