Page 18 of Unmasked Legacy

“What makes you think I want more?” I yell.

He glances back at me, gives a small tip of his lips, then he is gone.

Mother fucker.

STARING DOWN AT THEbox of things, my heart feels much like it’s lodged in my throat. Harry gave me a small box of things he had taken from the house when it started getting vandalized in hopes that if I ever came back he would have something to give me that belonged to my mother. It warms my heart that he had that thought, but I guess he knew one day I might return looking for answers.

The box is small, but it doesn’t make it any easier to open.

I left with nothing, nothing but memories and trauma. I didn’t take a single item I owned, and I regret that. No matter what my father did, I had treasures that I loved in that house, that I wished I would have taken. I don’t know what this box holds, but I hope it’s something special, something I can hang onto.

Exhaling, I push it open and reveal the contents inside.

The first thing I find is a stuffed bunny sitting on top, its pink matted fur a reminder of just how much it was loved.

Tears spring to my eyes as I lift it, bringing it close and hugging it tight. I got this bunny when I was born, and I slept with it every single night until the night I left. It was one thingI truly struggled without, and holding it now brings a comfort I didn’t realize I needed.

It is in this moment I realize just how alone I have been.

Carefully placing the bunny down, I reach in and pull out a jewelry box. Memories flash through my mind as I remember my mother showing me her treasures and explaining where they all came from. My heart aches as I open it, pulling out a long gold chain with a diamond on the end.

Tears roll down my cheeks, and I move to get comfortable, causing the box to slip off my lap. It falls to the ground, and all the contents fall out. The box itself is that old that it cracks and breaks, falling apart right before my eyes.

“Oh, no,” I cry, frantically reaching for it.

Gathering it up, I carefully pick up all the pieces, and that’s when I see a small, folded piece of paper. It isn’t very big, and I’m not certain where it came from. Frowning, I lift up the box and see that when it fell apart, it revealed a tiny space beneath it that was sealed, or at least, was meant to be secret. Whatever that paper is, my mother had it hidden.

I can’t move quick enough to pick it up, and when I unfold it, I see it’s a letter.

What I read changes absolutely everything.

My love,

I wish things hadn’t ended like this. I would do anything to take my mistake back. I shouldn’t have come to your home, I shouldn’t have risked everything.

I need you to know that I will do anything to get you by my side.

I know he is your husband, and I know that you love your daughter, but I can love you both in a way he never will.

Our love is real, it’s pure, and I know you don’t want to live without it.

I’m so sorry he found out. It is all my fault.

You tell me what you need from me, and I will do it.

Tell me and I will fix it.

Please tell me it isn’t really over.

Tell me that we can be together again.

Please, my sweet, I can’t live without you.

Forever yours,

Paul xo

Wait.

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