Marry Angel

"Thank you for saving him."

The familiarity and warmth she felt sitting in a kitchen she had once called a place of comfort and refuge, left Addison with nothing but a stinging ache in her heart. She traced the rim of the tea cup in front of her, reminiscing over memories she had banned from her mind in an attempt to protect herself from the feelings of failure and worthlessness.

The sun was slowly rising over Connecticut when Addison was suddenly jerked from her reverie by a voice calling out her name; a voice she knew by heart.

"Addison," Carolyn Shepherd said curtly, albeit politely, before she continued her way towards the coffee machine.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Addison asked in a fleeting moment of yearning for truth and understanding.

Carolyn was startled by the question, turning around to face her former daughter-in-law; she shook her head lightly and replied gruffly, "You broke my son's heart."

Addison sighed, took a sip from her tea and nodded her head in defeat.

"You never liked me, even before. Why did you never give me a chance?"

There it was, a truth they had both concealed from anyone but themselves; after all its worth was questionable in a situation that left them with nothing but shared miscommunication.

It was not about blaming someone for the wreckage Addison and Derek's marriage had become, Addison admitted, it was simply about comprehending why she had always been unworthy of Derek's love in his mother's eyes.

"You're self-centered and arrogant. It was always about you, everything; when to get married or when to start a family, which jobs to take and which house to buy was always your solemn decision. Marriage is more than just taking, Addison. You want to know why I never liked you, because it took you fourteen years to even ask this question."

There were things, facts for that matter which Carolyn had never bothered to acknowledge and yet it did not matter; not anymore. So instead of saying:

I sacrificed, too, for this marriage.

She kept quiet, drinking her tea and waiting for the clock to strike 7am, indicating that Addison could get up, take her belongings and drive to the hospital to check on Julian – her nephew she had delivered pre-maturely eighteen hours ago, before flying back to Los Angeles.

At 7.01am, Addison got up and put on her coat. When she reached the door, she halted in her tracks, turned around and said quietly, but forcefully, "I loved him enough, Carolyn, to try and make things work with you, his mother - his only parent left, even when I earned nothing but bitter silence in return."

Addison turned around and reached for the door knob.

"Thank you for saving him, Addison," Carolyn said curtly, albeit politely – in the same way she had always been around Addison; reserved and distrustful.

Addison nodded with her back still turned to Carolyn and opened the door to step into the cold winter morning. She took a deep breath and walked briskly towards her rental car.

On the plane back to California, Carolyn's words rang in Addison's ears and all she could think was,

If only you loved him the way I did, we would have made it work.

The end.