He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 14

He Waited for Fifteen Years Chapter 14

The hospital room stayed silent for a long time.

So long that Shepard knocked on the door from outside.

Lowell finally spoke. His voice was very low.

“Verona. Is it really too late for us?”

“I won’t be jealous anymore. I won’t be insecure. Will that be enough?”

I shook my head.

“The two of us together. It would never end well.”

He still wouldn’t let go.

“You don’t know that unless you try.”

“I already tried.”

He froze.

I stood up. I looked into those eyes I used to love so much. My voice didn’t waver.

“Lowell. In my dream, I married you. You hated me for a lifetime. You took everything my family had. In the end, you let me and my parents die in a car.”

“The people who got a happy ending were you and Talia. Not me.”

I turned and walked out.

Behind me, the sound of breaking sobs spilled through the door.

But this time, I wasn’t walking back down that road.

A few days before Shepard and I got married, Lowell’s branch collapsed for good.

Talia handed over a mountain of evidence. Massive tax fraud inside Lowell’s company. Multiple cases of executives beating lower-level employees. The media exposure triggered brutal public backlash. The stock price plummeted. Nothing could stop it.

After that, I never heard the name Whitfield again. Never heard a word about Lowell’s branch either.

The name Lowell DeLuca vanished from the New York social circuit entirely.

On my wedding day, I wore the diamond bracelet. The Lombardi heirloom.

Shepard’s grandmother came all the way from Montana for the ceremony. She brought an old box with her.

Inside was his fifth-grade yearbook.

He flipped to a page and handed it to me.

My handwriting was still there. Preserved under a layer of clear protective film. Kept perfectly.

“Lombardi. The place you’re going isn’t on any map. To me, it’s like another planet. Don’t forget your telescope. —V.D.”

I looked at my own words from all those years ago and couldn’t help smiling.

Shepard walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I brought it.”

His chin rested lightly against my hair. His voice was low.

“But later I realized. The only star I ever wanted to see was always in New York.”

I turned around. Looked into his eyes. Stood on my toes and kissed him.

“Then don’t spend so much time looking through telescopes anymore.”

I held his gaze.

“Look at me.”

He smiled.

“Okay.”

He dipped his head. His forehead touched mine.

“From now on. I’ll only look at you.”

“You’ve always been my star.”

[The End]