Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) - Kate O'Keeffe Page 0,87

on it.” I wring my hands and look up through watery eyes at my aunt’s kindly face. “I kept on messing up, Aunt Judy, and his granny told me I wasn’t good enough for him, that I’d never be ‘one of them.’ That I would never be good enough.”

“She did?” Her eyes bulge. “Sweetie, I may not be from some fancy aristocratic family in England, but I do know you are a fine woman. Your mom is so proud of you, and you have achieved so much in your life so far. You are good enough. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Not for Geraldine Huntington-Ross I’m not.”

“Well, Geraldine Whatever can go take a flying leap for all I care. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

I perk up a little at her words. “Thanks, Aunt Judy. There’s more.”

“Oh?”

I tell her about the photos, and I tell her about how no one seems to want to stock Timothy, no matter how hard I try. “I figured I was hurting Sebastian and his family by staying with him. Dividing his family was the last thing I wanted to do. I love him so much, but I knew I was hurting him, just by being with him.” I drop my head as tears sting my eyes. “I had to make the decision to leave, Aunt Judy. I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice, honey,” a croaky voice says, and I snap my attention to the bed where my Mom is lying. Her eyes are open and clear, and she’s gazing at me, a small smile on her face.

“I’m so sorry that we woke you, Mom.” I collect her hand in mine once more and give it a squeeze.

“It’s fine, honey,” she replies, and the softness of her voice has a lump growing in my throat as fresh tears well in my eyes.

You see, I’ve been doing a lot of crying lately. Like, a lot. It’s fair to say it’s been a pretty turbulent time in my life. Watching my mom battle the disease that stole my dad from us has been incredibly hard, and I’ve got a newfound respect for Mom as I’ve seen her handle everything so well—and so much better than me.

Then there’s Sebastian. It’s been a week since I told him it was over. A week since I broke not only his heart, but my own heart as well. I will not lie. It’s been incredibly hard, and I’ve almost called him at least once a day. Okay, more like once every hour. But every time I hold that phone in my hand, ready to press that button, I remember the reasons why I broke up with him in the first place, and I switch my phone off, my heart breaking afresh once again.

Breakups suck.

Especially when you’re still hopelessly in love with the guy.

Sebastian, on the other hand, has not given up. I’ve had beautiful fresh-cut flowers with heartfelt messages of love every day, and he’s called and left messages many times. I listened to the first voicemail, but it was so hard to hear the pain and longing in his voice that I gave up after that. There’s only so much mascara a girl wants running down her face in a day, you know.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Mom as I shift closer to her bed.

“Groggy and a little tired but otherwise good,” she replies. “Did I hear right? You’ve ended things with Sebastian?”

“Mom, now’s not the time to—” I begin, but Aunt Judy cuts me off.

“Your daughter is being a fool, Charlene,” she says with surprising force. “She thinks she’s being noble by throwing away the best thing that ever happened to her.”

I cock an eyebrow at her as I try to make light. “I think Mom’s beef brisket is the best thing that ever happened to me. Not some guy in an old house on the other side of the Atlantic with a mean granny.”

“But you don’t think that. Do you, honey?” Mom says softly.

I look into her eyes and a surge of emotion threatens to overtake me. I don’t trust myself to speak. Instead, I simply shake my head as I fight back the tears.

“Come here.” She extends her arms, and I give her a tentative hug, extremely mindful of the fact she’s only been out of surgery for half a day.

“She’s awake!”

We look up to see Penny at the door, a large bunch of flowers in one hand and a grin on