Chapter 21

Violet stared out at the shining waters of Lake Union and wondered if William was looking down at her right now. She wished she could talk to him, to ask him about everything. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but she hated that he’d betrayed her, too. It was a tangled web of emotions.

Today was the anniversary of his death. In lieu of a burial, William’s will had requested that his ashes be laid to rest on Lake Union, which sat in the middle of Seattle.

That day when she’d had to scatter William’s ashes over the water had been the hardest of Violet’s life. She hadn’t wanted to part with her husband’s ashes at all. It had been the last part of him she had. Once they were strewn across the lake, that was it. She’d have nothing of her husband left.

The wind was cold off the water, and Violet shivered. She wished she’d brought a hat and scarf, even in May. The clouds threatened rain, gray and stormy in the distance, yet Violet didn’t mind. Standing in front of a railing, with