Chapter 3 He Brought Her Home

Daniel comforted me, "It's OK. I'm here. We'll take her to Brundela. They'll treat her."

I clawed at him, beat him, and screamed my heart out. "Why did you do this to me?"

That meltdown was another way of saying I was backing down. His eyes turned red, and he pulled me into his arms as though he had just recovered something precious he thought he had lost forever.

With a trembling voice, he said, "I'm sorry. This won't happen again. I love you. I can't lose you."

My mother stayed in Brundela with us for a year, but she could not get used to the place, and she always seemed down and depressed. And so, I decided to take her and Edward back to Chanaea.

Daniel installed a GPS on his phone to assuage my fears. I could check his location in real time. I thought it was unnecessary. "I trust you."

He shook his head. "You don't trust me. You just don't care. It's not all because of Veronica you're going home. You want to stay far away from me, don't you? You won't even let me touch you since that day."

I avoided that conversation and promised I would check. He put on a dejected smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you."

After we returned to Chanaea, Daniel flew back every week to see us. For nearly a year, we maintained that fragile peace.

Then one of his flights nearly crashed, and it was forced into an emergency landing.

When I saw him safe and sound, my heart that had been racing for the last ten hours finally felt at ease. I went and hugged him, and he froze. "Don't leave me, Daniel."

He hugged me tightly and sobbed. "I'll never leave you."

We reconciled. He took a long leave of absence and stayed with us for a month. During that time, he was clingier than Edward was. Shamelessly, he said, "I know you earlier than Edward did. You're my wife first, his mother second."

Then he would turn to Edward. "Who loves Mommy the most in this family?"

Edward answered, "You do, Daddy!"

My mother noticed me letting go of the burden, and she cheered up a lot. She shed tears of joy. Everything felt like it had gotten back on the right track. The wound in my heart was still there, but it had become a tender scar. As long as no one touched it, it did not hurt.

Then, Daniel cheated again. Once again, he tore that wound open. The man who once nearly cried when he saw me in a wedding gown was helping another woman wear a veil.

I could not sleep that night, and my eyes were hurting a little from getting too dry. On my way to the funeral parlor, Daniel sent me a text that said he had landed.

I thought this was laughable. He had to text two women every time this happened.

It was Christmas Eve three days later. Daniel and Edward came home. Daniel was in the lead, and he opened up the box that had flight tickets inside, but it was empty. His hand froze, but then he placed his latest ticket inside.

"I'll come home, honey. We'll be a proper family. We'll never be separated."

Edward whooped and cheered and came running in to make an announcement. "Mommy Jessica's back too, Mom! She can't celebrate Christmas in Brundela alone! Dad said we're a family. We'll celebrate it together!"

Behind him was that woman, Jessica Jameson.

She was in a beige cashmere coat, and she was beautiful. That woman stepped forth and placed a paper bag on the entryway's cabinet.

"I'm sorry for this sudden visit, Yvonne. Daniel told me you've gone through a lot."

Then her gaze settled on my pale, exhausted face. Concern appeared in her eyes. "I brought some calming oil. I hope it'll help with your sleep."

Edward held her hand tightly as if she was some rare treasure. My blood ran cold, and my stomach churned. "You brought her back to our home, Daniel?"

But I laughed before he could answer. Then, I picked up the papers I had already prepared and held them out to him. "Let's get divorced."