“No,” Jason said, his voice quiet and cold.

“I did.”

I looked up at him, my mind spinning, trying to make the pieces fit together.

“You paid my father?” I asked.

“I paid him to ensure you said ‘I do,'” Jason said.

“He knew Ethan was in a coma.”

“He knew Ethan was never supposed to wake up.”

“And he knew that by marrying you to Ethan, you would be legally bound to a ghost.”

The library seemed to shrink around me.

The smell of the old books, the dust, the scotch—it all became suffocating.

“He told me it was the only way,” I whispered, the betrayal cutting through me like a physical blade.

“He told me Vivian forced his hand.”

“He lied to you, Sarah,” Jason said, stepping closer again.

“He didn’t just want his debts paid.”

“He wanted a payout.”

“And he wanted you locked in this house, silent, so he could enjoy his money without you asking questions.”

He pointed to the legal petition in my hand.

“So don’t play the martyr for a man who sold you to the highest bidder,” Jason said.