Page 138 of Lee

Rori couldn’t imagine seeing anything that would make her want to walk away from the man she loved. She didn’t say that, however. He would just insist that it was necessary.

She wished that she could talk to someone about what was going on. But according to what Lee said, Gareth was the only one who knew the details of what he had discovered.

There was no way she’d betray Lee's trust by talking to anyone he hadn’t already shared his story with. It was clear that they’d faked his death to allow him to live a normal life, and if it was ever revealed what had been done, Rori wasn’t sure how things would go. For Lee, but also for the case that had put his parents in prison.

“If I still feel this way after reading through the envelope and watching the program, what then?”

“You won’t.” His confidence was heartbreaking. It was almost as if he wanted her to walk away.

She wouldn’t, though. Not without a fight.

Lee had been the one who told her to stand up for herself. So she would.

If he was adamant about breaking up with her, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. However, she wasn’t going to let him go without him knowing that she loved him, no matter what.

Lee pushed his chair back. “I should go.”

Rori didn’t want him to leave, but she was also anxious to do what he wanted her to so they could move to the next phase of things. Which was her convincing him to trust in their love.

Lee might not think she stood up for herself or fought for what she wanted, but he was about to be quickly disabused of that notion.

He left the envelope on the table and slowly headed for the door. Rori trailed him, and when he turned to face her, she could see the conflict on his face.

Without thinking twice about it, Rori stepped close and slid her arms around his waist. There was the briefest hesitation on Lee’s part, but when he folded her in his arms, he clung to her. That moment fed her determination to fight for them.

He was still the one to end the hug, but not until they’d stood there for a long moment. As their arms slid from around each other, Rori prayed that they hadn’t just shared their last hug.

Lee reached for the doorknob. He stood there without opening it for so long that Rori thought he’d changed his mind and would stay for a bit longer. But then he opened the door and stepped into the dingy hallway. “I’ll… talk to you later.”

Rori moved into her doorway and watched as Lee walked away from her, disappearing up the staircase to the main floor. Her heart ached deep within her, and the only reason it hadn’t shattered completely was because she hadn’t lost all hope that they could work things out.

Once he was gone, Rori closed and locked the door, then went back to the table. She stared at the envelope for a moment, then cleared off their glasses. It didn’t take long to wash, dry, and put them away. And when that was done, she returned to the table.

She reached for the envelope, but then rested her hand on it. “Heavenly Father, help us. Give me the courage to witness what was done to Lee. Give him comfort as he deals with the knowledge he now has. Please, God, help this to work out for us. I love him so much.”

Essie had been talking to her about prayer lately, and how she could pray about anything, anytime, anywhere. She had certainly done plenty of praying that week, and seeing how the new information had impacted Lee, she knew she’d be doing a lot more in the days ahead.

Rori carried the envelope over to her bed and settled amongst its pillows. Since she already knew the basic details, nothing in the envelope was really a surprise. What she struggled with were the details about the boys’ injuries. It was horrific what those two people had done to Lee and his brother.

As she’d expected, she didn’t read anything that would convince her they needed to break up. That meant she was going to go against what Lee wanted her to do and watch the program.

She had known it wouldn’t be easy viewing, but she hadn’t expected the first thing to hit her hardest would be a picture of Lee’s father when he’d been about the same age as Lee was now. The moment she saw that picture, Rori knew with complete confidence what had Lee so torn up.

Lee had definitely inherited his looks from his father. The man had dark hair and brown eyes too, so the similarity between Lee and his father was striking.

In that moment, she knew with one hundred percent certainty that fear had taken root in Lee that not only did he look like his father, but at some point, he’d become like his father. From all accounts, the man hadn’t been horrible and abusive earlier in his life. Something had changed in him as he’d grown older.

But there was nothing in the world that could convince Rori that the same thing would happen with Lee. She wasn’t blinded by fear the way he probably was. She could clearly see that Lee wasn’t the type of man to hurt anyone, let alone a child.

He wouldn’t have chosen his career if he wasn’t a caring person. His family wouldn’t be so close to him if he had exhibited traits that were concerning or dangerous to any of them, especially their children.

No. The Lee she knew and loved was a man of faith, love, and joy. He was also a man of integrity, which is why she knew that he would never hurt her the way his father had hurt his wife and children.

Convincing Lee of that, however, knowing what he’d seen on the program, was going to be an uphill battle.

Rori had a horrible night’s sleep after she finished the last episode late that evening. Still, she got up and went to church, hoping that Lee would be there. But if he wasn’t, at least now she would understand why.

She ended up sitting with Essie and Al while she waited to see if Lee showed up. When he didn’t, she said a prayer for him, her heart aching.

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