Billionaire, I Am Not Your Wife! novel Chapter 16

Returning The Heirloom

Chapter 14: Returning The Heirloom

Sedona’s POV

“No, please.” I took her hand, stopping her from reaching for her phone as she resisted the hold but I held on tight shaking my head.

“This isn’t something that can be fixed with a phone call. Please this isn’t something that can be fixed with a mere phone call and order from you to them to behave more appropriately. This is about me finally accepting the truth.”

“What truth, dear?”

“That I was never really Logan’s wife. I always knew but I never accepted it, staying stuck in a fantasy I had made. But I was a substitute. A placeholder for someone else.” I squeezed her hand gently as ! continued speaking, tears present in my eyes but not spilling down my cheeks.

“You were kind to me, Grandma Brooke. You were the only one who ever made me feel like I belonged. But I don’t belong in this family. I never did.”

“That’s not true-”

“It is.” I gave her a sad smile as I patted her hand gently before continuing.

“And that’s okay. I’ve made my peace with it. I just wanted to say goodbye properly, and to return this.” I gestured to the necklace still on her laps as I took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“It’s beautiful, and it means the world to me that you trusted me with it. But it should stay with the Hayes family because that is where it belongs and it’s no longer my place to hold onto something that was never fully mine. Maybe someday Logan will marry someone who actually deserves it.”

Grandma Brooke’s eyes were bright with unshed tears as the fight went out from her too, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she asked. “Where are you going? Back to your family?”

I nodded. “Yes. To Seattle. To my parents and my brother. To the people who loved me before I ran away from them.”

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“And Nick?” Her voice was audible as she looked at me. “What about my great-grandson?”

The question I’d been dreading. I looked down at our joined hands, at her wrinkled hand against mine.

“Nick…” I had to stop, had to swallow past the lump in my throat, making it difficult to speak as I pushed past the discomfort and continued.

“Nick perhaps never saw me as his mother. Not really. He has Katherine now, and she makes him happy in ways I never could. I won’t take that away from him.”

“Sedona, he’s your son-”

“And Logan can give him the best life as his father.”

< Returning The Hewloom

+25 Points

Grandma Brooke was crying now, tears running down her wrinkled cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Sedona. I’m so sorry for what my family has done to you. All these years and I had been a fool, thinking it was alright. If I had known-”

“You have nothing to apologize for. You were the one good thing I looked up to in this whole mess.” I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for your kindness. For making me feel, even for a little while, like I mattered.”

“You do matter. You’ll always matter.”

I stood, knowing if I stayed any longer I’d break down completely. “Goodbye, Grandma Brooke. Take care of yourself.”

“Wait.” She struggled to her feet, moving more slowly than I remembered, her age getting more pronounced as she reached out for me.

“Will you… will you write to me? Let me know you’re alright?”

I thought about it, about maintaining this connection. But what was the point? In three months, maybe less, I’d be gone. Better to make a clean break now than to break her heart when she hears of my death.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said gently. “But I’ll never forget you. Or your kindness.”

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