He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 08

He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 08

Shepard touched the leather cord bracelet on his wrist. His smile deepened.

Later, I found out the rest. After elementary school, he went back to Montana. But he never forgot me.

By the time he had the resources to come back to New York and find me, I was already chasing after Lowell.

He gave up.

He shut himself inside the family observatory and the lab. He tried to bury himself in research and the night sky. Tried to forget me.

If I hadn’t chosen him this time, he had genuinely planned to live out the rest of his life that way.

“My advisor once told me there was still something unfinished in my life. He told me to wait a little longer.”

I blinked.

“What thing?”

He paused. Looked at me.

“I set myself a deadline. The day your father called was the last day.”

“If I hadn’t gotten word that day, I would have accepted the long-term observation posting in Antarctica. Five years.”

His voice was very quiet.

“Verona. You’re the one I was waiting for.”

Under the table, he took my hand.

I laced my fingers through his and held on.

After the engagement party, my parents and Shepard stood with me while I formally filed reports with the FBI and our legal team. Charges against Lowell’s branch included unlawful coercion, assault, and multiple counts of financial fraud.

The lawyers moved fast. The court voided that agreement. I also got a restraining order against Lowell’s parents.

For the next two weeks, the DeLuca and Whitfield names took turns dominating the headlines.

The IRS raided the headquarters of Lowell’s father’s company. They walked out with seventeen boxes of files.

Whitfield’s parents tried to leave the country. Customs stopped them at the airport.

And I sat in a penthouse on Central Park West, discussing with Shepard what color to paint the living room walls.