Part 2Love Was No Match for Convention

Margaret's voice pulled me out of my memories.

"Yvonne, James came back with Wendy. They're planning to get married next month."

I nodded. "I know. I ran into them at the hospital earlier."

Panic flashed across Margaret's face. "What... what did James say to you?"

"Nothing. He just congratulated me on getting what I deserved." My voice was flat.

Margaret flushed, then went pale. She took a deep breath, as though she'd finally made up her mind.

"Yvonne, I know I've wronged you." Her voice dropped. "But the Zane family never would have recovered these past five years without the Shaw family's support.

"I came here today because I still need to ask you for something." At last, she got to the point.

"James has never completely gotten over you. But he and Wendy have finally made it this far. The wedding can't afford any more complications.

"If James finds out the truth about what happened back then, if he finds out you were actually sick when you left him, I'm afraid he..."

She stopped short. There was a plea in her eyes, along with a faint hint of threat.

"So could you try to stay away from James for a while?

"Besides, with you in this condition, the doctors said you don't have much time left. Wouldn't it be better to stay home and rest?"

My head snapped up.

Margaret looked away. She pulled a thick envelope from her purse and pushed it toward me.

"There's $20,000 in here. Take it. Consider it compensation from me."

I stared at the envelope, my throat tightening.

Five years ago, I hadn't taken her money. All I'd asked was that she help me hide my illness from James and let me bear it alone.

Five years later, she was still trying to send me away with money, this time to make sure her son's marriage went smoothly and the Zane family remained stable.

Maybe in her eyes, I had always been nothing more than an insignificant orphan girl who could be bought off.

Suddenly, I felt exhausted. So exhausted I didn't even have the strength to force a smile.

"Take the money back." My voice was dry. "James already gave me $100,000."

Margaret froze. The look in her eyes grew even more complicated. There was surprise, but also relief.

"That's good. James has always been softhearted." She paused. "Then... about what I said..."

"Don't worry." I cut her off and looked out at the gray sky beyond the window.

"I won't go looking for him. I won't interfere with his life, and I won't ruin his wedding."

I paused. It took almost all my strength to keep my voice steady.

"I wish him a happy marriage and a lifetime of happiness with Wendy."

Margaret had gotten the promise she wanted, and the tension left her face.

She offered a few more empty words of concern, then got up and left.

The moment the door closed, all the strength seemed to drain out of me. I collapsed onto the couch.

A violent wave of nausea rolled through my chest. I covered my mouth and rushed into the cramped bathroom, where I bent over the toilet and retched hard.

Nothing came up. Only involuntary tears blurred my vision.

The painkillers seemed to have worn off. That familiar gnawing pain began creeping through my bones again.

I looked at the hollow-eyed, painfully thin woman in the mirror and forced a smile uglier than crying.

Yvonne Young, look at you.

This is your punishment.

But if you had the chance to do it all over again, would you have made any other choice?

There was no right answer.