How could I not feel resentment toward her, especially if she’d truly had a hand in Daniel’s mother’s death? And what about the way she’d dropped me off like a burdensome dog and then cut off all contact with my grandparents, maybe even contributing to my grandfather’s death from a broken heart?
Her life had been tragic, no doubt, but that didn’t give her the right to drag other lives into her darkness. To turn them into actors in her own cruel theater. To make them feel the pain she carried.
If Daniel was expecting any last words, he wouldn’t hear any. They stayed stuck in my throat.
He stepped closer and pulled a letter from the inside pocket of his black suit jacket. My name was written on the front in her handwriting.
Annie.
My real name. The one that still felt foreign, almost like a bad omen.
“She left this for you,” Daniel said quietly. “I assume you’re Annie?”
I nodded and placed the urn gently on the ground so I could take the letter. Turning my back to him, I stepped a few feet away and opened it.
Annie,
When you read this, the waves will have claimed me at last.
I think my fate was sealed many years ago, the day we went out on the boat and the wind suddenly shifted, tossing us and turning the sea rough.
Two women went overboard.
One was thrown a life ring.
And if you’re wondering why he didn’t toss a second life ring to his wife or why the woman he cheated with didn’t share hers, I don’t have an answer for you.
Maybe because I don’t want to know.
Or maybe, deep down, I already do.
Michael wasn’t the one with the fortune. He wasn’t the Winthrop. She was. And in a divorce, he would have lost everything for an obsession with a girl who was barely of legal age.
Still, part of that girl and the woman she became clings to the hope that none of it happened for the worst reasons.
But even if I take most of my dark secrets with me, I can share a different one with you. One that might finally make some things right.
Michael Winthrop was a monster, but when I look at Daniel, I see only his mother’s kindness in his eyes. And in yours, I see your father’s selfless heart.
Use this knowledge to move on.
We all walked through darkness, the three of us. Sometimes together, sometimes alone.
But some lies are worth keeping. Some secrets are worth taking to your grave.
My secrets.
Which are now your secrets. Keep them.
It’s the only way you’ll ever start over. To have a chance at life with the man you love. And the grandmother you’ve surely found by now.
I don’t know if I’ll meet your father here. Or her. Or the monster.
If I do, I’ll tell them all to leave you be.
If you feel anger and hate toward me...good. That will hurt less than love.
And remember, don’t ever talk about those things.
