Chapter 5: The Promise Between Two Women
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Emily gave Vanessa the bracelet?
That was impossible.
Emily never took it off.
Or at least, that was what I believed.
“When?”” I asked.
Vanessa sat down slowly.
“The night before she passed away.””
My heart sank.
“She called me to the hospital.””
I stared at her.
“You knew she was dying?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
Vanessa looked away.
“She made me promise.””
A bitter laugh escaped my mouth.
“So my dead wife trusted you more than she trusted me?””
“No,” Vanessa said softly.
“She trusted you with your daughter. She trusted me with the truth.””
Those words hurt more than I expected.
Vanessa opened another envelope.
Inside was a letter addressed to me.
But she didn’t hand it over.
“She told me not to give this to you until Sophie was old enough to understand.””
“Why?””
“Because Emily was afraid you would destroy yourself trying to replace her.””
I swallowed hard.
Vanessa continued.
“She saw how you looked at Sophie. Like every smile, every mistake, every bad day was another chance to lose Emily all over again.””
My eyes moved to the hallway.
Sophie’s bedroom door was closed.
A memory came back.
The night Sophie got a bad grade in school.
I had yelled.
Not because of the grade.
Because I was terrified she would fail in life without her mother.
Had Emily seen that coming?
Had she known I was turning love into fear?
Vanessa slid the letter across the table.
“Read it.””
I opened it.
And the first sentence broke me.
May you like
Daniel,
Please don’t make our daughter carry the weight of losing me.
