The Comments Said My Dead Officer Husband Had Returned Chapter 06

The Comments Said My Dead Officer Husband Had Returned Chapter 06

Brenda was arrested. But it wasn’t Elias who did it.

That afternoon, I was sewing a button back onto Ava’s shirt when the door got kicked in from outside.

Not knocked. Kicked.

One boot, right through. The door hit the wall, bounced back, and got stopped by another kick.

Brenda stood in the doorway. Two men were behind her.

One tall, one short. Both in plain clothes, cigarettes between their fingers, watching like it was a show.

Brenda wore a flowered blouse. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were red-like she’d been crying, or like she

was just furious.

She pointed at me. There was dirt under her fingernails. “Madeline! How dare you come looking for him!”

Frightened, Ava dropped her cloth doll and was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Jayden ran out from the bedroom and stood in front of Ava. He looked up at Brenda. “Who are you? Don’t yell

at my mom!”

Brenda froze for a second. Then she laughed. The sound was awful, like nails on a chalkboard. “Well look at that, feisty little thing. Just like your mother.”

[She’s cursing out his mother right in front of Jayden? She’s got such a foul mouth!]

I set down my needlework and picked Ava up. Jayden stayed rooted in place shielding me, as I fixed my gaze on Brenda. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to tell you that I wrote that letter.” She lifted her chin, like she’d done something impressive. “Yes, I

lied to him. But you don’t deserve him anyway.”

“You came out of an orphanage. You’re not good enough for him. I wrote that letter for you. Made the

decision for you. You should be thanking me.”

[She admitted it! And she’s saying this right in front of a child?]

[“You should be thanking me”-what twisted logic is this!]

Anger surged straight to my head, yet I kept my temper and let out a cold laugh. “Thank you? When I almost died on the operating table from hemorrhaging during early labor, where were you to thank me? When I was raising two kids alone with nothing to eat, where were you to thank me?”

Brenda’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.

Jayden suddenly turned and ran to the kitchen, grabbed a pair of scissors, and held them tight in his fist, standing in front of me. “Go away! If you don’t leave, I’ll stab you!”

I was about to pull him back when footsteps came from the doorway.

Elias.

He stood there. No one knew when he’d shown up. His face was dark. His eyes went to Brenda, then to the

two men behind her, then landed on the scissors in Jayden’s hand.

He walked over, took the scissors from Jayden, and put them on the table. Then he turned and looked at Brenda. “What did you just say?”

His voice wasn’t loud. But Brenda took a step back. “I… I was telling the truth…”

“You said she’s not good enough for me?” Elias took a step forward. Brenda stepped back again, bumping into the tall man behind her. “Whether she’s good enough or not is not for you to say.”

Brenda’s face went white. She turned to run, but Elias grabbed her arm. “We’re not done talking. Where are

you going?”

Brenda was pulled back, still refusing to back down. “Don’t touch me! Let me tell you, even your own mother disapproves of her…”

“My mother’s opinion is none of your business.”

Elias let go of Brenda’s arm.

She stumbled and leaned against the doorframe, her eyes genuinely red with fury this time.

“Take her away.” Elias said to the two men at the door.

They looked at each other, then grabbed Brenda by both arms and dragged her out.

Brenda struggled and turned her head back to scream at me, “Madeline! Just you wait! You’ll get what’s

coming to you!”

Her voice faded away until it was gone.

[The stepmother still running her mouth even when she’s done for. Good riddance.]

The room went quiet. Ava sniffled against my shoulder. Jayden stood there on Celesteoor, fists clenched, lips

pressed tight.

Elias crouched down and looked at Jayden. “You shouldn’t have grabbed the scissors”

Jayden didn’t say anything.

“But protecting your mom? That was the right thing.”

Jayden looked up at him, then looked back down.

[What he said is perfect. He teaches the kid right conduct while affirming his bravery.]

Elias stood up and looked at me. “I’ll sort out everything about your stepmother.”

“How?”

“Send her where she ought to go.

[Elias is sending the stepmother away? Cold. But satisfying.]

I didn’t say anything.

He turned to leave.

“Elias.”

He stopped.

“That letter. You really believed it for three years?”

He was quiet for a long time.

“I did,” he said. “Because I didn’t want to believe anything else.”

[Elias’s words… that hurts. He didn’t want to check. He was scared to. Scared that what he found would be

true.]

The door closed. His footsteps faded down the hallway.

I held Ava and leaned against the wall.

Jayden walked over and took my hand. “Mommy, that gentleman doesn’t hate us.”

“No.”

“He’s just not good with words.”

[Jayden is the only one in this whole story who sees clearly.]

I crouched down and hugged Jayden and Ava.

Outside the window, it was almost dark.

A week later, Brenda was sentenced.

Elias didn’t do it. The law did. Forgery, fraud, and destruction of a marriage. Three years, all charges

combined.

[Three years? Too light! Should have been ten!]

[At least she’s in there. Madeline can finally have some peace.]

The day Brenda was sentenced, I was running my tailoring stand outside the base.

A soldier I didn’t recognize walked up and handed me a note. “Mrs. Wellington, Colonel Wellington asked me

to bring you this.”

The note had only one line on it: [She’s convicted.]

Two words. It didn’t say for how long. It didn’t say what for.

But when I looked at those two words, my eyes stung.