The Doctor's Secret Bride(105)
He opened his jacket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Annulment papers.”
“Already? Erik, I love you.”
“And I love you, Michelle. God knows I do. But love isn’t enough this time.”
“You once told me that when you truly loved someone, you could forgive them anything.”
“Yes, I did. But a marriage also needs trust to survive. Cassie’s failure to trust me is what really killed her. That day when you told me your father was still alive, I asked you if there was anything else you wanted to share about him. You lied. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me the whole truth. Your not trusting me destroyed our love. Maybe in time, I’ll get over your deception. But for now… Erik’s heart ached at the agony in her eyes. He took a deep breath and turned away from her. “You have to forget about us, what we shared.”
Dear God, he didn’t want to hurt her. But what her father had done was too appalling for him to forgive. All the raw wounds she had helped to heal had been ripped wide open and were bleeding profusely again. He had to forget her. He had to wash her completely out of his mind. And the only way he knew how to do it was to stop seeing her. Period.
“Just sign the papers and mail them to the address on the envelope.”
Michelle watched, broken and defeated, as Erik walked out of her life.
***
Michelle glanced at her ringing cell phone lying on the sofa table. Her heart jumped from fear, hope, and uncertainty when Erik’s name flashed on the LCD. It had been two days since she last saw him and Precious. Had he decided to forgive her? Did he want her back? Or…
“Are you going to answer that?” Yasmine asked, coming from the direction of her bedroom.
“It’s Erik.”
“Then answer it, girl. He might be calling to say he wants you back.”
Or maybe he wants to make sure I signed and returned the annulment papers. Yasmine still didn’t know they’d been married.
“You want me to talk to him? ‘Cause I’m dying to give him a piece of my mind.”
Michelle grabbed the phone. “No. I’ll handle it.” She walked slowly into her bedroom and closed the door. She took a deep breath, pushed the answer button, and raised the phone to her ear. “Hello,” she said in a shaky voice.
There was a long tense silence.
“Erik,” she said.#p#分页标题#e#
She heard his sharp intake of air. “Hi, Michelle.”
Michelle bit into her lower lip to stop the sharp cry of longing from bursting from inside her. Too weak to remain on her feet, she collapsed on the edge of her bed.
“I just called to warn you,” he said.
“Warm me about what?”
“The news about your father has been leaked to the press.”
“Oh, no. What—”
“I’m taking Precious out of the country for a few weeks until the commotion dies down.”
“Where—”
“I suggest you… go somewhere… far… if you don’t want to be eaten by the media vultures. They will be circling soon. They may be on their way as we speak. Use the money I deposited into your account when we got married.”
“Erik—”
“Goodbye, Michelle.”
Long after the phone went dead, Michelle kept it pressed against her ears while her other hand crushed into her chest in an attempt to quiet her thumping heart. Did Erik call to warn her about the impending mayhem because he was really concerned about her, or did he fear what she might divulge to the media vultures about their relationship? It would make him seem like a real jackass for marrying the daughter of the man who’d killed his first wife. She couldn’t blame him for being cautious, concerned. But did he have to be so cold, so abrupt? They had been closer than any two human beings had the right to be, and yet he’d just spoken to her as if she were a mere acquaintance he felt obligated to warn about imminent doom.
Time. He needed time.
“So what did he want?” Yasmine asked from the opposite side of the closed door.
Michelle pulled herself together and went to open it. “I have to leave town,” she told Yasmine.
Yasmine shook her head in confusion. “What? Why?”
“Somebody leaked the news of my father’s arrest for killing Cassie to the press. Erik called to warn me. He and Precious are leaving the country, and he suggested I go into hiding.” She glanced at her suitcase on the floor in a corner of the unkempt bedroom. “Good thing I didn’t unpack yet.”
“Where will you go?”
“I don’t know. But I can’t stay here. I have to leave Manchester. New Hampshire. Tonight.”