Her tone is parked in Neutral, but her words still hit me wrong, like jumping into the lake before the sun has had a chance to warm up the water. “I don’t plan on asking Paul for anything more than what I’m entitled to according to the prenup, if that’s what you’re fishing for. Child support and health care, at least until the baby is born. That’s all I want.”

“Of course you are entitled to those things. I wasn’t implying anything otherwise. But you should know that this case is going to trial, and people will be watching. In fact, they’re already watching, and they’ve seen how you’ve moved out of Paul’s house and into some rickety trailer. You can’t raise this baby in a trailer.”

A hot flash of indignation, but I manage to keep it out of my tone. “Plenty of people raise babies in trailers. My mother did. Not very well, but that had nothing to do with the trailer. The point is, a baby doesn’t care where it lives as long as it’s loved and cared for.”

Diana tries very hard not to roll her eyes. “What I’m saying is, it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to struggle.”

It takes a few seconds for her meaning to sink in, and then I laugh out loud at the irony. After all these months trying to chase me away, after all the ways she’s cut and stabbed and poked at my feelings, now she wants me to stay.

“Let me get this straight. You want me to stand by my man. No, no, wait. It’s more than that. You want me to waddle around town with my big belly on display so people will look at me and feel sorry for Paul. You want us to sit behind him at the trial so the jurors will think we’re a united front.” I place both hands on the table and lean in. “You want to pay me to stay.”

“Not you, dear. The baby. A trust fund in his or her name, with you as the administrator. Enough so that you can buy a house of your own, take care of your child and never have to work again.” She settles her cup back onto the saucer and sinks back in her chair. “Think of it as a sort of insurance. You do this one little thing for me, and I’ll make sure you’re set up for life.”

I blink at her in disbelief, in horror. “That’s not insurance. It’s a bribe.”

“Be smart, Charlie. I’m offering you security, a future without money worries.”