Page 15 of Finding A Wife for My Husband

“We didn’t have a choice,” Hope replied.

“It was her decision,” her father, Alex, added.

After scribbling his signature on the line quickly, Sincere grimaced, feeling a literal sharp pain shoot through his chest. He grabbed it, head dropping as he groaned. With a shake of his head, Sincere stood and released a shaky breath. Refusing to shed another tear, he blinked until his eyes dried.

“It’s done,” he heard Hope say. A couple of seconds passed before she said, “Sincere, she’s on the line.”

After having been so anxious to hear her voice, Sincere thought he would rush to the phone. But now… his sadness was being replaced with anger. The audacity of Faith to choose to force him to be without her quicker than he had to. He wanted to spend every moment with her that he possibly could before she left, and he was now robbed of that.

“I just needed to know that she was okay,” he replied before heading out of the dining room.

“Son,” her father called, following behind him. Sincere stopped but didn’t turn in his direction. “I know this hurts now, but she really did what she thought was best for you.”

He smiled. “No she didn’t. I told her repeatedly what was best for me—her. Faith did this because it was easier for her.”

“Maybe she did. Maybe she wasn’t as strong as she thought she was. Maybe she couldn’t handle saying goodbye to you. Whatever the case, find peace. Don’t let her leave this earth with hate inside of your heart directed toward her.” Alex told his wife, “Hand me the phone, Hope.” He walked over to Sincere and handed it to him. “This may be the last time you ever get to talk to her. Take advantage.”

Sincere looked down at the phone, watching the seconds tick away as he considered hanging up in her face. Instead, he closed his eyes and swallowed as he put the phone to his ear.

“Sincere?” she called quietly. He couldn’t pull himself to say anything. “I just wanted to say that I’m okay. And that I love you. Please don’t be upset with me.” His jaw clenched. Eyes tightened. Heart slowed down. Faith sniffled. “All this time, I said I wanted to find you a wife because I wanted you to be okay… but I left because… the thought of you moving on was causing me too much pain. You’ve been so good to me that the thought of another woman receiving your love was causing physical heartache.” She chuckled softly as a tear threatened to slide down his cheek. “I’ve never been loved as sweetly yet fiercely as I’ve been loved by you. And you deserve to feel that love too. Promise me that you will let me go when the time is right and heal, Sincere. Promise me that you will love again.”

His head shook. “I don’t want to.”

She chuckled before sniffling. “You will. And when you do, I want you to have peace and know that it’s okay. Loving another woman will never lessen the love you have for me. Be at peace, baby. Okay?”

Rolling his tongue across his cheek, Sincere nodded before swallowing hard. “I love you, Faith. Forever and always.”

“Forever and always.”

After disconnecting the call, Sincere shoved the phone into Alex’s chest and left quickly. The longer he stood there, the more it felt like the walls were closing around him and it felt harder to breathe. Standing on the porch, cupping his knees, he pulled in deep breaths before falling onto his knees weakly. It felt like his heart was literally beating slower and slower with each passing minute. And it was in that moment that he realized Faith had made the best choice for them. It may not have been the choice he wanted, but it was definitely the choice he needed. If he was going to be able to survive without her, he’d need to start now… no matter how hard it would be.

13

Honestly, Sincere didn’t know how in the hell he’d even gotten to the bar. He was in such a trance that he didn’t realize where he was going until he arrived. With no idea what he was even doing there, he texted Keisha and asked if she wanted to meet him for drinks and talk before heading into the bar. Sincere didn’t even bother to look in the direction of the bar to see if Sophia was at work yet. While he felt a pull to her, right now, he wasn’t ready to fully accept that.

After sitting down, he checked his phone for Keisha’s reply. She asked him how long he would be there because she was just getting off and would need about an hour. There was no part of him that wanted to go home to an empty house, so he told her that was cool.

He smelled her before he saw her, but as soon as he did see Sophia, he smiled.

“Hey,” she greeted, sitting across from him.

“Hey.”

Her smile quickly turned into a frown. “What’s wrong, Sincere?”

He swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t want to bring you down with my bullshit.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. You know how many sad stories I hear a night?”

Sincere chuckled, eyes lifting to meet hers. “My wife is dying of cancer. She left me to die alone and basically forced me to sign the divorce papers today.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sophia replied, standing and sitting next to him. As she took his hand into hers, she said, “My husband died of cancer, too.” She smiled even though her eyes were watering. “We got married while in college, and he died my first year of law school. I took it so hard that I needed a break from life, which is why I’m back in school now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s… okay. I still miss and love him like crazy, but I’m finally at peace. Now it makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

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