“It. Was. Love. All-consuming and beautiful.” Anne raised her head and met her aunt’s eyes. “And I threw it away.”
“Because of me,” Auntie Sharon whispered. “Oh, Anne. I’m so sorry. I thought I was doing my duty. I thought I was doing what your mom would’ve done if she’d been alive. Have you been carrying this heartbreak inside you for all these years?”
“Yes.” Anne pressed her palm against her clammy forehead, then pushed away the irritating strands of hair clinging to it. “And I’ll carry it for the rest of my life.”
“Do you think he feels the same way?” Her aunt gingerly approached Anne, as if she were a wounded animal, and sat down across from her.
“No. Maybe.” A sob tore from her. “I don’t know. He was so cold when I ran into him for the first time a couple of months ago. But tonight, I thought maybe… Then he…”
“He realized I was the one who persuaded you to leave him,” her aunt said, finishing the sentence. “That’s why he left so abruptly.”
Anne could only nod, tears trailing down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry. It breaks my heart to see you like this.” Auntie Sharon smoothed her hand down Anne’s hair. “But it’s been ten years, sweetie. Don’t you think you should move on? Letting go might be the only way for you to heal.”
“You might be right.” Her tears stopped falling, and her anger sputtered out. She felt empty. When her aunt pulled her into a hug, Anne let her. She was too exhausted to push her away. “But I don’t know if it’s possible. All I know is that if I were given the same choice I had ten years ago, I would choose Frederick. I willalwayschoose him.”
Her aunt’s arms dropped away from her. “Anne, I…”
“It’s okay, Imo.” She rose to her feet, her legs unsteady. “I’m tired. I’m going to head home.”
“Yes, of course. You should go rest.” Auntie Sharon still looked stricken, but Anne didn’t have the bandwidth to console her. “Let me know you got home safe.”
“And, Imo?” She stopped at the door and looked back at her aunt. “Don’t tell anyone about Frederick and me. It’ll only make things worse… for all of us.”
Anne left her aunt sitting on the floor of Coraline’s room and stumbled down the stairs. She stood numb and alone in the dim hallway, not knowing what to do next. She wanted to run away from this awful night. She wanted to sleep for a week. But then she had an even more horrifying realization. What if Frederick thought she broke up with him because sheagreedwith her aunt?
She shook her head.No.She couldn’t let him think that foranother moment. She had to talk to Frederick tonight.How?Joe would know where he lived.
But she couldn’t march into the living room and demand Frederick’s address from him. She would ask for Katie’s phone number instead. At least Katie knew their history, so there would be fewer questions.
Her father and Uncle Paul were on the couch, having a nightcap. And Joe, her cousins, and her sisters, even Juliette, were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, drinking hot apple pie and laughing. Anne’s eyes unfocused for a moment. She felt as though she would never laugh again.
She clicked her tongue—she could feel sorry for herself later—and walked over to Joe. She didn’t want to bother him, especially with Coraline tucked into his side, but she needed to do this.
“Hey, Joe.” She crouched down behind him. She bit her lip when he dropped his arm from his fiancée and turned around to face her.
“Hey, Anne.” He offered her a warm smile that made her want to cry. God, she was a mess.
“Do you happen to have Katie’s phone number?” She attempted a nonchalant shrug when Coraline arched an eyebrow at her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Joe said. “Do you need it?”
“Uh-huh.” Anne cleared her throat. “I wanted to ask her out for coffee. She seemed so nice at Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Oh yeah. She’s the best.” Joe rattled off Katie’s number without hesitation.
“I hope she doesn’t mind…” Anne did want to have coffee with Katie sometime soon, so she tried not to feel too guilty.
“Nah, I’m sure she’d be happy to hear from you.”
“I hope so. Thanks, Joe.” Anne rose to her feet. “I’m heading home, guys. Merry Christmas.”
“Already?” Tessa stood with a frown and followed Anne.
“Yeah, I’m a little tired.” She walked to the front door, not meeting her sister’s eyes.
“It’s not even ten.” Tessa scrunched her mouth to the side, then shrugged. “Are you okay to drive? How many cups of hot apple pie did you drink?”
