Chapter 9
I returned to my parents.
The night my flight landed, they were waiting at the airport with steaming hot chicken pot pies my favorite.
The moment I saw them, my eyes stung with tears.
They looked older than I remembered–slower, smaller, more fragile.
But their arms around me were still just as strong-
“Don’t be afraid, Claire,” my father whispered. “We’re always here. No matter what.”
I nodded furiously, burying my face in their embrace.
The grief Nathan had left me with didn’t vanish overnight-
But under my parents‘ care, it softened.
Pain fades. Not easily. Not quickly. But eventually.
I couldn’t let myself stay trapped in the past.
My parents were getting older, and now it was my turn to take care of them.
So I forced myself to grow stronger.
I started job–hunting locally and opened a small piano studio using the skills I’d once sacrificed for
marriage.
My parents, still worried about me, began setting me up on blind dates.
At first, I resisted.
But eventually, I agreed to meet one of them.
His name was Caleb Stone.
He was a doctor. A quiet, steady man with a kind smile and a reassuring life in a nearby hospital,
To my surprise, he fell for me at first sight–and wasn’t shy about showing it.
Flowers. Thoughtful texts.
Dinners after work.
Chapter 9
He’d pick me up after plano lessons, take me to the movies, cook for me when I was tired:
Sometimes, on weekends, we’d take my parents out to visit nearby towns or hike quiet tralis.
It was peaceful.
It was ordinary.
And it was exactly what I needed.
Three months later, I said yes when he asked if I’d be his girlfriend.
And for the first time in years, I started to believe in a future again.
Until one day-
I took my students to a regional piano competition.
We’d just finished our performance, and I was stepping offstage
When I saw him.
Nathan.
Standing there, gaunt and disheveled, like a man who hadn’t slept in weeks.
His eyes locked onto mine, brimming with disbelief.
“Claire… is it really you?”
“You’re alive. You… you didn’t die. Why did you make me think you were gone?”
He reached out to touch me, but I instinctively stepped back.
My voice was calm. Detached.
“Nathan, that version of Claire you once knew–she’s gone. She died a long time ago.
His eyes turned red, voice breaking with guilt.
“I’m sorry. Claire, I never meant to hurt you. I swear–I just wanted to scare you. I thought I’d bring you back to me-
“After you left, I realized… I love you. I always have. Please… come home with me.”
Before I could answer, a hand slid gently around my shoulders.
I turned and found Caleb, standing beside me, eyes sharp and protective.
He looked straight at Nathan.
“I’m sorry,” he said firmly. “But she’s mine now. You’ve lost your chance.”
He took my hand, laced our fingers, and started walking me out.
Behind us, Nathan’s voice cracked with desperation.
“No! She’s my wife! You don’t get to just take her from me! We’ve been through everything together! What gives you the right?!”
Caleb stopped in his tracks and turned slowly, his gaze cutting
“What gives me the right?”
“The fact that you had her for years and only gave her pain.
“The fact that you never once made her feel safe.”
“And the fact that I love her now–and I cherish her in all the ways you never could.”
“From now on, don’t show your face in front of us again.”
Nathan swayed, as if the words had knocked the air out of him.
Then, without warning, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.
He clutched his head in his hands and let out a broken, guttural cry.
After that, he started sending me message after message.
Pages of apologies.
Pleas for forgiveness.
Desperate confessions of love.
But my heart… had already gone still.
My parents, seeing how happy I was with Caleb, gently nudged us toward marriage.
And so, one sunny afternoon, we went to City Hall.
We walked out as husband and wife.
The sunlight was blinding.
And for just a second, I thought I saw someone standing across the street.
Charter 9
It looked like Nathen-
Shoulders slumped, alone in the crowd, watching from a distance.
He didn’t come over
He just turned slowly and walked away, disappearing into the blur of traffic.
Moments later, I heard the distant screech of brakes-
a loud crash.
I never found out if it was him.
I didn’t want to know.
From that day on, Nathan never tried to contact me again.
And as for Caleb and me
We finally stepped into the quiet, beautiful life I’d yearned for all along.
