Page 140 of This Life of Mine

His response comes too quickly to be calculated. Too honest.

“I don’t know what to tell you except that I would never do such a thing.”

I fold my arms tightly across my chest. “Then why would he say it?”

“I have no idea.” His expression tightens.

“What would I possibly gain from harming you?”

I don’t give him an answer. The trust? Maybe. But even that feels thin.

David shakes his head. “You were good to Cole.”

There’s genuine sadness in his voice now. “Better than he deserved at times.”

I drop my eyes to the floor. “You don’t have to say that,” I tell him.

“I’m saying it because it’s true.”

The streetlight above us buzzes softly.

“I always hoped you’d find peace after the divorce,” he continues. “Happiness. Whatever that looked like for you.”

My stomach twists. Nothing about this feels like the man I imagined. He doesn’t feel like someone ordering my death.

“Then why wasn’t I allowed at Virginia’s funeral?” I ask quietly.

His head jerks back. “Allowed?” The confusion is immediate.

“Yes.”

“Lina, what are you talking about?”

I glare at him. “You didn’t want me there.”

His eyes widen. “That’s not true.” His answer comes instantly.

“I asked Elinor to make sure you had a place at that funeral.”

The words knock the air from my lungs. “What?”

“I was grateful you were with my mother during those last months. She cared deeply for you.”

My pulse begins to pound. “Elinor told methe familydidn’t want me there,“ I say.

David goes completely still. As if the night holds its breath with us.

“I never said that. You are family. You meant the world to my mother,” he says.

Up until now, I believe him. Completely.

A muscle jumps in his jaw. “Elinor told me you chose not to come. That…you didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“That’s not what happened,” I reply.

Understanding dawns on both of us at once. Clear and unavoidable.

David looks away toward the empty street, his expression troubled. As though he’s replaying years of conversations and finding new meaning in them. He exhales. A long, weary breath.