Chapter 12 - Eric’s Offer
Eric asked to meet Margaret in June.
Evelyn advised against meeting alone.
Margaret agreed.
They sat in a conference room at Evelyn’s office.
Eric looked older.
His tailored suits were gone.
He wore a simple navy jacket.
His business had entered restructuring.
Harbor Point would likely be sold at a substantial loss.
The Wellesley house was under contract.
Laura’s divorce petition continued.
Eric placed a folder on the table.
Margaret did not touch it.
“Old habits?” he said bitterly.
“Learned behavior.”
Evelyn sat quietly at Margaret’s right.
Eric exhaled.
“I owe you an apology.”
Margaret waited.
“I should never have prepared financial documents involving Seabriar without your explicit consent.”
“Correct.”
“I should never have spoken to banks about future financing.”
“Correct.”
“I should not have discussed conservatorship.”
“Correct.”
Eric’s jaw tightened.
“Are you going to say anything else?”
“When you say something I disagree with.”
He almost smiled.
Then his face fell again.
“I was desperate.”
Margaret thought of Henry’s video.
“He said you were.”
“Henry?”
“Yes.”
Eric looked away.
“He never understood me.”
“I think he understood you better than either of us wanted.”
Eric’s eyes sharpened.
“He hated me.”
“No.”
Margaret shook her head.
“That would make this simpler for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“If Henry hated you, then every warning becomes prejudice.”
She folded her hands.
“But he wrote that he believed you loved Laura and Sophie.”
Eric looked surprised.
“He did?”
“Yes.”
Margaret continued.
“He also believed you had started treating future inheritance as current capital.”
Eric stared at the table.
“That sounds like him.”
“He was right.”
Eric’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
The word was quiet.
Margaret had expected arguments.
The admission unsettled her more.
Eric opened the folder.
“This is a proposed settlement regarding any claim I might assert against Laura’s future inheritance or family trusts.”
Evelyn immediately said, “Eric has no present claim to Margaret’s estate.”
“I know.”
He pushed the folder forward.
“I’m waiving any attempt to pursue one indirectly through the divorce.”
Margaret looked at Evelyn.
She read.
“It appears to say that.”
Eric continued.
“I also agree that any future gift or inheritance Laura receives from Margaret remains separate property.”
Margaret stared.
“Why?”
“Because Laura thinks every offer I make is another trick.”
“Is it?”
“No.”
He looked exhausted.
“I’m trying to remove one thing she has reason to fear.”
Margaret considered him.
“Are you trying to save the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Is Laura?”
Eric’s face answered.
No.
Margaret felt unexpectedly sad.
Not because she wanted them together.
Because sixteen years did not disappear cleanly.
Eric continued.
“I want you to know something.”
“What?”
“I did not tell Sophie to pour the water.”
“I know.”
“Laura didn’t either.”
“I know.”
“She heard us talking.”
Margaret’s expression changed.
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
Eric rubbed his face.
“I said you ruined every practical plan because you refused to accept reality.”
Margaret almost laughed.
“Sophie simplified it.”
“Yes.”
“I suppose eleven-year-olds are efficient.”
Eric gave a weak smile.
Then Margaret asked the question that mattered.
“Did you think I was incompetent?”
Eric hesitated.
“No.”
“Then why investigate conservatorship?”
His eyes dropped.
“Because I needed authority.”
There it was.
Not concern.
Not confusion.
Power.
“I thought if you refused every reasonable plan because of grief—”
“Reasonable to whom?”
“To me.”
Eric stopped.
Margaret waited.
He corrected himself.
“That was the problem.”
“Yes.”
“I kept thinking if I could get control temporarily, I could fix everything before anyone really lost anything.”
Margaret felt anger rise.
“You would have taken my control so you could avoid losing yours.”
Eric’s face crumpled slightly.
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Did you ever intend to file a petition using false evidence?”
“No.”
“Did you collect examples of behavior to portray Margaret as incapable?”
Eric hesitated.
Margaret saw enough.
“What examples?”
“Things Laura mentioned.”
“What things?”
“Forgotten appointments. Bills. The stove.”
Margaret’s chest tightened.
“Did you document them?”
“I wrote notes.”
“Did you document that I was grieving?”
“No.”
“Did you document that Laura and you had taken over much of the mail?”
Eric looked away.
“No.”
“That is what false evidence looks like when people want to pretend they are merely collecting facts.”
Eric swallowed.
“I’m sorry.”
Margaret believed he was.
That did not restore trust.
“Why did you ask for this meeting?”
“To apologize.”
“Only?”
Eric looked toward Evelyn.
Then back.
“No.”
Margaret waited.
“I need Henry’s investigative file.”
“No.”
“It concerns my business.”
“It concerns actions Henry investigated.”
“My lenders could use it against me.”
“That is not my problem.”
Eric’s face tightened.
“I knew this was pointless.”
He started to stand.
Margaret stopped him.
“Sit.”
He looked surprised.
She continued.
“You came here hoping remorse would buy access to evidence.”
Eric’s shoulders dropped.
“Yes.”
“I am glad you apologized.”
He stared.
“That does not mean the apology purchased anything.”
He sat again.
Margaret pushed the settlement folder toward Evelyn.
“My attorney will review this.”
Eric nodded.
“And Eric?”
He looked up.
“Do not teach Sophie that apologies are transactions.”
His expression changed.
Margaret continued.
“Apologize because it is true. Accept that you may still lose what you hoped to keep.”
Eric’s eyes filled.
For the first time, Margaret wondered whether he understood.
Not enough to repair what he had broken.
May you like
Perhaps enough to stop breaking more.
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