Until she’d met Bryce. And maybe falling in love with him had helped her start to heal from all the trauma, so it was no wonder his death had hit her so hard. The pain of losing him had almost destroyed Rosie and, as far as Beth knew, she’d never opened up fully to anyone again.
Like mother, like daughter.The thought rocked Beth to her core as she stared down at her father’s letters. Apparently, she and Rosie were more alike than she’d ever realised. They’d both harboured debilitating anxieties, feared rejection and shied away from any situation or discussion that required vulnerability—
At least until the right man came along.
So many similarities and uncanny parallels. Was history repeating itself? Did that mean Beth was destined to lose Noah as Rosie had lost Bryce?
And what if Pru’s concerns for Rosie’s mental health had been warranted? What did that mean for Beth? Couldshehave some kind of personality disorder? Is that why she’d always felt like an outsider among her peers, because she reallywasdifferent?
A tremor ran through her. Despite gaining answers in these letters, she now had yet more questions—and she wasn’t certain she wanted the answers.
But then again, not knowing would surely drive her insane.
Unwilling to gamble her sanity, she grabbed her phone and opened the internet browser.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
The following morning, Beth rose early, bleary-eyed and exhausted, for a shift at the cafe. After reading the rest of her father’s letters, each of them as wonderful and heartbreaking as the others, she’d stayed up late, scouring countless articles online about bipolar and narcissistic personality disorders, but her research had only served to confuse her further. While some traits could be applied to Rosie, others couldn’t. She’d certainly been impulsive, at times volatile and definitely ignorant of the needs of those around her, but she hadn’t been arrogant, attention-seeking or preoccupied with power, beauty or success—quite the opposite, in fact—and in that respect, Beth realised just how alike they’d been.
Like mother, like daughter.
Preoccupied with comparing herself to Rosie and wondering what had led to their shared struggles, Beth made silly mistakes all morning. She mixed up customers’ orders and broke not one, not two, butthreeplates. Tom kept giving her funny looks and eventually asked if she was feeling okay. Apologising profusely, she assured him that she was fine and soldiered on.
Around mid-morning, Celia and Ellie came in together. Beth pasted on a smile and took their brunch orders, taking extra care to note them down correctly, but when she delivered their drinks, she sloshed so much coffee from Celia’s mug that she had to make another. And after placing their meals in front of them, she backed into the diners at the next table, causing an elderly gentleman’s cutlery to clatter to the floor.
Frustrated by her own ridiculousness, she was about to burst into tears when Celia reached out and laid a hand on her forearm, concern etched into her features.
‘Honey, are you okay?’
‘Yeah,’ Ellie said, making a move to get up out of her chair, ‘maybe you should sit.’
‘No, I’m fine.’ Beth waved away their worries. ‘I’m just … I have a lot on my mind, that’s all.’
Celia didn’t seem convinced. ‘You’re not nervous, are you? To be around me? Because I can assure you, whatever’s happening between you and Noah is—’
‘What?’ Ellie squealed, her face lighting up. ‘What’s happening between you and Noah?’
Crap. Noah had been right. Small towns and all that.
‘I’ll explain later,’ Beth promised, then glanced at Celia. ‘It’s not that, I promise. I really do have a lot on my mind …’ She hesitated, wanting both to escape and open up about what she was dealing with.
In the end, it was Celia’s maternal concern that gently coaxed the words from Beth—that and the fact that she remembered Celia had actually met Rosie.
‘I, uh, found out that Pru believed Mum had some kind of personality disorder. Do you think maybe she was right? I mean, I get that you didn’t know her very well, but on the off-chance you remember something …’
Celia gave her an odd look, so Beth gave up, feeling stupid for having asked.
‘Never mind. Forget I said anything!’
‘No, Beth, wait!’
The urgency in Celia’s tone made Beth pause.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just that you shocked me when you mentioned personality disorders because I watched a program about them only last week. It seemed an odd coincidence, that’s all.’
Ellie stood. ‘Here, Beth, sit. I’ll clear some tables and say hi to Tom while the two of you chat.’
