Chapter 10: Breaking the Engagement

"Saving a life is more virtuous than building a church."

"Rachel is a good girl. Linda Parker, after breaking the engagement, you must not slander her again."

"If I find out you’re spreading rumors about the Smith family, I won’t let you off."

The town mayor was also named Smith, so he naturally stood on our side. He puffed his chest, using the weight of his office to tip the scale.

Under his insistence, my mother-in-law got nothing extra. The law—at least here—favored fairness, if not kindness.

My family returned the engagement gifts as they were, and Michael Parker and I each took back the keepsakes we had exchanged. The charm bracelet he’d given me felt heavy in my palm, its links now cold and meaningless.

Looking at Michael’s tightly pressed lips, my heart ached with pain. I saw regret flicker in his eyes, but the distance between us had grown too wide.

This man had been my husband all my life. His habits, his dreams, even his cologne—I knew them all by heart.

We were engaged when I was fifteen—I never thought of marrying anyone else. The future had seemed certain, mapped out in church programs and family photo albums.

I served him dutifully for my whole life. I loved him, I resented him, but I never thought of leaving him.

After today, we would be strangers. Two lives untangled, the threads snipped clean.

I would once again spend my life with a man I’d only met a few times. The thought left me numb—no love story, just obligation and survival.

First you follow your daddy’s rules, then your husband’s. That’s just how it goes around here.

Parents’ orders, the matchmaker’s words. As a woman, I never had a choice. I traced the grain of the porch rail, searching for answers in the worn wood.

"Rachel."

Michael called out to me, his expression complicated, with a hint of familiarity. He rubbed the back of his neck—something he always did when he was scared. His voice shook, but he tried to hide it behind a cough.

"For the sake of—well, for old times’ sake, if you ever have difficulties, you can come to me."

"I’ll help you once, but only once."

"From now on, take care of yourself."

I looked up suddenly, staring at him, a storm raging in my eyes. Everything I’d carried for so long threatened to spill over.

So, it wasn’t just my mother-in-law and me who had been given a second chance. The knowledge settled between us, heavy and bittersweet.

So, Michael no longer wanted me either. His eyes slid away, shame and longing fighting for control.