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“No. I didn’t write you a letter. Your mother did.”
My mother?
I never would’ve guessed that. It made no sense. Why would she have a letter from my mother? And why is she only telling me this now?
“Crystal, if this is a joke, it isn’t funny,” I said dropping my hands.
“It’s not a joke. The letter was from your mother. And before you ask me, no, I don’t know what was in it. She never told me, and I didn’t open it.”
So many questions were running through my mind. I needed time to process this.
“Crystal, I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“I understand. This is probably a shock,” she said.
“You think? I mean, I haven’t heard from her in over thirty years. Now you show up saying you have a letter from her?” The letter was one thing, but there was something more that was bothering me. It felt like a knife. One that was twisting. “I want you to answer this question truthfully. Just yes or no. Understood?” She nodded. I asked, “Did my mother send you?”
Please say no.
All the pleading and hoping wasn’t going to tell me what I wanted to hear. I knew the answer, but I needed to hear it from her.
Softly, she uttered the word. “Yes.”
It was the final twist of the knife, this time directly into my heart.
“I’ll bring you back to the resort,” I said coldly.
“Mayson, there is so much more I want to tell you,” Crystal said.
“I’ve heard enough. There is nothing more you can say that will make any of this better. My mother abandoned us and you...you lied to me. Is either of that incorrect?” I asked.
“No. But it’s not as simple as that,” she said.
“It is to me. Would you like to go up first, or follow me?” I asked.
“Please, Mayson. All I’m asking for is five minutes,” she pleaded.
My heart wanted to say yes, but it was being torn in two.
“You had a week to tell me, Crystal. You choose not to. And if the fucking hawk hadn’t flown off with your purse, I’m not sure I would know even now.”
“I was going to tell you today. That’s why I asked if we could go for a walk on the beach,” she said.
“Do you think maybe it was a better idea to have said something before I brought you to the wedding? Spent the night with you?”Fallen in love with you?
“Yes, to them all. But it wasn’t just about delivering the letter. I needed to make sure you would read it.”
“Great. So, all this was just a ploy to manipulate me to read a fucking letter that I didn’t ask for. So much better than just one simple lie. It was an entire plot.”
I turned away from her and headed up the side of the cliff. If she didn’t want to come, then I’d call Bennett to go fetch her. It was her choice.
Everything else has been. Why not let this one be too?
If she was afraid of the climb, she didn’t let it show because not once did she ask for my help or to hold her hand as she had on the way down. I was angry. Angrier than I’d ever been in my life. It wasn’t the first time a person had disappointed me. Just the first time it hurt this bad.
We drove back to the resort in silence. Maybe she was afraid to talk to me. I know I was afraid to speak because the words that I was fighting back weren’t very nice. And no matter how I felt at that moment, I loved her, and I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her any more than I already had.
I pulled up in front of the entrance, and she opened the door and got out. Before closing it, she said, “I know you won’t believe me, but I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to help bring your family back together again.”
