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“I’m not the right woman for you.”
He took her hands and pulled her into his chest. “Don’t say that. You’re perfect for me. We are perfect together. Whitney, we will get through this. We can get through anything. Together.” He titled her chin upward, forcing her eyes to his.
Every part of her soul wanted to sink into his arms, into his words, into the faith that he had in them, but she couldn’t. “You deserve a life I can’t give you, and in time, you’ll only resent me for it.”
“That will never happen. I love you, Whitney.” He rested his forehead against hers, and she shut her eyes tight, unable to see the pain on his face when she delivered this final blow.
Her tongue was heavy in her mouth, and air refused to get to her lungs. She was drowning…and she wouldn’t bring him under with her. “I don’t want to marry you, Trent.”
His heart breaking reflected in his eyes, killing her. “That’s a lie.”
“It isn’t. I thought it was what I wanted, but it isn’t. I thought kids were what I wanted, but they aren’t, and you have been very clear that you want a family. One I can’t give you.” She removed her hands from his and turned away.
“Whitney, let’s just talk this through.” Tears glistening in his eyes destroyed the last of her willpower.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m not changing my mind on this. And while I’m grateful for your offer to pay for the nursing costs as Rejuvenation, I can’t accept that gift. I’ll find a way to repay you.”
“You’re upset because I forced you to accept my help.”
She took a breath and nodded. “It just further confirmed that I’m not ready for this relationship. Leaning on you, depending on you…is not who I am. I thought you knew that.” It was so messed up that ultimately it seemed as though she were punishing him for the most incredible, altruistic act, but she was simply trying to be fair. Even if she couldn’t explain it all right now.
His chest heaved as he stood there, staring at her. Confused, hurt, questioning… He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, then he looked at the engagement ring in his hand. “And there’s nothing I can say? Nothing I can do to change your mind?” He sounded like he’d move heaven and earth to have her reconsider, and it took all her remaining pride not to.
“I’m sorry, Trent,” she said.
And she really was. About so much.
He nodded slowly, then turned and left the living room. A second later, the front door slammed, and all she could see was him jumping in the Jeep and driving away, his taillights blinking out in the distance.
…
Then…
This day was even harder than she’d anticipated.
With shaky hands, Whitney folded her mother’s favorite cardigan and went to put it in the open suitcase on the bed.
Lydia stopped her. “Leave that one here for when I visit,” she said.
The lump in her throat threatened to choke her as she nodded, avoiding her mother’s eyes. She couldn’t meet them for fear the truth would be reflecting in hers. Her mother had to be frightened about this move to the senior facility and what that meant, but Lydia wasn’t allowing Whitney to see it.
There was no question who Whitney had inherited her strength from.
“Okay, good idea,” she said, hanging it back in the closet of the room her mother had been staying in that year since her first few episodes had made it dangerous for her to live on her own. A year after Whitney’s dad passed and her mother’s health was deteriorating quickly.
She hated that they were even contemplating moving her into a home for assisted living, but after her mother’s fear the week before when she hadn’t recognized Whitney or Trent or her surroundings in the new home, they’d been forced to make the difficult decision. It was the best thing for her.
They finished packing the clothes, and Lydia reached for her photos on top of the dresser. She placed them carefully inside and then zipped the suitcase. She took a second but then squared her shoulders and said, “I’m ready.”
Whitney wasn’t. She didn’t think she could possibly ever be ready.
But she, too, concealed the intense emotions raging through her as she picked up the suitcase. They met Trent in the driveway, where he was loading a box of Lydia’s personal items into the Jeep.
“There’re the beautiful ladies,” he said, but his voice broke slightly, and he quickly stopped talking.
Unlike Whitney and her mom, Trent’s emotions about this whole thing had been on full display since the week before, when they’d made the decision and toured the facility. He’d clutched both her hand and her mother’s as they’d sat in the exterior courtyard at Rejuvenation and discussed what came next. It made Whitney love him even more, knowing how much he cared about her mother.
They climbed into the Jeep and drove in silence along the coast.
