Page 22 of Healed Heart

“You lied for me.”

“I lied forme, Angie.Nothing will happen to you if this gets out.But I could lose my job.”

“If you go to Switzerland, you’ll have to leave your job anyway.”

He doesn’t reply.

I’m not sure what’s going through his mind.He finally mentioned Switzerland, but it was in the context of him being debt free.Not in the context of getting the surgery, which he was so excited about just days ago.

“Are we still going to Switzerland?Will you still get the surgery?”I ask him.

Jason looks at me, and the raw vulnerability in his eyes nearly breaks my heart.“I don’t know.This HR thing has thrown me off balance.I’m not sure if it’s still a viable option.”

His uncertainty rings loud in the silence that follows, and my chest tightens.I’m not frightened, exactly.Not frustrated.Just…suspended.Like I’m standing still while the rest of the world keeps moving.

Because I see it in his face.

He’s not telling me the whole truth.

“Jason…”

He huffs.“What?”

“I love you,” I say.“But this will only work if we’re completely honest with each other.”

ChapterEight

Jason

She’s right.

She no doubt knows about my past.Not from her aunt, of course.Dr.Melanie Steel is way too professional to divulge anything we talked about.

I’m not active on social media, but a simple search of me will bring up Lindsay and Julia.The accident.Lindsay’s Facebook memorial page.

Damn.I haven’t looked at that thing in a long time.Not for two years at least.Maybe longer.

It just became too painful.

Not only did my actions contribute to the death of the woman I loved—the woman I committed my life to, had a child with—but her death devastated so many others.Her family, friends.I could have handled it if I had just received condolences at her funeral.But an online forum is permanent.A constant reminder of my failure as a husband.

She slashed her wrists, but I put the razor blades in her hands.

At least, that was the going theory until I finally read that fucking suicide note.

“I know, Angie,” I admit, my voice barely a whisper.“I know, and I’m sorry.”

She looks at me then, her eyes softening as she reaches out to take my hand.Her touch is gentle, comforting, a lifeline in the storm.

“I know about Lindsay and Julia,” she says quietly.“I looked you up.After we met.”

I take a deep breath and brace myself for what always comes next.

“Whatever happened wasn’t your fault,” she says.

Her words are kind, and I’d give anything to believe them.

But they’re a falsehood.A fucking lie.