“Are you okay?” The wrinkles on my father’s forehead deepen. “Did Graham tell you…?”
“Yes,” I manage. “He told me everything.”
“I thought you deserved to know the truth,” he says softly. “Your mom… as much as it hurt her to leave you, she always said how grateful she was for those last few months the three of us had together. I didn’t want you to miss out on that.” He shoots Graham a hard look. “He disagreed.”
“You don’t know what she was like,” Graham says through his teeth. “You didn’t see how miserable it was making her.”
A tear escapes my right eye and I swipe at it. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I’m dying, just like my mother was. My father sees the look on my face, and his Adam’s apple bobs. “I’m so sorry, Princess.”
It hits me that my father hasn’t called me “princess” since my mother passed. This is the first time I’ve heard him say that word. A lump forms in my throat, and then a second later, the tears are flowing freely. I fall into my father’s arms and sob on his shoulder.
“Maybe Graham was right,” my father murmurs as he strokes my short hair. “You’re not the same as your mother. I think maybe you’re happier not knowing.”
“No.” I pull away from his chest and wipe my eyes. “I wanted to know. I’m glad I know.”
At that moment, a man with dark hair and a beard bursts into the study. His brown eyes widen at my swollen eyes and puffy red face. It takes me a second to realize who I’m looking at.
It’s Harry.
And by the look on his face, I can tell he knows everything.
“Camila let me in,” he says. Our eyes meet across the room. “You know…”
Graham whirls around. He shoots Harry a dirty look. “What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in jail?”
Harry returns the dirty look. “They released me this morning.” He looks back at me. “Are you okay?”
I squeeze my hands into fists. “Did you know about any of this… before?”
“No.” He looks as sick as I feel. “I thought you had been in a car accident, same as you did.” He glances at my father. “But then I talked to your dad, and he told me…”
It all makes sense now. I don’t remember doing it, but according to Harry, I called my father every day. And he never returned my calls. Because apparently, I was never calling him in the first place. Graham was keeping me from reaching him so he wouldn’t tell me I was dying.
I look over at Graham. The man who engineered this daily deception for my own good. I still feel like I don’t know who he is. I don’t remember him. I don’t remember falling in love with him. I don’t remember marrying him. The drug he gave me took all of that from me.
And I’m glad.
I turn to my husband. “How much time do I have left?”
He shakes his head. “Hard to say. The last time I took you to the doctor a month ago, he said six or seven months.”
My body goes cold. Six months. Six months left on this earth.
If that’s all I have, I’m damn well going to enjoy it.
“Graham,” I say. “Thank you for running my business while I’ve been sick. You’ve done a good job and… I want you to keep doing it. Keep it going. Please.”
He nods slowly, his brow wrinkled.
“But I don’t want to live here with you anymore.” I shake my head. “I don’t even know who you are. And I’m sorry, but I don’t love you. This arrangement needs to end.”
Graham drops his eyes. “I love you, Tess. Maybe you don’t remember me, but I remember you. I want you to be happy. I’ll do whatever it takes…”
“I’m not happy here. And there’s nothing you can do except let me leave.”
His eyes widen. “But where will you…?” He stops mid-sentence and turns to look at Harry. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly.
Graham looks down at his loafers. His chest rises and falls. “I just want you to be happy, Tess. So whatever you need to do…”
I thought he would put up more of a fight. But he isn’t. He’s letting me go.
For a moment, I wonder if I’ve got it all wrong. Maybe Graham is The One. I married him, after all. He’s the one I had planned to spend my life with. When I thought I had a whole life to spend.
But then I look over at Harry, wringing his hands together. There was always only one person for me. I somehow got lost along the way, but having terminal cancer can show you what’s important.
“Harry,” I say. “Will you let me spend these six months with you?”
His eyes light up. Even though I’ve lost my memory, I know it’s the first time I’ve felt happy in a very, very long time.
Chapter 43
Graham and I come up with an arrangement. We’re going to have a contract drawn up by a lawyer to make it all official, but we hashed out most of the details:
Graham will keep the house. I don’t want to stay in one place anymore, anyway.
Graham will make sure the restraining order against Harry is dropped, as well as the current charges against him from last night.
Graham will remain CEO of My Home Spa and keep it running while I’m gone. As much as I loved it, I’m not capable of running it anymore. And that’s not how I want to spend my last months. When I’m gone for good, the company will be his.
Camila will get a generous severance package.
Ziggy will stay with me.
As soon as I’m done packing, I will leave with Harry and never return.
Graham is on his phone with his lawyer right now, eager to get the papers drawn up today. He says that his attorney can email him the documents and we can take care of it right away, although I feel like it can wait till tomorrow—now that tomorrow will exist. But I also feel like it will be good to get it done with. I want to leave this house and start living the rest of my life. Now that I know how little is left, I don’t want to waste any time.
While Graham is in his office, my father kisses me goodbye while Harry and I relocate to the kitchen. I get some coffee brewing, then we go to sit at the kitchen island, waiting for it to be done. While we wait, Harry holds onto my hand like I’m his life preserver.