Mary was shaky with unshed tears, "Please, check on Anne. Don't let her cope alone."
The cemetery lay in the serene outskirts, dusk creeping over the horizon. Leanne sat on the grass in front of a tombstone, lost in the photograph of a young couple in love. Her life flashed before her eyes, a life altered since she was six.
She recalled the arguments of her aunt and uncle through a door, the peace pendant broken by a bully at the orphanage, the days she tiptoed around the Richardson family... She also recollected the smiling face of Mary who called her darling with her rough yet tender touch but always scolded Curtis whenever he picked on her...
But Curtis appeared in her memories the most.
His handsome features, his annoyingly endearing ways, the warmth of his embrace, and those carefree days in Iceland...
It dawned on Leanne why Chuck had said finding the killer would do her no good.
Because it would shatter the life she now had.
If the price was losing the person who loved her most in this world, was it worth relentlessly pursuing the truth, no matter the consequences?
Leanne was suddenly lost too. Should she just stay snug within her bubble, continuing as Mrs. Richardson?
Perhaps a façade of peace was better than the chaos that would follow its shattering.
The air in the suburbs was fresher than in the city. Curtis stood by the roadside, borrowing a cigarette from Jake.
Jake hesitated, pulling out his cheap pack. Was it overstepping to advise Curtis against smoking?
"Are you trying for a baby with Leanne, aren't you?" he ventured.
Curtis remained expressionless as he replied, "Not smoking would kill me."
Jake quickly handed him the cigarette and lit it for him.
The harsh tobacco hit Curtis hard, the taste acrid.
He gazed towards the distant hills, the sky transitioning from amber to a deep blue, the path to the cemetery almost swallowed by darkness.
It was getting dark and she hadn't come down yet.
Curtis stubbed out the cigarette and started walking towards her.
Leanne didn't know how long she had been sitting there. The tombstones seemed eerie in the dim light, the silence unnerving, yet she felt no urge to leave.
It was as if she was punishing herself, making amends to her parents in this futile way.
When Curtis found her, she was sitting motionless in front of a dark tombstone, almost meditative.
He crouched down, gently touching her lifeless face, "Let's go home."
Obediently, she stood and followed him past the rows of solemn tombstones, down the steps.
Curtis had asked the wrong question that day. It wasn't about her choice to leave him but whether he deserved to have her stay.
He wanted to ask her if he left everything about the Richardson family behind, could they be together? But he knew he couldn't.
He was raised amidst the luxury and privilege of the Richardson family. His body, his talents, his capabilities, and even his character were products of his parents, of the Richardson upbringing. All was built on the deaths of Joseph and Rose.
Their blood nourished the soil of his childhood. These were not things he could cast off.
Back at Leanne's Castle, after a shower, Leanne lay on the bed, her dark hair spread across the pillow, staring blankly at the curtains.
Curtis wrapped his arms around her from behind, with the light casting a soft glow. He whispered against her hair, "Leanne, no matter where we are, I will never stop loving you."
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