Page 146 of The Image of You

“I think life for Sarah and Ronald is about to take a fast turn to reality. It’s going to be a rude awakening.”

She lowered her head. “I don’t care about Ronald,” she whispered. “He made his own decisions.”

“Your mother?” I asked through tight lips.

I wanted the bitch to suffer. To see her haughty manner dissolve when she had to pay bills and forgo her designer shoes and lunch at the club. Her so-called friends would turn their backs once she was no longer “one of them,” and she would find herself alone and an outcast. I wanted her to have to clean houses and scrub floors for a living, her perfectly manicured nails raw and bleeding from actually having to do some work.

“I’m struggling,” she admitted.

“Why?”

“Does me turning my back if she needed help make me the same sort of person she is?”

“No, this is entirely different. She chose this life. She’s the one who made the decision to align herself with Ronald.”

She was quiet for a moment, then shocked me when she nodded. “You’re right.”

“What are you saying?”

She drew in a long breath. “You told me once I had to forgive her and move on. I did. But what I can’t forgive her for is the cruelty she showed to you. The pain she put you, us, through. That was deliberate and malicious.” She drew back her shoulders. “I will help her if she comes to me and asks forgiveness—from both of us. Otherwise, I’m not going to.”

“You won’t seek her out?”

“No. She never wanted me, and she cut me out of her life. If she wants my help, she’ll have to abide by my rules this time.”

“She won’t. Because she’d have to swallow her pride.”

Which I hoped she’d choke on, I added silently.

“Then she’s on her own.”

“And you’re all right with your decision?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot, and yes. But if I do help her, I don’t want her in our life. I’ll help her financially because it’s the right thing to do. That’s all.”

I set down my empty mug and pulled her into my arms. “You’re still too good. I wouldn’t even consider it.”

She smiled up at me, shaking her head. “I’m the lucky one, Adam. I got my fairy tale. I got you. I can afford to be good.”

I kissed her. Long and deep, tasting her sweetness, knowing how precious this woman was. How she had it wrong, because I was the lucky one. I chuckled when she yawned, trying to cover it up. It had been a long journey home. I was rather tired myself.

“You wanna nap, my girl? There’s a bed over there that looks pretty inviting.” I waggled my eyebrows, hoping to coax her into lying with me.

She burrowed into my chest. “Will you kiss me some more in bed?”

We stood, snuggling as we walked to the bed. “I’ll kiss you until you fall asleep.”

“And when I wake up?”

“I’ll kiss you then, too. I plan on kissing you the rest of your life.”

“I’ll kiss you right back.”

I pulled her tight to me as we sank into the deep mattress. “Now you’re talking.”

EPILOGUE

Three Years Later