The Wedding Game That Cost Him Everything Chapter 58
I went to see my parents again.
This time I didn’t bring many words.
Only two bouquets of flowers, and Safe Return’s latest annual report.
The money Tucker had transferred to me had been gone for many years now.
Every expense in the report came from hospitals, ordinary people, and donors who chose either to leave their names or not.
The project no longer belonged to one failed wedding.
And it certainly didn’t belong to Tucker’s late compensation.
It belonged to everyone who believed people should come back safe.
I set the report down before their graves, then picked it up again almost immediately.
Paper couldn’t stay here forever.
Rain would make a mess of the place.
If Peace had been with me, she would definitely have called me no fun.
The thought made me smile.
Wind moved through the trees.
There was still no water in sight here.
I stood there for a while, then turned and walked away.
My phone held surgery notices from the hospital and messages from Chloe telling me to come eat.
Sierra wanted to know if we could move the next project meeting to a later time.
Not a single person was deciding for me which one I should answer first.
I confirmed the surgery time first.
Then I told Chloe I would be there on time.
Last, I turned down Sierra’s request to move the meeting.
She replied with three question marks.
I didn’t change my mind.
As I walked out of the cemetery, sunlight fell across my hands.
They wore no ring, and they needed no one’s signet ring to protect them.
They could hold a scalpel, push open Safe Return’s door, and refuse a game that was never mine.
Once, someone put a price on my vows.
Only later did I understand that the thing that could never be priced was never the vow.
It was my right to say no.
I wrapped my hands around the steering wheel and drove toward the road I had chosen for myself.
This time, no one was cutting off my voice.
The EndÂ