I ordered her tombstone to be inscribed with the following: “His ex-wife and former mate.”
Just as everyone else who’d wondered at my relation to Amber, the engraver had been shocked when I told him what the tombstone had read. I kicked myself again and again for hiding Amber away, for keeping her hidden. Nobody pressed me for details.
I think they could read my heartbreak on my face.
Rory, though, couldn’t forgive me. My closest friend, my only opponent, fell into a deep slumber. I couldn’t wake him from his rest.
He was heartbroken, too.
I couldn’t stand staying at the home Amber had made for us. All of the effort I’d ignored when she was alive was amplified by her death. I couldn’t stand looking at the sofa cover I’d spent so many nights lounging on next to her, not appreciati
