Page 44 of When Hearts Surrender

“This locket is meant to be yours, after all.”

A gasp slips out of my mouth and the pulse tremors in my veins. I reach out, my fingers shaking as I touch the delicate jewelry. A somber ache and an unsettling calm, two contradicting emotions, wash over me at the same time.

Gently, I open the locket and Grace gasps.

“You’re right, Belle! Thereisa silhouette of a woman and an inscription. How did you know?”

I shake my head, unable to answer her. Nothing makes sense.

I trace the inscription inside:

To E,

Upon you, my dearest, my love rests for eternity and beyond, for anything less would be insufferable.

Your servant,

S.

Aflinch of pain spasms from deep within me, but I can’t look away. It’s the feeling of finding something you aren’t aware you’ve lost.

“Eternal Devotion is a fitting name for it… It’s so romantic,” Millie murmurs, and I nod.

Somehow, Maxwell found and gifted me with the one thing that calls to me deeply, something equally beautiful and tragic at the same time.

“The Anderson family is filled with mysteries too…just like the necklace,” Eleanor comments.

I look up sharply. “What do you mean?” My pulse quickens.

She gives me a cryptic smile and says, “Someday, when you’re ready, come back here and find me. We’ll talk more then.”

What?“I don’t understand—”

“When you’re ready,” she reiterates and looks away, clearly ending the discussion.

Mysteries. Curses. Superstitions.

I clutch the necklace tightly in my hand before slowly fastening it around my neck. I can feel its pulse, its energy…an ethereal brand.

I shake myself and pinch my wrist. It’s the stories Eleanor was telling, along with the topics we were discussing that’s impacting my mood.

Nothing more.

“But make no mistake. This will never be a love match. It will only be a marriage of convenience. Youcannotfall in love with me, and I will never,everbe in love with you.”

His rumbly voice echoes in my mind. The sharp, severe tone, the words that stabbed me straight in the heart.

The curse.

I refuse to believe it. There’s no way this is true.

Am I denying this because I really don’t believe in it or because…because I’m hoping for something more with him?

Chapter 17

Striding down the sideaisle quickly, I strain a polite smile at the hordes of people gathered in St. James Cathedral, my family’s parish. I feel like an exotic animal on display, a thousand pairs of eyes trained on me.

There’s no way I’m walking down the center aisle until I have to. As I pass by the wrought iron votive stands, the flames flicker and dance, casting ghostly shadows on the marble walls.

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