Chapter 94: They Lived Happily Ever After

Later that afternoon, I was sitting in the nursery, finishing up the baby blanket I‘d been working on, when I heard a bit of a commotion outside.

Even though it sounded like it was coming from the garden out by the living room, I could hear it in the back of the cottage, in the nursery. But then, the cottage wasn‘t that big.,’

My first thought was that Ethan had come to see me, and Soren and his guards had showed up and caught him. My heart began to pound‘in my chest at the idea.

I pushed up from my chair, laying the blanket carefully aside, and headed into the other room to investigate.

When I reached the living room, I saw Lola and Seraphine looking out the window. There were a lot of people in the yard, though I couldn‘t tell exactly what they were doing.

Seraphine turned and looked at me. “Mr. Soren called a bit earlier,” she explained. “He said to tell you he was sorry for all of the noise, but the flower bushes he had ordered came in, and he asked the gardeners to come and put them in right away.”

“Flower bushes?” I repeated.

Then I remembered the other night when he‘d made those comments about how badly it stunk out in the garden, when Ethan had been there the first time. Soren had said that we needed more flowers in the garden.

I didn‘t think he was serious, but clearly, he was.

“Do you want to go outside and sit on the porch to watch them put them in?” Seraphine asked, “We could get some fresh air.”

“Sure,” I told her. “That sounds like a good idea.”

I hadn’t been outside all day because Soren told me to stay inside, but it had to be safe with all of these men in the yard.

Out on the porch, we had a clear view of what the gardeners were doing. Several large bushes were sitting in pots, waiting for their holes to be dug so they could be dropped into the earth near the other bushes.

It wasn‘t necessary at all, but they were beautiful, and I didn‘t mind.

ecess

They were not going to help with the smell if Ethan kept coming back, though.

“Would you like to sit for a little while?” Seraphine asked, gesturing to the wide porch steps.

“Sure.” I said, “You might have to help me up, though.”

We both giggled, and I lowered myself down onto the top step of the porch, and Seraphine sat next to me.

I wanted to bring up what I had been thinking about all day, my dilemma. Seraphine always had such good advice, and I thought she could help me decide whether I had been too quick to let Ethan back into my life… whether or not I was making the right decision.

When Ethan wasn‘t here to influence the logical part of me, and I just thought about his behavior in the past, I truly wondered whether we could even make this work.

“Is there something on your mind, Ro?” Seraphine asked me. “You look lost in thought.”

“I was just thinking… you know a lot of the people on this island, right?”

She raised her eyebrows, obviously surprised at my question. “Yes, I know a lot of them.”

I nodded. “Do you happen to know anyone who… went on to be happy in their marriage… after the husband did something awful?”

Seraphine stared at my face for a really long time before she asked, “Are you thinking of going back to whoever it was that hurt you, Ro?”

I shook my head. “No, of course not,” I said, laughing a little like that was a really silly question. “It‘s just… I was just thinking… you know… hypothetically. That‘s all.” She pursed her lips together and stared at me for a second, and then said, “Oh, then, uh… honestly?”

I nodded. “Of course, please. Tell me the truth.”

“Well, if I’m completely honest with you, Ro, I’ve never met anyone who‘s been happy in their marriage after something bad happened between the couple.‘

“Really?” | asked, not able to keep the disappointment out of my voice, even though I tried to hide it. “No one?”

“No, no one, dear. I know plenty of people who have tried. There were the Normans, a couple who were married for about five years before the husband had an affair. When the wife found out, she was devastated. He said he was so sorry, and he‘d never do it again. She believed him, and they tried again. But within six months, she caught him with his secretary in their own bedroom– the same room where I‘d help her deliver three children.”

“That‘s terrible,” I said, thinking about poor Mrs. Norman.

Seraphine nodded. “And then there were the Wilsons. Mr. Wilson had a drinking problem, and he got angry and slapped his wife one time. He apologized profusely, said he‘d never drink again. That didn‘t even last a week.copy right hot novel pub