The Bride Who Walked Away
Chapter 07 - The Bride Who Walked Away
Emily left the library.
Daniel followed her to the rose garden.
She removed her veil but not her wedding ring.
“I need to know something,” she said.
Daniel nodded.
“Did you know about the trust clause?”
“No.”
“Would you have married me without the Whitmore money?”
Daniel stared at her.
Then he took off his expensive watch and placed it on the stone bench.
“I’d marry you at a courthouse in borrowed shoes.”
Emily started laughing through her tears.
It was the first honest sound either of them had made all day.
Inside the house, Vanessa insisted that Ruth was manipulating everyone.
Richard finally raised his voice.
“No. She is doing what I should have done thirty years ago.”
He called his attorney.
Then he called the board of the Whitmore Foundation.
By sunset, the accounts were frozen.
Vanessa stood alone in the foyer while guests quietly left.
Before Ruth departed, Emily found her.
“I’m sorry for what my mother did to you today.”
Ruth looked at her soaked black dress.
“Today was only water.”
May you like
Then she looked toward Richard.
“What happened before was harder to wash off.”
