I Buried Him for Five Years, Then He Came Back with Another Woman Chapter 02

I Buried Him for Five Years, Then He Came Back with Another Woman Chapter 02

“Reid, when gang enforcers cracked two of your ribs at seventeen, who carried you out of that warehouse?”

Reid looked away.

“That was different.”

“I admit I owe you.”

“But you can’t use that debt like a knife against Adrian and Tessa.”

I pointed at Adrian.

“He faked his death and lied to me for five years.”

“And you’re telling me to put down the knife?”

Reid’s voice grew harder.

“Mr. Caldwell only wanted room to breathe.”

“You controlled the company, the fleet, and every Caldwell employee. You even demanded to know where he went.”

“Who could live like that?”

A cane struck the deck behind us.

Mr. Whitcomb stepped out from among the guests.

Half his hair had gone white, and a boutonniere was pinned to his lapel.

The sight of it made my throat burn like I had swallowed seawater.

“Mr. Whitcomb.”

He sighed.

“Let go, Maren.”

“Adrian and Tessa are expecting a child.”

“The Caldwell family deserves a fresh start.”

I looked at him.

“You knew too?”

He avoided my eyes.

“I’m an old man. I only want peace in the family.”

I walked toward him one step at a time.

Reid put out an arm to stop me.

I halted.

“You held me upright at the cemetery on the day we buried Adrian.”

“You told me the Caldwell family was counting on me from then on.”

Mr. Whitcomb tightened both hands around his cane.

“Things were different then.”

“Once Adrian came back, I couldn’t separate him from Tessa.”

I asked softly,

“So you watched me leave flowers at an empty grave for five years?”

His expression stiffened.

Tessa hurried to speak.

“Mr. Whitcomb was trying to protect everyone.”

“Don’t pressure an elderly man, Maren.”

I snapped my gaze toward her.

“Shut up.”

Adrian’s voice cut through the air.

“Maren!”

“You’re frightening her.”

He held out a hand.

His assistant immediately passed him a gold embossed invitation.

Adrian set it on the railing.

The ivory cover flipped open in the wind.

His name and Tessa’s were printed inside.

“The engagement party is in two days.”

“You’ll attend.”

“In front of the Port Sterling media, you’ll give Tessa and me your blessing.”

I stared at the invitation.

“You want my blessing?”

Adrian said,

“You’ve managed the Caldwell family for five years. Everyone in Port Sterling recognizes your authority.”

“One public blessing from you will stop people from attacking Tessa.”

Tessa gently caught his hand.

“Don’t force her, Adrian.”

He closed his fingers around hers.

“She owes you a proper explanation.”

I looked at the lights covering the yacht.

“I owe her?”

Reid shoved the invitation into my hand.

“Don’t make this difficult for everyone.”

Its sharp corner sliced my palm.

Blood smeared across Adrian’s name.

He glanced at it without so much as lifting an eyebrow.

“Get her off the yacht.”

Two security guards grabbed my arms.

I shook them off.

“I can walk.”

As I stepped onto the dock, confetti cannons burst behind me.

Colored streamers drifted into the sea.

Moisture had made the ashes inside the urn feel heavy.

At dawn the next morning, I returned to the Moonwake.

The yacht had once been meant for Adrian’s and my wedding.

Five years earlier, he had promised to marry me at sea.

I had personally chosen every light in its cabins.

The brass bell at the end of the hall had belonged to my mother.

Now garlands covered the hull.

A new sign had been mounted beneath the yacht’s name.

The Engagement of Adrian and Tessa.

Crew members were stripping out the old decorations.

A young deckhand tore down the white ribbon I had tied there years ago.

It landed in a puddle of engine oil.

I called to him.

“Who told you to remove that?”

The deckhand turned, still holding a pair of scissors.

“Ms. Lane said old decorations would bring bad luck.”

I entered the main cabin.

My collection of maritime photographs was gone.

In its place hung an engagement portrait of Adrian holding Tessa at sunrise.