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44
TWO YEARS LATER
“Good morning, Anna.” The bright, cheery voice of Barbara, the mail woman as she passes me in the street, brightens my morning.
“Morning.” I’m practically skipping today. Wearing a new cornflour blue summer dress on the hottest day of the season so far and in a blindingly happy mood. Nothing could dampen my spirits today since I woke up from a scarce night of no nightmares and felt incredibly refreshed for once. It’s funny how that alone can change my entire day.
The village is bustling, bright, and early, with most fishing crews already coming in to offload, and the har
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Til Death Do Us Part 45
“Beautiful as always. You’re such a ray of sunshine in this place. I wish that one would learn she has a figure she could show off. Might have nabbed a husband by now if she wore a dress once in a while.” She throws her daughter the side-eye and gets an eyeroll in response. The usual bickering between them because she feels like her twenty-five-year-old should be settled down already.“Hey… if I wanted a man, there’s a few who are interested. I’m following Greta’s example and focusing on making myself happy and dressing how I want.”“While sweating in jeans in summer.” I point out and duck as she throws a scrunched-up paper bag at me. “Says the woman who evades Tom Fletcher at all costs while he&rsquo
Til Death Do Us Part 46
“It’s so busy I think I might pass out. We just got a table of six guys up to the second floor for dinner, and we’re running out of side dishes.” Greta comes sweeping into the kitchen where I’m heating chicken wings in a flash fry for an order and leans over me to stick a paper tab on the order line over my head. The new group seems to have enormous appetites and is going for a four-course in one sitting.“All six want the scallop starter…” that’s easy for me to handle alone.” she is red-faced and sweaty and makes to start pulling out the necessary ingredients to get on it. Even with both of us cooking and serving, we still struggle to keep waiting time down. We should start thinking of a kitchen part-timer if this summer keeps progressing like this.“I don’t think we can take many more people in if this keeps up. How many boats have docked today?” I’m feeling the pressure after boats
Til Death Do Us Part 47
“Sohla?” A breathy, almost non-existent question, aimed right at my face, and my world comes crashing down around my ears. As though my brain stammers, and I flinch at the shock of hearing it after so long.My head snap reaction brings my eyes to a set of wide-open, startled, and familiar dark browns, locked on me as though he’s unable to blink. Set in a face that still haunts my dreams most nights, for a million different reasons. I don’t know which one of us is in the worst state of disbelief because it feels pretty close to both. My body turns to liquid at being three inches away from the man I never wanted to see again, and my hands start to tremble, swallowing hard as my insides crumble.“It’s…… it’s really you?... Sohla….” He’s breathy, obviously in a state of shock, and staring at me like he can’t process it at all. Still kneeling here in the middle of my crowded restaurant, and yet
Til Death Do Us Part 48
“Unfucking believable. Of all the places for him to show up….. this is insane. Do you think he bought it? That you’re my sister? When you left, he was weird, but he didn’t ask anything else. I managed to usher him to his seat, but he was zoned out the entire time.” Greta is pacing back and forth in the kitchen, like an erratic wound up chicken in a coop while I’m trying to cook the dishes in our order queue and not have an almighty mental breakdown. Tasks keep me sane, focusing on doing something, and yet not. Trying to keep my hands busy and not freak out the way Greta is. I go over and over it in my head and keep shaking myself mentally. After all this time, I honestly cannot believe this isn’t a dream that he’s here. In our village, in the Tarry Shack.“I don’t know; I honestly do not know.” I think I’m in shock and knowing he’s up there, right now, has me shaking all over and my pulse at
Til Death Do Us Part 49
“I don’t know you. Please stop.” My voice breaks and panic shows face even though I try not to let it. Suddenly aware of how close he is and that my necklace is rubbing just below the very edge of my dress neckline. Mere millimetres from concealing the platinum and diamond band therein that would give this away completely.“I was too shocked upstairs to let it sink in. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll figure this out on my own why you’re acting like you don’t know us, why you never came home. I’m not about to lose you again. I know I did a lot of wrongs…. Please give me a chance to fix that.” He steps towards me and lifts his hand as though he’s going to touch my face, and I scramble backwards, turn, and shoot away from him at speed. Terror gripping my heart and not about to let him touch me again.I don’t stop until I slide through the hatch and close it behind me with a thump. Tugging Greta in fron
Til Death Do Us Part 50
“You were right about hiring the Emmerson twins; I feel like I have barely worked today even though we were swamped for lunch and dinner.” Greta is helping me stack up the chairs on the tables so we can mop the floors as the girls downstairs see off the last of our diners. Today has felt more normal after a rough few days, and I’m starting to unwind once more. My stress levels have been insane, and Greta has finally calmed down.Jyeon and his friends left, finally. It’s the morning after the storm, without coming back. I heaved a sigh of relief but then had nightmares the last three days that made me feel like hell. I kept going back into the accident, the water, the night I crashed. Remembering his last words to me that he never wanted me in his life again, and the pain of seeing him with that girl. It’s all come back to wound me all over again now that I’m an emotionally susceptible mess who cries at the drop of a hat. I hat
Til Death Do Us Part 51
“What’s this.” I move back away from him, another step, not trusting him one bit and thinking distance is the only thing I have to combat him. A million things are racing through my mind at what this could be.“Medical records and two background checks. On you…. and your friend.” Jyeon’s voice is huskier than usual, and a hint of emotion makes it almost raspy. His focus narrowed on me, and I can’t read what’s going on in his mind. I blink and stare at the white papers, everything swimming with the reality of what they are, and then push them away with disgust that they would dig around and invade someone’s life that way.“Whatever bullshit this is, I’m sure it’s not even legal. … GRETA!!” I yell on my backup to come to me, hysteria evident in my raised voice and losing all composure. I thank my stars when I hear the distant scrape of a chair followed by footsteps coming to the s
Til Death Do Us Part 52
“Maybe I don’t want to. Maybe something inside of me decided I didn’t want those memories anymore, and that’s why they haven’t come back. Maybe the reason I’m happy to be here and not go looking for my past is that my gut says I shouldn’t.” I bite harshly, so badly wanting to call him out on his bullshit with all this. Like he conveniently forgets everything, and what about his mistress? I’m sure he didn’t just toss her aside, and she’s probably lurking in the background of his life still. The woman he threw me away for.“You don’t belong here, Sohla!” Bryant cuts in because Jyeon’s at a loss for words, and I know it’s probably because my words triggered the truth. He knows what he did, how it was between us the night I disappeared. I can’t believe he has the audacity to come and act like his beloved wife needs to be returned to him. He can’t be this arrogant.&l
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