Chapter 2: The Woman Everyone Said Was Dead
Three hours later...
Nathan stood outside a small white cottage surrounded by wildflowers.
Emma held his hand tightly.
"My mommy gets scared when people knock."
Nathan nodded.
"I know."
Emma opened the door herself.
"Mommy..."
"I brought someone."
Footsteps approached slowly.
Then she appeared.
Lily.
Older.
Thinner.
A faint scar crossed her forehead.
The moment their eyes met...
Neither of them moved.
Nathan whispered,
"I buried an empty coffin."
Lily began crying.
"I know."
He crossed the room in two steps.
They embraced without saying another word.
Years of grief disappeared in a single heartbeat.
Later that evening, Lily finally told the story.
Nine years earlier, she had been driving home from visiting her parents when another vehicle forced her off the road.
She survived.
Barely.
But before she recovered...
Nathan's wealthy father arranged for her transfer to a private rehabilitation facility.
Nathan had always come from one of the city's richest families.
His parents believed Lily wasn't "good enough."
While she struggled with memory loss after the accident...
Nathan was told she had died.
Death certificates were forged.
Medical records altered.
Letters intercepted.
By the time Lily regained enough strength to search for Nathan...
He had disappeared from her life.
She believed he had abandoned her.
Nathan believed she was buried.
Both had spent years mourning someone who was still alive.
Emma quietly climbed into Nathan's lap.
"My mommy said good people always come back."
Nathan kissed the top of her head.
"I should have come sooner."
Lily smiled sadly.
May you like
"It wasn't your fault."
"It was theirs."
