The night Timothy proposed, he drank heavily.
He clung to Rita Johnson, murmuring her former name over and over
He said, “Rita, you’ll always deserve to be loved.”
That moment confirmed he’d known her long, long before.
As for when their story began, she had no memory, and Timothy never gave a straight answer.
Until the wedding eve, when she accompanied him to the airport to pick someone up–only to see Sean Jackson again.
And Timothy called him “cousin.
་་
Her mind went blank. Something felt terribly wrong, yet she couldn’t pinpoint what.
Instinctively, her defenses shot/up like spines.
Sean, however, remained eerily calm.
During the welcome dinner, their occasional glances met only with polite nods–as if they truly were distant relatives meeting for the first time.
Rita quietly exhaled in relief.
As they left, Timothy/went to fetch the car. Unwilling to be alone with Sean, Rita excused herself to the restroom.
But the moment she pushed the door open, a strong hand yanked her
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Chapter 24
into a stall.
“Sean Jackson, have you lost your mind?!” she gasped.
“Lock it.”
His voice was gravelly, whiskey–laced breath hot against her car.
She struggled, shoving against him, but his grip tightened, pinning her back against the cold tile wall.
“Rita, I’ve searched for you these two years…”
Sean looked down, shadows from the overhead light fracturing his carefully constructed composure.
“You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you.”
He’d never believed Rita was truly gone.
Not when he’d watched her leap from that rooftop. Not even when he’d recovered her body from the river–some stubborn conviction lingered.
Until Timothy’s wedding invitation arrived. One glance, and he knew: this was his girl.
Wild elation tore through him. He booked the next flight to Canada immediately.
He’d take her away, fulfill their childhood promise, make her his wife at last.
“Rita, I’m divorced now,” he whispered, forehead pressed to her shoulder, trembling. “I’ve come to keep my vow. Come away with
me…
11
Before he finished, Rita shoved him hard. Caught off guard, he
Chapter 24
slammed against the wall,
“Sean Jackson, what gives you the right?!”
“I know I don’t deserve it. But Rita, watching you marry another. I can’t.”
Her heart clenched, then flooded with razor–edged scorn. “Remember what you swore to me? You promised to let me go…”
“Sean Jackson, I’ve already died once. Would you have me die a second time?”
She stood rigid, spine steel–straight. Her eyes held no hatred, no bitterness–only glacial finality.
Hard enough to shatter bone.
Sean searched for any flicker of hesitation, any ripple in that frozen expanse. Nothing. Just barren tundra warning him: One step further meant the abyss.
His gaze dimmed like dying embers. Slowly, he released her, fingertips brushing her cheek in one last, trembling caress. “I’m sorry…”
“Doesn’t matter anymore.”
Rita Johnson walked past him, pulled open the partition door, and strode out without looking back. “If you truly feel sorry, then stay out of my life from now on.
The door slammed shut with a bang, sharp as a needle piercing through Sean Jackson’s last shred of pretense and illusion.
He leaned against the wall, agony constricting his heart, torturing every nerve.
22990
The symphony and guests‘ cheerful laughter dissolved into a distant blur. Scan sat shrouded in shadows at the back row, fingers unconsciously tightening around the velvet box in his pocket
Seeing the finality in her eyes, he hadn’t dared to produce the ring Now it dug painfully into his palm.
He wouldn’t gamble.
He couldn’t bear losing her again. As long as she lived well, that was enough.
For the rest of his life, he would wait.
His gaze stretched across the room as Timothy Taylor took Rita’s hand. sliding the ring onto her finger with the tenderness reserved for fragile
treasures.
When applause erupted, Rita glanced up, her eyes sweeping the crowd until they collided with Sean’s.
She froze for half a second before flashing a brighter smile-
the bride’s perfect courtesy to a guest.
Sean smiled back.
But it never reached his eyes. His throat clogged with water–soaked cotton, choking all sound.
He watched them exchange vows, watched Timothy kiss away the tear at her eyelash.
Outside, white doves took flight, fluttering wings stirring the hair at Sean’s forehead. He slowly unclenched his hand where the ring had left red marks.
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Chapter 24
Unblinking, he stared at the couple, transported back to that rainy night at eighteen.
A girl had stood on tiptoe to kiss him, raindrops clinging to her lashes like cold dew before falling-
a cool touch on his cheek.
His heartbeat then had been much louder than now.
