**PART 2 — THE REAL AGREEMENT**
### Chapter 5 — The Price He Put on My Time
We moved into a small room adjoining the fellowship hall.
Stacked plastic chairs lined one wall, and a children’s coloring table occupied a corner.
Paige remained with me.
Heather unlocked her phone.
“I lent Seth the money last spring,” she said. “His truck needed a replacement engine, and he couldn’t afford the repairs.”
I remembered the incident.
Seth had been furious about the repair costs and borrowed my car twice while his truck was in the shop.
He’d claimed most of his savings had gone toward the engine.
“I gave him sixty-four hundred dollars,” Heather continued. “He promised to start paying me back once he caught up on his other bills.”
“Did he?”
“He paid me two hundred dollars once. Then he stopped.”
Heather glanced down.
“I needed the money back, Natalie. Daycare was eating up most of my paycheck. Colin pays his share of the children’s expenses, but I still have rent, groceries, and everything else.”
I understood financial struggles.
I couldn’t understand why mine were being tied to her brother’s debt.
“Three weeks ago,” Heather said, “Seth came over and told me he had a solution.”
I waited.
“He said you’d decided to stay home after the wedding. That you wanted a break from the dental office.”
My mouth went dry.
“He offered to have you watch the kids for a year.”
I stared.
“And you would forgive his debt,” I said slowly.
Heather nodded.
For several seconds, I couldn’t respond.
Seth hadn’t merely offered my assistance to his sister.
He’d traded a year of my labor to settle his personal debt.
Heather scrolled through her messages.
“Here.”
She passed me her phone.
Seth’s first message read:
Nat’s serious about leaving the office after the wedding. She loves having the kids around. I think this could help both of us.
Heather had responded:
Are you sure she’d want all three every day? That’s a lot of work.
Seth replied:
She’s already planning to be home. I wouldn’t offer if we hadn’t talked about it.
Further down, Heather had written:
If Natalie handles daycare through next spring, are you saying we’re square on the truck money?
Seth answered:
Yeah. Call it even.
I reread his response three times.
Fifty hours every week.
Nearly a year of supervising three children, preparing meals, changing diapers, organizing naps, handling laundry, and managing school pickups.
No income, retirement contributions, or professional advancement.
All to spare Seth from repaying his sister.
I returned the phone.
“Did you know how much I make at the clinic?”
Heather hesitated.
“Not exactly.”
“Did you know I’d been there almost seven years?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you think I could afford to quit?”
She pressed her lips together.
“Seth said you’d both planned for it.”
“With what money?”
She remained silent.
I leaned back.
“Six thousand four hundred dollars,” I said.
Heather looked miserable.
“I know how it sounds.”
“Do you?”
Her eyes filled.
“That’s not fair, Natalie. I honestly thought you wanted this.”
I faced her.
“Did you ever ask yourself why someone would give up a full-time job to watch three children for free?”
She started speaking, then stopped.
Her silence told me enough.
Heather desperately needed an affordable childcare solution. Seth had offered one at almost no cost to her, and she’d accepted it.
Eventually, she spoke.
“I should have talked to you myself.”
“Yes. You should have.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“I didn’t think Seth would lie about something like that.”
“Neither did I.”
For the first time, I felt something besides anger toward her.
We’d both believed Seth.
We’d both been deceived.
But Heather still had her employment. I would have lost mine if he’d succeeded.
“There’s something I don’t understand,” I said.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you mention any of this when we saw each other?”
Heather frowned.
“I tried.”
“When?”
“At Mom’s birthday dinner last month. I started asking you about work, remember?”
I recalled that evening.
Heather had asked whether I still enjoyed working at the clinic.
Before I could reply, Seth interrupted, explaining that wedding preparations had made work discussions stressful for me.
I’d thought he was being considerate.
“He told me later that I’d made you uncomfortable,” Heather said. “That you were upset I was questioning your decision to stay home.”
My chest tightened.
“He said that?”
She nodded.
“He told me you wanted him to handle the arrangements because you didn’t like being pressured.”
I sat motionless.
Then another memory surfaced.
After the same dinner, Seth had told me Heather believed I prioritized my career too much.
According to him, she couldn’t understand why a soon-to-be-married woman cared so deeply about earning a promotion.
His comments had hurt me.
Afterward, I’d avoided discussing my career with Heather.
Now she was insisting she’d never criticized me.
I looked at her.
“Did you ever tell Seth you thought I was too focused on my career?”
Heather shook her head.
“No.”
“Did you tell him you didn’t think I’d make a good wife because I worked so much?”
Her confusion turned to shock.
“Of course not.”
My stomach churned.
Heather stared at me.
“What exactly has my brother been telling you about me?”
I glanced at the wedding ring still inside its little box in my purse.
It had never reached my finger.
“I think,” I said slowly, “we need to compare a few things.”
### Chapter 6 — The Lies He Told Both of Us
Within twenty minutes, Heather and I understood the pattern.
For months, Seth had been supplying each of us with false impressions of the other.
When Heather asked about my career, he claimed I avoided discussing it.
When I wondered why Heather seemed distant, he insisted she disapproved of my work.
When she proposed contacting me about childcare, he told her direct conversations made me uncomfortable.
When I expressed a desire to become closer to Heather, Seth claimed she considered me unfriendly.
The deception had required surprisingly little effort.
He’d simply relied on us trusting his explanations.
I recalled a Sunday when I’d voluntarily watched Maddie and Ben for three hours while Heather attended a medical appointment.
Afterward, she’d thanked me and offered to buy lunch.
I’d declined.
Later, Seth told me she’d complained about my annoyed expression when the children arrived.
For weeks, I’d worried Heather thought I disliked caring for them.
When I explained this, she looked horrified.
“I said the opposite. I told Seth I didn’t know what I’d do without you helping sometimes.”
I pressed my forehead.
A single honest conversation could have prevented months of misunderstanding.
We’d just never spoken without Seth managing the information between us.
Heather examined her phone.
“I should have known something was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“At the birthday dinner, I remember asking whether you’d already given notice at the clinic. Seth jumped in before you could answer.”
I remembered.
“I thought he was being protective,” she said. “But now—”
She stopped.
We sat silently for a while.
Then I raised the question that had haunted me since the church hallway.
“When he said I wouldn’t have much choice after we got married, what did you think he meant?”
Heather’s face reddened.
“I didn’t like it.”
“But you didn’t say anything.”
“I asked whether you really wanted to do this.”
“And when he said yes?”
She looked away.
“I wanted to believe him.”
“Because you’d already canceled daycare.”
“Yes.”
Her answer hurt, but at least it was truthful.
“I heard him laugh,” Heather said. “I knew that was a horrible thing to say. I told myself he was making a stupid joke.”
She swallowed.
“I was scared of losing the arrangement. I know that doesn’t make it okay.”
“No,” I said. “It doesn’t.”
She nodded without asking me to comfort her.
My phone lit up.
Seth was calling for the fourth time since I’d left the bridal room.
I stared before answering.
“Hello.”
“Natalie, thank God. Where are you?”
“Still at the church.”
“Can we talk? Please?”
“We are talking.”
He sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry about how things happened.”
“How things happened?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
“I’m trying here.”
I looked at Heather.
“Did you tell your sister you’d forgive yourself six thousand four hundred dollars by having me watch her children for a year?”
Silence.
Then:
“Heather told you about that?”
“Yes.”
He paused again.
“It’s not what it sounds like.”
“How many different ways can that arrangement sound?”
He spoke more quietly.
“I was trying to solve two problems at once.”
“Your debt and your sister’s daycare.”
“Right.”
“With my job.”
“I never said you had to quit forever.”
“You told Heather I’d already decided to quit.”
“I figured maybe you’d work something out with Dr. Bennett.”
“After promising someone else I’d be available fifty hours a week?”
He offered no answer.
Then he continued.
“You don’t understand the pressure I’ve been under.”
I closed my eyes.
“I didn’t know about the loan, Seth. You told me you paid for the truck with savings.”
“Because I was embarrassed.”
“You could have told me.”
“And then what? You’d have lectured me about money.”
“I might have asked how you planned to repay it.”
“Exactly.”
He sounded almost relieved, as though I’d confirmed his justification.
I opened my eyes.
“You made a promise you couldn’t keep,” I said. “Then you made another promise using something that didn’t belong to you.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like you’re property.”
“Then stop making decisions like I am.”
He fell quiet.
Heather covered her face and turned away.
Seth tried again.
“Look, I panicked. Heather kept asking about the money. I knew we had the wedding coming up, and I didn’t want to start our marriage with that debt hanging over us.”
“So you decided I could work it off.”
He didn’t deny it.
“I thought once we were married, you’d understand.”
I looked toward the hallway where I’d overheard him earlier.
“No,” I said. “You thought once we were married, I’d feel obligated.”
He sounded exhausted.
“Can’t we just start over?”
“How?”
“We postpone everything. Take a few weeks. Then have a smaller ceremony.”
“And Heather’s children?”
“We help her until she gets something arranged.”
Again, he said we.
Even after our canceled wedding, he continued treating his promise as my responsibility.
“I won’t be watching the kids Monday,” I said.
He hesitated.
“Not even Monday?”
“No.”
“Natalie, come on. They don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Then you and Heather need to figure that out.”
His tone became wounded.
“I can’t believe you’d take it out on the kids.”
For an instant, his accusation affected me.
I pictured Maddie with her backpack, Ben asking for pancakes, and Owen reaching toward me to be picked up.
They were innocent.
Seth understood how deeply I cared for them and knew exactly how to use those feelings against me.
I glanced toward Heather, who watched silently.
“I’m not taking anything out on the children,” I said. “I’m refusing a job I never agreed to do.”
Seth sighed.
“Then I don’t know what you want from me.”
“The truth would have been a good start.”
I ended the call.
I remained seated, phone in hand.
Heather finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
She looked down.
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do Monday.”
Her voice cracked.
“My supervisor already warned me about missing another day. Ben was sick twice last month, and I had to use most of my remaining paid time off.”
I understood her fear.
She had three children relying on her, employment she couldn’t afford to lose, and a brother who’d promised help without having the authority to offer it.
I nearly volunteered.
The words were ready: I could watch them Monday while she searched for alternatives.
Calling Dr. Bennett and taking a day off would be easy.
Perhaps two days.
Or a few more until Heather found someone.
But I understood how quickly temporary assistance could turn into an obligation.
And Seth had been relying on precisely that possibility.
I almost agreed to care for the children on Monday.
Then I recognized that giving in was exactly what he’d anticipated.
