Total pages in book: 11
Estimated words: 10361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 52(@200wpm)___ 41(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 10361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 52(@200wpm)___ 41(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
I think you already know what kind of marriage it was. You might call it transactional, but it’s more like a partnership for us. I helped him, and he helped me. Along the way, we became close friends.
I know this is presumptuous of me, which is something you’ve always hated, but you deserve a man like him, Elena. A man who will look after you and love you with everything he’s got.
If you do end up with him, you already know you have my blessing.
I love you, Elena. You’re the best thing that happened to me and your father.
Love,
Mom
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
ELENA
Marriage was never part of my life plans. I grew up thinking something was wrong with me because while everyone else had crushes and boyfriends, I had no interest in anyone.
Then along came Evan.
After that letter from Mom, I spent a week crying because part of me always wondered if she would have approved of our relationship. Had she been alive, would she have given her blessing? After all, Evan is a lot older than me.
That letter freed me. It answered every question I had. It was like Mom knew what would happen once Evan and I met. To an outsider, it sounds twisted and sick, but not to us. Not to me, Evan, and Mom. We knew each other best. Damn everyone else.
“Okay. One, two, three, smile!” Our next-door neighbor and now-closest friend, Emil, raises the camera and clicks.
Evan and I can’t contain our happiness, and we’re pretty sure it will show in the photos. We’re still in the city hall, just married, and Emil insists on getting at least a hundred shots. His girlfriend, Alice, has become my unofficial assistant as she fixes my hair, makeup, and dress.
It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. I can hardly believe this is real, that I’m marrying Evan.
My ex-boyfriend, now-husband.
Husband.
The word feels like an electric current through my body. My heart beats so wildly it almost hurts, but it’s the best kind of ache. Evan catches me staring, and he gives me that knowing grin because he understands exactly what I’m feeling. He feels it too.
He followed me to my city and started all over again, but he didn’t mind. And after two years of being together, he proposed. Of course, I said yes.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he whispers, his warm breath brushing my skin.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
I tug him closer to me. “I love you, Evan. I love you forever and ever.”
He plants a soft kiss on my lips, and my whole body tingles with excitement. He will always have this effect on me. “I love you, too, Elena. I love you forever and ever.”
Evan squeezes my hand in that quiet, familiar way, and I melt into him.
This is the life I never thought I wanted, but I can’t imagine doing anything else and being with anyone else. It’s always been him.
The End