Page 171 of Perfect Liar
The script kind of made his W look like butterfly wings.
Immediately, I touched my neck, remembering the night he first kissed my lips and what he’d said about my birthmark, that it wasn’t a butterfly.
To lock that memory inside me forever, I slipped the ring back on and covered my heart with both hands. An aching lump grew at the back of my throat.
That inscription proved once more how committed he was to me. It reminded me to be more decisive, to be stronger. I couldn’t be his physical equal, but I could step my ass up and match his emotional strength.
Because really, staying out of his war room wasn’t strength. It wasn’t me giving him something. No, he needed a partner who gave him a little breathing room but without being ignorant.
I’ll never do that to him again.
When the sun came up, I still hadn’t heard back from Will. As more hours passed, the more I became anxious and worried.
Mary called out to me just as I hit the staircase to go down.
“Ellie, come and see me in my room. I’d quite like to chat before we go down, just the two of us.”
She waited in the corridor and led me into her sitting room.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“What’s wrong? Is it about Lissie?”
She smiled.
“Well, yes, I do want to talk about Lissie. But first, I want to know how you’re getting on, Ellie, truly. You’re like a daughter to me. We haven’t known each other very long, but nonetheless here we are, darling. You don’t need to hide your feelings from me.”
A lump knotted in my throat. I’d never had a mother, not since before my third birthday. I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded.
“You’re still quite young, and I want you to know I’m here for you. Anything you need, Ellie. I can’t tell you that your life with my son will get easier. But I can say, he has the strongest mind, the most generous heart, and he’ll lead this family well. Most of all, he will never stop fighting for you, not in any way.”
Mary patted my arm, and I smiled.
“I believe that too. And thank you for being so amazing to Lissie and me.”
“You make him want more for this family.”
She hesitated for a minute.
“I miss Ethan terribly. His warmth, his generosity, even his sense of humor. Ellie, I know he made mistakes, but he loved this family with his whole heart.”
“I wish I’d had time to know him better.”
“I can see how much you miss Isabel and still grieve for her. Your grief will carry on, and it will change you. Someday, you’ll find your heart is lighter again. But the two of them, my Ethan and your Isabel, they left us such a precious gift.”
“You know…for sure?”
She nodded and then went to her dressing table for an envelope, handing it and then a letter opener to me as she sat back down on the sofa.
“We wanted absolutely no doubt to exist. I wanted there to be no valid disputes by anyone from Isabel’s past. And so Ethan had a paternity test done.”
“It’s still sealed,” I said.
“Yes, let’s open it now, darling.”
Carefully, I sliced open the envelope. The first thing that jumped out at me was Ethan’s signature for consent and the date—the first day we were all in London. I then skipped to the combined index result, where it indicated Lissie was Ethan’s child. I swallowed hard and steeled myself against a wave of sorrow.
She would never know him.