He Said One Kneel Bought Forever Love, but Finally Begged Me Back Chapter 06

He Said One Kneel Bought Forever Love, but Finally Begged Me Back Chapter 06

First thing in the morning, Graham called the Hawthorne Manuscript Institute.

He told them he was my husband and demanded they remove me from the project.

“She’s still injured. She’s not in a stable state of mind.”

“I don’t want her there.”

The director was quiet for a long moment.

“Mr. Whitlock, your wife applied on her own.”

“She signed the contract herself. You don’t have the legal authority to remove her from it.”

Graham’s voice went tight.

“When did she apply?”

“A month ago. She passed the assessment.”

“She turned it down at the time because she was getting married.”

“She accepted the position again the night of the wedding.”

All Graham heard was “a month ago.”

“So she’d already been planning her way out.”

“She was already looking for the exit before we even got married?”

The director’s tone changed.

“The first time, she gave it up because she chose you.”

“She took it back because she had no reason to stay.”

Graham’s grip tightened on the phone.

In the background, a staff member leaned in to remind the director about a meeting and mentioned

something else.

“Laurel had a fever when she got here. The wound on her arm was infected.”

“The doctor told her to rest. She said the project couldn’t wait.”

Something in Graham’s chest dropped.

He thought about that day at Willowcrest Memorial Park.

I’d fallen on the stone steps. Blood running down my arm.

He didn’t help me up. He grabbed the wound and told me to apologize.

“How is she now?”

“The fever broke.”

“Beyond that, her medical information is private.”

After the call, Graham couldn’t sit still.

The flight wasn’t until that evening. He had half a day to fill.

He drove to Willowcrest Memorial Park.

The red writing beside my mother’s name was gone.

But faint red stains still marked the stone.

The groundskeeper recognized him.

“You’re Laurel’s husband, right?”

“She came back before she left town.”

“That paint didn’t want to come off. She was on her knees scrubbing for hours.”

“The cut on her arm opened up again. Bled right through her sleeve. I told her to stop, but she

wouldn’t listen.”

Graham stood in front of the headstone for a long time.

He’d stood in this same spot and told my mother she failed to raise me right.

He’d called her last wish a burden.

He sank to his knees.

“Mrs. Hartwell, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean a word of it.”

“I was just trying to make her stay. I’ll bring her home.”

“I won’t let anyone hurt her again.”

The wind moved through the cemetery.

The headstone said nothing back.

No one was going to talk me into forgiving him this time.

From the cemetery, Graham drove to a data recovery shop with the broken fetal doppler.

The technician examined the memory card, still in two pieces.

“The damage is severe. Recovery isn’t likely.”

Graham didn’t hesitate. “Money isn’t an issue.”

The technician shook his head.

“It’s not about money.”

“When something’s been deliberately destroyed, sometimes there’s no getting it back.”

Graham stared at the two halves of the card.

For the first time, he was afraid.

When Graham’s mother found out he was flying out after me, she called to talk him out of it.

“She’s doing this on purpose, Graham.”

“It was just a miscarriage. You can have another baby.”

“The more you chase her, the more she’ll drag this out.”

Graham cut her off. “There was only one Milo.”

“She only had one mother. And I only have one Laurel.”

His mother went quiet.

His father’s voice cut in. “Don’t talk to your mother like that.”

Graham’s voice was flat. “She took care of both of you for years. And the second she’s gone, she’s

the problem.”

Silence on the other end.

Graham hung up and dragged his suitcase to the car.

He was barely through the terminal doors when Sloane caught up to him.

Sports bag on her back. Suitcase trailing behind her.

“This is on both of us.”

“I’m coming with you. I’ll help you get her back.”

Graham frowned. “Why are you coming?”

“To apologize.”

She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“I’ll tone it down. I won’t barge into your room anymore.”

“Once she cools off, she’ll come home.”

Graham’s first instinct was to say no.

But part of him still believed that if Sloane showed up and said sorry, I’d bend. Even a little.

They boarded the flight together.

They didn’t reach the Hawthorne Manuscript Institute until the next afternoon.

Graham gave them my name and asked to see me.

A staff member went inside.

Ten minutes later, they came back alone.

“Mrs. Whitlock says she won’t see you.”

Graham’s jaw flexed.

“Tell her I flew from Ashbourne. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”

The staff member shook their head.

“She also asked me to clarify that she won’t be seeing Mr. Whitlock or Miss Mercer.”

For the first time, Sloane had nothing to say.

Graham stood outside the institute, staring at the closed doors.

And for the first time, he understood.

It wasn’t just him I’d walked away from. It was twenty years of Sloane. And everything she’d cost me.