He was tempted to do a happy dance right here in the parking lot as he looked up at his daughter's smiling face and waved back at her. Her whole mood had changed the day her mother had talked to her. No more hiding in her bedroom. No more tears. No more sneak trip into the kitchen for her mother's whisky. No more staring into space without seeing anything. His whole family had been so relieved to see the spark of life returning to her eyes. And he knew he had to thank not only his wife but the young man who had sent those divine coffee beans and that mysterious note.
She had decided to move back into her apartment two days after receiving her gift. Since the scum still had her keys, he had arranged to change all her locks and insisted on buying the safest kinds for her. He would not take any chance. Not after almost losing her to a most freakish accident. Not after what the scum had done to her. He would try his best to protect his little girl. He waved at her for the last time and drove away. He decided to stop at the flower shop on the way home and buy a bouquet of his wife's favorite flowers. Maybe another stop at the bakery for his mother-in-law's favorite dessert, too, He smiled.
She stood by the window watching her father drive away. She was so grateful to have her family. They had supported her through this ordeal with unconditional love, helped cleaned up her messy apartment, and stuffed her refrigerator with her favorite food and cakes. Her sister and nieces had even filled a cupboard in her kitchen with hamster food and treats. And she was grateful to have him in her life, too. She sat on the couch and took the note out of her pocketbook. Her finger tip caressed the elegant handwriting longingly. How did he know everything? She shook her head in disbelief, still amazed at the timely arrival of the coffee beans.
She had fallen in love with the expensive Kona coffee beans at first sip in Big Island. But she hadn't brought any back with her. She had always known how dangerous it would be to fall in love with something, or someone, she could not afford. Her family shared her taste in coffee. Everybody, except her brother-in-law, had moaned at the first sip of the steaming coffee. She had shared the beans with them, and her father had told her to invite him over for dinner. She took out her phone but found out she couldn't push the familiar button.
Stop being a chicken! Just press speed dial 1 and thank him for the orgasmic coffee, and then invite him to dinner. Aren't you dying to hear his voice? Don't you miss him? Don't you love him?
Yes, she did miss him. She missed him so much that her heart hurt. She wanted to tell him what had happened. She wanted to tell him the wedding had been a mistake. She wanted to tell him he was the one she truly loved. But she was afraid. She was afraid that he would ask her why she hadn't escaped, why she hadn't called him or his men for help, why she had chosen to walk down the aisle, why she had wanted to marry the wrong man in her life.
How can I tell him I caved and let the Burg Girl inside me take over? How can I tell him I went into denial and pretended life with a man I didn't love would be okay?
Tears filled her eyes but she tried all she could to stop them from falling. No. She would not be a helpless crying baby again. She had made a lot of bad decisions and the worst mistake of her life. She was so glad the lightning had chosen to strike her and thus saved her from a fate worse than hell. Now, for the first time in her life, she would take her destiny into her own hands and fight for her love. Yes, she was ashamed of having being a coward but she would not hide anything from the man she loved. She would tell him everything he wanted to know. She would tell him the truth. The whole truth. Nothing but the truth.
With a determined look on her face, she grabbed her pocketbook, put a handful of hamster food into her furry pet's lair and rushed out of her door. She never noticed the man sitting in a familiar car across the street as she jumped in her shining black car and drove toward Haywood.