Chapter 9 - THE LETTER TO THE PAST
That evening, the sun set over Lake Washington, painting the sky in deep shades of gold, violet, and crimson.
We sat on the back deck of our new home in Edmonds—a bright, timber-framed house overlooking the water, surrounded by evergreen trees and flower gardens.
Poppy was sitting on a soft rug in the living room inside, happily painting a giant wooden fox house with her new watercolors.
I sat on the wooden bench on the porch, a small metal box sitting beside me. Inside were the old photos Cole had shown me eight years ago, the returned letters Nora had sent, and the legal notices from my mother’s attorneys.
Nora walked out onto the deck, carrying two glasses of lemonade. She sat down beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder.
“What are you going to do with those?” she asked softly, eyeing the box.
“I’m going to close them,” I said.
I picked up the box, walked down the wooden steps to the stone fire pit in the backyard, and set it inside. I took a single match, struck it against the stone, and dropped it onto the dry paper.
The flames caught quickly, curling the edges of the forged documents, the cruel letters, and the false photographs, turning eight years of lies into gray, harmless ash that floated up into the evening breeze.
Nora walked down the steps, standing beside me as the fire died down.
“Cole’s trial starts next month,” she whispered quietly.
“It does,” I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “And he will face the consequences of what he did. But his choices don't belong in our house anymore, Nora. We are done living in the shadow of the Whitaker name.”
She looked up at me, reaching up to gently touch my face. “What name are we living in now?”
I pulled a small velvet box from my jacket pocket, opening it to reveal a simple, breathtaking diamond ring glowing under the sunset.
“Our name,” I said softly, dropping to one knee on the soft grass. “Nora Ellis, will you marry me and make this family whole forever?”
May you like
Tears filled her eyes, brilliant and clear, as a radiant smile spread across her face.
“Yes,” she whispered, pulling me up into her arms and kissing me with every ounce of love she had carried through eight long years in the dark. “Yes, Theo! A thousand times, yes!”
