Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 59827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
So stop crying, Evianne!
Stop!
But it’s really too late.
Silent tears are sliding nonstop down my cheeks, and I’m trying so hard to be quiet about it, to not make a sound, to not draw attention to myself, but my shoulders are shaking and my breathing is hitching and—
A tissue appears in front of me.
I blink through my tears and see Lady Hampton standing there, her expression so gentle it makes me cry harder.
She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t sign anything. Just hands me the tissue and then—
Oh.
Lady Hampton sits down in the seat next to mine and takes my hand.
I wait for her to sign something to me, but she just...stays.
And I think...that’s what does it for me.
I’m a stranger to her, and yet she cares enough to do this...while my own fiancé—
How did it end up like this?
How?
I don’t know how long I cry. Minutes? Hours? Time feels meaningless up here in the clouds with my life in pieces below me.
Eventually the tears slow down.
Gradually, I realize I’m all empty and hollowed out.
But at the same time, I feel...lighter for some reason.
Is that normal? To feel lighter after crying?
‘I’m sorry’, I sign to Lady Hampton when I finally have enough composure. ‘That was unprofessional. I shouldn’t have—’
She cuts me off with a gentle shake of her head. ‘You’re human. Humans cry. It’s okay.’
The kindness—that simple, matter-of-fact kindness—makes my throat tight all over again.
‘I just...’ I don’t know how to explain it. How to put into words what I saw at the airport, what it meant, what it’s still meaning as I sit here flying away from everything I thought my life was going to be.
Lady Hampton waits. Patient. Not pushing.
‘I caught my fiancé.’
I sign slowly, because if I’m going to do this, if I’m going to tell her, I might as well tell her all of it.
‘At the airport. Right before I met you. He was kissing someone else.’
I wait for shock. For awkwardness. For her to regret hiring me.
Instead she just signs back, ‘I’m so sorry, dear.’
That’s it.
No platitudes or judgments.
Just...the truth, which was that what happened to me was indeed something anyone would feel sorry about.
It’s a truth that could’ve been accompanied by pity, but all I see is genuine compassion, and my chest squeezes tight at how she doesn’t even make any attempt to minimize or fix or explain away my pain.
‘It’s fine.’
That’s the second time I’ve told her that, isn’t it?
She’s probably tempted to call me a liar at this point, but she’s just too nice to do so.
We sit in silence for a while with the jet engines humming, and the flight attendant discreetly refreshing our drinks. Throughout it, Lady Hampton holds my hand, and honestly, every time I feel the warmth of her touch, it just makes me want to cry even more. It makes me miss my mom. I want to call her so badly, but I know I’ll don’t because I don’t want her to worry.
‘Can I tell you something?’
Lady Hampton’s sudden question has me nodding immediately.
‘When my husband died—’ Her hands move slowly, carefully. ‘I thought my life was over. I loved him so much. And when he was gone, I couldn’t imagine ever being happy again.’
I wait, not sure where she’s going with this.
‘But you know what I learned?’ She meets my eyes. ‘Sometimes God removes people from our lives not as punishment, but as protection.’
All I can do is nod. I grew up attending church, but God...has always remained like a distant figure, maybe because I never knew my own dad. But I know He’s real. I know He’s good. My mom says He is, and since the one thing my mom isn’t is a liar (unlike me)...
‘Thank you.’ It’s the only honest thing I can say at this moment. ‘Thank you for being kind. And for not...judging.’
‘Why would I judge you for someone else’s betrayal?’
‘Most people would think I’m stupid for not seeing the woods for the trees.’
‘Most people don’t know better.’ Lady Hampton squeezes my hand once more before returning to her seat across the aisle. ‘Rest now. We’ll land in a few hours.’
I nod and turn back to the window. The clouds slide past below us, endless and white and peaceful, and I...I can’t remember when was the last time I felt that.
Because all those years with Joseph...
I was just so, so busy trying to make him happy and earn his approval. Because I knew the one thing he wanted was the one thing I just wasn’t ready to give up, I tried so, so very hard to make up for it.
But I guess...it just wasn’t enough.
Time passes, and my eyes are getting heavy. The adrenaline is finally crashing, and I let my eyes close.
Just for a minute...
But that minute stretches into something a lot longer because the next thing I know, Lady Hampton is gently shaking my shoulder, and I wake up to her smile as she signs, ‘We’re landing soon. You should eat something.’