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“I know,” he chuckles, nodding at them.
Their mother stands back a bit, holding a baby on her hip while the girl continues, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I have to tell you we’re so happy for you. We followed your story on social media. It was the most romantic thingever.”
“You didn’t know who you were, but you remembered you loved her,” the second girl gushes. “It’s like a fairytale! We shared all the positive posts and reported the nasty ones.” She produces a sheet of paper from her bag and tears it in half. “Can you please sign these for us? I’m Lora and she’s Kelly.”
Alden glances over at me while I cover my smile with my palm. He reluctantly takes her pen and scribbles on both sheets. “Thanks for the support, girls.”
“Come on now,” their mother calls, giving us an apologetic smile.
They rush back to her, giggling and acting like they just met a rockstar. “Oh my god, he’s so cute!”
They walk away down the path and the baby looks back at us over the mother’s shoulder. Alden waves at him and we both grin when a chubby little hand waves back.
“So, how many kids do we want? Three? Four?” he asks.
“I don’t know. Are you sure you’ll have time for parenting while you’re signing autographs for your adoring fans?”
He shakes his head at my teasing smile. “A fairytale,” he scoffs.
“We did get our happy ending.”
He stands up and pulls me to my feet. “Let’s go home. I’ve got a happy ending for you.”
CHAPTER17
Alden looks over at me from my passenger seat as I make the left turn into the cemetery. It’s a place he avoided, even when he thought he was Oliver. We’re both struggling in small ways to move on, and an idea struck me of something that may help give both of us some closure.
“What are we doing here, El?”
“I talked to the cemetery’s service director and the records have been updated to show that Oliver is the one buried in the plot. He told me that they could remove the headstone and have it disposed of or we could come and get it.”
He looks at me, alarmed as I park. “You want to keep my headstone?”
“No.” I reach down and hit the button to pop my trunk. “Come with me.”
It’s clear that he’s uncomfortable here, and before I pull the trunk open, I squeeze his hand. “If you want to leave, we can, okay? I’ll call and have the director take care of it. But I thought this might be therapeutic.” I open the trunk and nod to the large sledgehammer lying beside a bouquet of flowers. “It helped us both at the rage room.”
Comprehension dawns on his face, and he reaches in to pick up the heavy hammer. After holding it for a moment, he glances over at me. “And the flowers?”
“For your mom. I thought you might want to visit her while we’re here.” His expression is stoic while he considers it. Finally, he nods, and I pick up the flowers. “You’ll have to do all the smashing.” My hand runs over my baby bump. It’s more than a bump now, and she’s become much more active, kicking me day and night. We were reassured this week at my six month checkup that we’re both healthy. Swinging a heavy sledgehammer is definitely not allowed.
It's a bright, warm day, a little taste of summer to come. I’ve never felt so torn about a place. So much of my time was spent here, especially last summer. It gave me comfort to sit and talk to Alden at the time. It was peaceful. It was also horrible and thinking back to those days makes me want to cry. Now he’s here beside me, walking across the grass to wipe away the last trace of that awful time.
A shift happens in my stomach, sending a short wave of nausea through me when his headstone comes into view. Alden approaches it slowly, lays the hammer aside, and squats down in front of the shiny marble. He does the same thing I’ve done many times and traces his finger over his name.
It must be surreal to see your own grave. It’s hard to imagine what he must be feeling right now. He puts his hand on mine and looks up at me when I squeeze his shoulder. His grin is forced. “The motorcycle was a nice touch.”
“It isn’t your grave.” I’m not sure whether I say it for him or for me.
His fingers run over the scar on his neck. “It was meant for me. This is where Oliver wanted me.”
His words break my heart. We haven’t talked much about that. There’s still a part of me that can’t believe it. That can’t accept it. Oliver had his problems, but he was kind and he loved Alden. The theories that were passed around online are crazy. That he wanted him dead to be with me, or to inherit Stokes Brothers. He was an equal partner. They were successful together. It doesn’t make sense.
“Do you believe that?”
He stands up with a sigh. “I didn’t, not completely. I had the financial lawyer and another forensic accountant look into the spare funds and crypto accounts to see if there was any other possibility.”
“They didn’t find anything?”
