He Said He’d Marry Her, So I Married Someone Else Chapter 15

He Said He’d Marry Her, So I Married Someone Else Chapter 15

At first, it felt a little strange.

But his palm was warm and dry.

His fingers, wrapped around mine, were long and strong.

My heart suddenly settled.

As if this was how it was always supposed to be.

From a distance, Aunt Laura saw us walking toward her, hand in hand, and a relieved smile spread across her face.

Before we could reach her, she hurried forward.

She pulled me into a hug, and tears immediately sprang to her eyes.

“Ava, you look so much like your mother when she was young.”

My own eyes welled up.

She smelled wonderful.

Lily of the valley and warm amber.

Just like the scent of my mother in my fading memories.

Daniel stood to the side, shaking his head with a helpless smile as he handed her a handkerchief.

“Aunt Laura, you and Ava are going to make a scene, crying like this.”

“Anyone who didn’t know would think my father and I were bullying you.”

Aunt Laura had married Daniel’s father when she was thirty-eight.

She had no children of her own.

But she treated her stepchildren as if they were her own flesh and blood.

Daniel had always respected her deeply.

I had known all of this for a long time.

Which was why I never understood why Daniel had agreed to this arranged marriage.

The whole thing had nothing to do with him.

But Aunt Laura just told me not to worry.

She said I would find out the reason soon enough.

So I didn’t ask.

Aunt Laura, amused by Daniel, wiped the tears from my cheeks.

Then she took my hand, her grip tight.

“Ava, come on. Let’s go home.”

I instinctively looked at Daniel.

He was looking at me, too.

Behind him, the oak trees cast long shadows, their leaves a lush, painted green.

When our eyes met, a gentle smile touched his.

He held out his other hand to me.

“Ava, we’re home.”