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“He has corporate connections Perry and Andrew ht carry even ht with you” After all, scientists could be rich, but Beatrice had neveranother one in the family

Her hed “I am not here on behalf of your brother or my husband, either”

“You’re here for my sake,” Chanel supplied with full-on sarcasm

But her mother nodded, her expression oddly vulnerable and sincere “Yes, I aether It’s special, Chanel, and I don’t want you to miss that”

“We’ve only been dating a est concern

Beatrice nodded, as if she understood completely “That’s the way it was for me and your dad We knew the first tiether for the rest of our lives”

“You stopped loving hi her?

Her mother’s eyes blazed within them “I never did”

“But you said” Pain lanced through Chanel as her voice trailed off

There were too many examples to pick only one

“He was it for me”

“You married Perry”

“I needed someone after Jacob died”

“You had me You promised ould always be a team” That broken promise had hurt worst of all

“It was too hard You were too much like hie” Heralmost defeated “You are so stubborn Just like him”

For the first time, Chanel heard the pain in those words her mother had never expressed

Some truths were just as hurtful to her “Perry hates me”

“He’s a very jealous man”

“He wasn’t jealous of h to me to make him jealous”

Sadness filled Beatrice’s eyes “No, I haven’t been He was jealous of Jacob”

“Because you never stopped loving him” Despite all evidence to the contrary

“How do you stop loving the other half of your soul?”

Finally Chanel understood a part of her childhood she’d always been mystified by She’d tried with Perry at first Really tried “Perry blamed me He took his jealousy out on me”