Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
She swallowed, turning away. Nothing she could say in the face of the ugly truth.
“After you snapped out of your grief—”
“I haven’t.” She shrugged her robe on, staring off into the wall. “I haven’t snapped out of my grief.”
“Fair enough.” I believed it, because neither had I. “After you became functional again,” I corrected, “Ayi and I agreed not to rock the boat. We didn’t want to trigger a relapse.”
“I’m not broken.” She crossed her arms, still too stubborn to admit what had happened. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
I ignored her, edging forward toward the nightstand. “At the time, I didn’t know that signing this unwritten contract would condemn me to a life of following unreasonable demand after unreasonable demand. Not because I agreed with them, but because I needed to atone for my sin.”
“You’re not a sinner.” She brought her index fingers to her temples, massaging. “There’s no sin to atone for.”
“There is, but I’m done atoning for it. I’m not marrying Eileen.”
Mom hopped off the massage table. “Eileen is safe.”
“Eileen isn’t for me.”
In fact, Eileen is more suitable for a career in Witness Protection.
“And that woman is?” Mom rounded on me and stubbed her thumb in her chest. “Since the accident, I rearranged my entire life to make sure you’re safe. That nothing like the crash ever happens again. That you ate the safest food, spent time with the safest crowds, drove the safest cars. And look at you now. You’re alive.”
“Yes, I’m alive. But I’m also miserable.”
Well, before Farrow…
“Where is this coming from?” Mom scrunched her nose as if I was a service provider she no longer wished to deal with. But I saw through her. I’d hit a nerve. “This is just pre-wedding jitters. They’ll subside after the wedding.”
I raised my palm to stop her, shaking my head. We stood face-to-face. So close I could smell the faint perfume that always clung to her skin. Of coconut oil and cherry blossom.
“I’m breaking off the engagement. End of discussion. That’s not why I gave this little speech. I just didn’t want you to feel blindsided.”
She pressed her lips into a hard line. “Blindsided by what?”
I had never seen her like this. So completely red, the skin on her neck jagged, like she was having an allergic reaction to our conversation.
“By the fact that I’m cutting ties with you, should you refuse to accept the end of my engagement.”
“What?” Her eyes bulged out of their sockets. “You can’t do that. I’m your mother.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. I tore it off me. I genuinely hoped that she’d come to her senses. It brought me no pleasure to sever our relationship.
At the end of the day, she did what she did because her husband died, just as I’d shied away from skin, rain, and cars after losing Dad.
“You forfeited the right to identify yourself as such when you emotionally blackmailed me into marrying someone you knew I didn’t love. I accept my responsibility in letting you do that, but make no mistake—I will never let your fears dictate my happiness again.”
Or my own trauma, for that matter.
Mom floundered, searching for words to say and coming up short.
I collected her phone off the nightstand and waved it, certain Eileen’s location resided inside. “Oh, and that woman’s name is Farrow. And I plan on making her my wife.”
Since I’d said what I had come to say, I pivoted, headed to the door. The thud of my loafers echoed in the eerie silence.
Suddenly, a set of feet joined them.
“You can’t cut ties with me.” Mom tried to grip the sleeve of my shirt. Sweat seeped into the fabric from her clammy paws. “And you certainly cannot marry that woman.”
I swiveled in the corridor, baring my teeth at her. “I’ve made my decision.”
This time, I picked up pace.
She yelped, running after me. We passed by Celeste Ayi in the living room, who cocked her head, curious. I flung the exit open and started down the stairs when I heard my mother squeak behind me.
“Wait.”
Nothing in me wanted to turn and give her the time of day, especially considering the looming deadline. Still, I swiveled on my feet, anyway, watching her at the top of the stairs.
She clutched the lapels of her robe, her other hand braced against the doorframe. As if she couldn’t keep herself up on her feet.
I tightened my grip on her stolen phone. “What?”
“I can’t…” She closed her eyes. Then, silence.
I glanced at my watch. “Can’t what?”
I needed to end the engagement with Eileen as soon as possible.
“Can’t…” Mom’s eyes shot open. Wide and bulging.
She looked surprised for a second, as though she’d seen something she hadn’t expected to see.
“Out with it, Mom.”
But instead of answering me, she collapsed on top of her legs, like a fawn trying to take its first step, tumbled down to the floor, and died.