Chapter 3
Blanche stepped out of the preschool, looking drained. The family chauffeur, noticing her pallor, approached with concern. “Ma’am, where would you like to go? Let me drive you.”
Where could she go?–
The world stretched empty before her–no family, no refuge. Only one place had ever whispered her name in the darkness.
“That won’t be necessary,” Blanche replied quietly.
The chauffeur watched her stride away, a lingering sense of unease knotting in his chest.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
A maid’s panicked voice burst through the speaker. “Mrs. Simmons found out about the master’s secret.”
She’d been frightened by the chaos in the study–books and papers scattered everywhere.
The chauffeur wasted no time. He relayed the message to Mrs. Simmons Senior at once.
Meanwhile, Blanche gripped the steering wheel of her Porsche, speeding down the highway. She left the city’s restless hum behind and disappeared into the silent mountains.
At that very moment, inside the executive lounge of Simmons Group headquarters-
Eddy and Jeannette were tangled together when the phone on the nightstand began to ring.
Eddy picked it up, checked the security alert. On the screen, a red dot was moving farther and farther from the city center.
“Babe, Healy’s boxing lesson is almost over, isn’t it?” Jeannette murmured as she wrapped her arms around him, her voice soft and teasing.
Eddy shrugged her off, fixated on the little red dot drifting away. The sound of Jeannette calling him “babe” twisted something deep inside him, as if he were losing something precious.
“Don’t call me that,” he said coldly.
No one had the right to call him that except Laney.
He’d let his guard down for a moment. That was all.
Without another word, he pulled up his suit pants and strode out of the lounge, not bothering to glance back.
As soon as Eddy left, Jeannette’s sweet smile collapsed. She reached over and swept the framed photo of Eddy and Blanche from the nightstand into the trash.
She was younger and prettier than Blanche, and Eddy always preferred her in bed. Even Healy seemed to like her more these days.
1/2
Chapter 3
So why was Eddy still so anxious about Blanche?
He must be hung up on old promises. Well, Jeannette decided, she’d take matters into her own hands.
Rain fell in steady sheets over the hillside cemetery.
Blanche stood by the gravestone, unmoving for a long while. She’d once promised her mother she would always be happy. Now, she knew that was a promise she couldn’t keep.
Her voice broke as she spoke. “Mom, I’m sorry. I’ve decided to divorce Eddy. Healy’s custody will go to him.”
“I want to take you away from here with me.”
“And where exactly are you planning to take your mother?”
A gentle voice interrupted, as an umbrella suddenly sheltered her from the rain.
Blanche’s startled eyes met Eddy’s, his gaze clear and sharp.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked, frowning. He must not have heard what she’d said before.
“We’re connected. I just knew.” Eddy drew Blanche into his arms, holding her tighter and tighter. “Sweetheart, when you suddenly left the city, I was so worried.”
His warmth pressed close, but Blanche’s heart felt colder than ever. Nothing could thaw her
now.
She caught a whiff of daisy perfume on his collar.
Jeannette’s signature scent.
“What’s there to worry about?”
She studied his face, searching for a crack in his mask. “Unless you’ve done something you shouldn’t have. Are you afraid I’ll find out and leave you?”
Eddy’s expression darkened. He raised three fingers to the sky, swearing solemnly, “I swear on your mother’s grave, I’ve never betrayed you–not in the past, not now, not ever. And if I ever do, may lightning strike me down.”
A thunderclap echoed overhead, making Eddy flinch.
Even the heavens seemed eager to expose his lie.
Blanche thought of all the years he’d cheated behind her back, then turned around and whispered sweet nothings as if nothing had happened.
Her beautiful eyes grew cold, rimmed with frost.
“No need for lightning and thunder,” she said quietly. “No point dirtying the sky for you.”
