Page 61 of A Constant Love

“Maria, I need you to know that I would never want to put a wedge between you and Tyler. I never asked him to pick me over you.”

She nodded. “I know, dear. But he loves you. And no longer am I going to stand in the way of that. My husband told me what you did last night for my son. You were willing to sacrifice everything for him. You were willing to die to keep him safe.” Her tears fell faster now. “As far as I’m concerned, you are part of this family now.”

Her flowing tears made mine start to streak my cheeks. “I love your son, you know. More than anything.”

She stood up, leaning over the bed to wrap me in a hug. “I know, dear. I know.”

When we had ended our embrace, I asked, “Wait, how did Theo know what happened?”

“Tyler called to ask him if he could come to the hospital since the plane was grounded in L.A. for some mechanical work. And then he told us to call Gabe. He’s the one who told us everything.”

I nodded.

“I’ll let you get some rest, dear. But when you’re better, let’s have dinner. A real dinner where we get to know each other better. You let me know if you need anything.”

Suddenly, I was seeing the woman from Tyler’s childhood that he spoke so fondly of shine through. Maybe she wasn’t such a monster after all.

Before she walked out the room, I called after her.

“Wait, Maria…can I ask you something?”

Chapter 38 - Tyler

That had to be the longest plane ride of my entire life. After the jet had its mechanical issues, I finally was able to get on a flight back to Boston with one of the airlines. Tess stayed behind to fly back on the jet when it was fixed.

Just sitting in that airport was killing me though. I had to get back to Sam as quickly as I could.

Gabe had told me the whole story about what happened with Sam and James, and I couldn’t believe it.

Her plan worked.

Although I don’t think she intended for him to die, I’m sure it didn’t hurt her feelings either.

When I finally walked into that hospital room, and Sam’s head turned towards me, it was as if I had taken the breath that I had been holding since reading her letter.

Immediately, she burst into tears. I rushed over to her and pulled her into my chest.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” she said through muffled sobs.

“Why?”

“For lying to you.”

I released my hold on her and instead took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“Sam, I get why you did it. I mean I don’t like it, but I understand, I guess. From now on though, no secrets. No lies. If we are going to make an honest go of this, we have to be able to trust each other.”

She nodded, her tears beginning to slow. “I know. No more secrets. Ty, I have let that man drag me down for too long, and now, it’s finally over. I’m ready to get on with our lives and have a future with you.”

“Did you mean what you said in your letter? About wanting to get married? Or did you say that just because you didn’t know if you’d have to follow through,” I timidly laughed.

She grabbed my hand. “Yes, I want to get married. Soon. I am done waiting on our lives to start.”

My smile was unmatched as I kissed her.

“And just to prove how serious I am…” she reached over to grab her purse and pulled an envelope out of it. “This is for you.”