Chapter 1 - The night he returned
I saw my dead husband at a charity gala on a Friday night.
I didn’t want to attend this gala, but I had to, I had confined myself for three years, avoiding any sort of activity.
I didn’t want to be here, not under the harsh lights of the chandelier that hurt my eyes, not under the stares of people that wondered what Evelyn Whitfield had finally decided to do.
But I had to be here, it was the first gala his family was hosting in years and I was supposedly an honored guest.
I stood off at the side watching the businessmen and wealthy figures of society mingle among themselves. He would have been among them now. Laughing, probably leaning against a table, sparkling champagne in his hand, the same champagne I had grown to love since he left me.
But he wasn’t here. I could almost hear his laughter through the crowd. I turned away from the crowd, choosing to look at the flowers planted outside. I didn’t want to see or hear things anymore. I had spent three years imagining he wasn’t gone.
I heard the click of heels on marble followed by a soft voice “Evelyn, oh how nice to see you” Vivian said as she pulled me into a hug.
I smiled tightly as she let me go.
“It’s been ages Evelyn, I’m so glad you finally decided to come out” She said, smiling widely, the chandelier lights bouncing off her too–white teeth.
“I’m glad I came here too” I said, swirling the champagne in my hand, avoiding eye contact with her.
I guess she took that as a message before gently patting me on the back and walking away. Once upon a time, I had cherished these galas, loved attending them, mingling with everyone, but now. I was just a shell of myself.
I turned to look out the windows when I heard the laugh again. I stiffened, it was unmistakably too similar to his laugh. I had heard it too many times to not recognize it. Not even three years would make me forget it.
I turned on my heel, my eyes darting across the room. Where had that laugh come from? I must have been hearing things again. Maybe I was spiraling again the same way I did when I first heard the news of what had happened.
But then, the laugh came again. No! This was – the similarity was too much. It couldn’t be. So I left my spot at the window and drifted among the crowd, following the sound of the laughter.
I saw his family. All gathered around someone, I saw a woman I didn’t know, who was she? His mother locked eyes with me before a smirk painted her lips.
“Oh dear Evelyn, it’s so good to see you again” she fawned over me.
I didn’t look at her, my eyes were on the man who had his back turned to me, his eyes wrapped around another woman.
I felt a defeaning roar in my ears, and the looks of others around told me I would hear something more than a roar, soon enough.
Slowly, he turned. My hands shook slightly as I struggled to hold the wine glasses. I would recognize that back anywhere, that side view, that chin.
He turned, ever so slowly and when our eyes locked, the glass slipped from my hands and fell on the marble floor, spilling the contents everywhere. People gave way.
My mouth went dry, I felt beads of sweat run down my back under my dress. “A–Adrian, wha – what’s going on?” I couldn’t find the right words to say.
Everyone stood there, watching me, waiting. What was going on? I had buried this man.
“But – but how Adrian, you’re – you’re, this is impossible” my feet shifted back involuntarily. His mother smiled behind him, as if she had won a bet.
The woman by his side cozied up to him, I felt my breath leave me.
“Hello Evelyn, it’s so nice to meet you again” I felt a tug in my chest. My hands shook as I struggled to find the words to say.
“Adrian, what’s – what’s happening?” My eyes darted around to my surroundings. No one moved, no one coughed, the music had stopped playing.
Adrian Sterling, the man I had buried over three years ago, was alive and he didn’t seem shocked to see me.
“You look well, how have you been?” He asked. I still couldn’t grasp what he was saying. Couldn’t understand what was happening.
My legs shook as I grabbed onto a table for support.
“Honey, what’s going on?” The woman clinging to him asked, her eyes darting between both of us.
“Honey?” I managed to croak out, “honey? Did she? What is? Did you? Did you lie to me?”
I saw something flicker in his eyes, I couldn’t quite place it. How was this even possible? How was this man alive? After all these years?
“It needed to be done, silly girl” his mother finally said, walking out to stand in front of him “he didn’t want to be with you, you were just in the way of what he wanted, what we wanted as a family”
“What?”
“Evelyn, I, I didn’t know how to tell you. How to let you know that I wasn’t in love with you anymore”
“So you lied, and you faked your death, just so you could be with someone else” the words tumbled out of my mouth, finally understanding the situation. Finally understanding what I had done.
“You faked your death – all of you, and you flaunt another woman, here!” I clutched at my chest which was now aching.
Phones had come out, people were recording, the paparazzi was everywhere. By tomorrow this would all be on the news. A scandal indeed.
“Honey, is she the one you divorced?” The woman asked.
“Divorced?” I chuckled, finally handing up straight. This was all too much, I clutched at my chest again. This was too much for me to handle.
I had mourned him for good three years, no wonder the family refused to let me see his body before it was lowered into the grave, claiming it was a family tradition.
I had agreed, honoring the tradition and the memory. No wonder they all moved on so fast. Everything began to click into place.
“That was why you invited me to this charity gala? To humiliate me?”
“And I would do worse than that if you fail to know your place, you forget you no longer have anything to your name” his mother sneered at me again.
Adrian remained silent, his jaw clenched and unclenched as he refused to look at me.
I clawed at my chest, the pain increased. My hands slipped off the table supporting me. I struggled to stand on wobbly legs but it didn’t work. I slipped and fell to the floor. I hit the ground with a dull thud.
“Adrian is alive” were the only words playing in my head as everything went black.
