CHAPTER 10: THE MANSION
I decided to stay in the mansion.
It was too big for one person, but I didn't care. Every room held a piece of Garrett, and I couldn't bear to leave it.
I hired a gardener to take care of the grounds. I hired a cook to help with meals. I started hosting community events, opening the house to people who had nowhere else to go.
It was my way of honoring him.
Catherine and Mark helped. They were still learning, still growing, but they were trying.
And that was enough.
One day, I was walking through the garden when I found a small plaque I had never noticed before.
It read: For Eleanor—my heart, my home, my forever.
Garrett had put it there without telling me.
I touched the plaque, tears streaming down my face.
"You were always thinking of me," I whispered. "Even when I wasn't there."
I sat down on the bench beside the plaque and stared at the flowers.
And I felt him.
Not his ghost. Not his spirit.
May you like
But his love.
And I knew, in that moment, that I was going to be okay.
