We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 05

We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 05

The words hung in the air, and the whole yard went still.

Mom’s jaw dropped. The envelope nearly slipped right out of her hand.

Dad stood frozen in the doorway, his smile frozen on his face with nowhere to go.

Clara stood by the truck, looking from Arthur Sterling to me and back again, completely lost.

Raymond looked worse than anyone.

He stared at Arthur, jaw locked so tight the muscle jumped. Whatever was behind his eyes shifted from

shock to fury to something darker, then locked down into a cold scoff.

“Arthur.” He bit the name off like it tasted wrong. “What are you doing here?”

Arthur gave him one look, his face giving away nothing. “I’m here to propose.”

“Who are you proposing to?”

“Eleanor Vance.”

Raymond laughed. It was the ugliest sound I’d ever heard. “Do you hear yourself right now?”

Arthur didn’t bother with him. He turned to my parents.

He stood straight, his uniform crisp and pressed, the insignia on his shoulders catching the sun. Mom’s eyes

caught on his rank insignia, and her whole expression reset.

“Mr. and Mrs. Vance,” he said, steady and unhurried, like a man delivering a briefing. “My name is Arthur

Sterling. I’m in the Army. Yesterday, Eleanor fell into the river, and I pulled her out. I’m here today to ask for

her hand.”

Mom opened and closed her mouth a few times before anything came out. “You… what unit?”

Arthur told them.

Dad’s face changed on the spot.

That unit, that rank, it wasn’t just one step above Raymond. It was a different league entirely.

Raymond’s knuckles went white.

“Arthur.” He stepped forward and planted himself between us. “You’ve got the wrong house. If you want to

propose, at least get the right girl. This is Clara’s sister…”

1 know exactly who she is.” Arthur cut him short. “Eleanor is the one I’m here for. Not her sister

Silence settled back in.

Clara stood off to the side, caught somewhere between hurt and confusion. She bit her lip and stepped

behind Raymond.

Raymond didn’t look at her.

He kept his eyes locked on Arthur, looking for a crack.

“When did you meet her?” he asked.

“That’s not your concern.”

“She’s my…”

“She’s not yours.” Something shifted in Arthur’s voice, colder, harder. “You’re here to marry her sister. Who Eleanor marries has nothing to do with you.”

Raymond’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.

Mom jumped in, trying to smooth things over. “Mr. Sterling, why don’t you come inside and sit down? No need to stand out here.”

Arthur didn’t move. He was looking at me.

“Eleanor.” His voice dropped, went soft. “You heard me. You don’t have to answer right now. But I want you to know I mean every word.”

I looked into his eyes. They were dark, steady, and I couldn’t find the bottom.

Somehow I knew every word this man said was true.

This was nothing like the empty performances of my last life, nothing like Raymond’s cold indifference.

He wasn’t like any of them.

“I know,” I said.

Then I turned to Mom. “Mom, get the lockbox.”

She blinked. “What?”

“The jewelry.” I held her stare. “Five pieces. I want my fair share.”

Her face closed off. “Have you lost your mind? That jewelry is for Clara…”

“Clara got a sewing machine, a watch, a TV, and a thousand dollars in cash.” I let every word land All I’m

asking for is my portion of the jewelry. If you won’t give it to me, I walk out that door right now, and after that.

you can forget about me.”

My voice didn’t shake.

I knew I wasn’t taking that work placement out in the country again, not in this life. Things were going to

change, and I could make it on my own.

But I wanted that jewelry.

It wasn’t about the money. It was about refusing to be that Eleanor again, the one who never fought for a thing, never asked for a thing, and ended up with nothing.

Mom opened her mouth to argue, but Arthur spoke first.

“Mrs. Vance,” he said, polite but leaving no room, “I brought a gift for the family as well.”

He turned toward the jeep. “Peter. Bring it in.”

The driver hauled a large box from the back, then a duffel bag, and finally a heavy canvas bag that he set on

the floor with a solid thud.

Arthur unzipped the bag. Inside were bundles of cash, tens and twenties and fifties, stacked tight.

Underneath sat a bankbook.

Mom’s eyes went wide.

“Fifteen hundred dollars cash,” Arthur said. “Plus eight hundred in the bank I’ve put away over the years. It’s

all here.”

He paused. “From now on, my military pay goes to Eleanor. Every month.”

Dad swallowed hard.

Mom was already counting.

Clara stood off to the side, her eyes moving between Arthur and Raymond Her lips moved, but nothing came

out.

Raymond’s face had gone dark as a storm cloud.

“Arthur,” he said through his teeth, “you son of a bitch…”

“Raymond.” Arthur turned to face him, his voice quiet but loaded. “You marry who you want. I’ll marry who I

want You brought what you could for Clara, and I brought what I have for Eleanor. Let’s leave it at that

Everything went quiet.

Raymond’s hands balled at his sides, his chest heaving. Finally he turned to Clara.

She flinched under his gaze.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Where?”

“Anywhere but here.”

“But…”

“I said let’s go.”

He grabbed her arm and hauled her toward the gate. Clara stumbled, then looked back over her shoulder at me, and in that look I saw hurt, and resentment, and something underneath that I couldn’t name.

I didn’t say a word.

Raymond stopped at the gate and turned to look at me one last time. Everything was in that look, anger, bitterness, disbelief, and something underneath it all that neither of us could explain.

“Eleanor.” His voice was quiet, but it reached every corner of the yard. “You’re going to regret this.”

I held his stare and said nothing.

Arthur stood beside me, silent.

Raymond turned and left.

Inside, the cash still lay where the driver had set it down. Arthur waited.

Mom looked up from the bills, her face reshaping itself into a smile. “Well now, Mr Sterling, sit, please sit Eleanor, honey, what are you standing around for? Offer the man a drink!”

I didn’t move.

I looked at Arthur.

“You said you’ve known me for a long time.” I studied his face. “How long?”

He thought for a second. “Five years.”

“Five years and you never said a word?”

“I never found the right moment.”

“Yesterday, when I fell in the river… that was you?”

“Yes.”

“Why were you there?”

He paused. “I was passing by.”

I held his gaze for a few seconds.

He didn’t look away. I couldn’t read anything hidden in his face.

Something in my chest let go. I smiled.

“All right,” I said. “I’ll marry you.”

The cash nearly slipped out of Mom’s hands all over again.