W wieku 73 lat poślubiłem swoją szkolną miłość, by spełnić jej ostatnią wolę. Po pogrzebie jego prawnik powiedział mi: „Wpadłeś prosto w jego pułapkę”.

During one of those quiet conversations, Thomas asked if I had any family left nearby.

I told him about my cousin Raymond’s relentless calls and strange questions about my money.

The moment I said Raymond’s name, Thomas clenched his jaw.

He quietly admitted that he and his lawyer, Walter, knew exactly who Raymond was, and they knew Raymond had maliciously swindled Aunt Margaret out of her entire life savings.

Though Thomas quickly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere to keep me from worrying, I could see a fierce determination in his eyes.

Shortly afterward, Thomas took a turn for the worse.

Holding my hand one afternoon, he told me he had very little time left, but before he died, he had one last request, that we marry.

Shocked by the suddenness of it all, yet suddenly feeling like the seventeen-year-old girl I was when we first fell in love, I couldn’t help but say yes.

Three days later, we were married at his hospital bedside.

A nurse served as our witness, alongside Thomas’s lawyer, an unobtrusive man named Walter who carried a briefcase stuffed with papers.

Trusting Thomas implicitly, I simply signed everywhere Walter pointed.

That same night, when I told Raymond, he flew into a rage.

He screamed at me through the phone, calling me a fool and claiming Thomas was just tricking an old nurse to get her pension.

He ordered me to get an annulment immediately, but I hung up on him.