Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO COLLAPSED AT THE WEDDINGThe investigators arrived.
Celeste was questioned.
Evelyn was ordered not to leave the state.
The guests watched the Mercer family fall apart.
I should have felt victorious.
Instead, my chest tightened.
The conservatory tilted.
Grace began crying.
Nora caught my arm.
Adrian moved toward me.
“Do not touch her,” Nora warned.
I tried to breathe.
I couldn't.
The last thing I saw was Adrian running toward us.
Then darkness.
When I woke, I was in a hospital.
Adrian sat in the corner.
Holding Grace.
He looked terrified.
I asked Nora:
“You told him?”
She nodded.
He knew about my heart.
He knew I might need a transplant.
He knew I could die.
And for the first time, I saw Adrian without arrogance.
Only fear.
“How long have you known?” he asked.
“A few weeks.”
“You could have died.”
“I still can.”
The words destroyed him.
Then I gave him the guardianship agreement.
If I became unable to care for Grace, he would become her legal father.
But only if he earned it.
He stared at the document.
“You want me to take her?”
“I want you to become the father she deserves.”
He had no answer.
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So I gave him the only instruction that mattered.
“Learn.”
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