Page 130 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

“Darling, the minute you married one of ours, you became one of ours.”

I sniffed. “I love him. You know that?”

“Sweetheart. Anyone with half a brain in their head could see for miles around that you are absolutely crazy about him. No one is questioning that.”

“The fight we had, he ended it with me.”

A long pause. “Nope. That guy may have been afraid to admit it to himself, but if he looks deep inside, that guy loves you more than life itself.”

I wiped my tears from my cheeks. “I need him to be safe.”

“Right now, the best way you can help MacDog is by taking care of yourself.”

“Okay.”

“I gotta go, but all the guys are thinking about you. We’ve got your back.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

I hung up the phone and then looked at Beth.

She stared at me. “Well?”

“We have to go for a walk. With Chloe.”

CHAPTER 44

Twenty-three days passed.I dutifully walked Chloe twice a day. I ate the balanced and healthy meals that Beth prepared for me. I went to bed at the same time every night. I thought about Jackson constantly.

Why had our last conversation been so stupid and useless? Why hadn’t he answered his phone? Why had I read his journal?

They say that there are stages of grief. I was in the stage of bargaining. If I took care of myself, would he come back? If I agreed to leave, but he still maintained a relationship with Alien, would he survive? I was willing to bargain anything and everything if only to secure his survival.

Forbes checked in every so often. Nothing new to report. They still couldn’t get to the crash site. They didn’t know if anyone had survived the crash. They didn’t know if Jackson was in the hands of the enemy or if he was making his way out from behind enemy lines. With each day that passed, my hope faded just a tiny bit. How long would we be forced to wait until we heard news? I felt like I was in some sick limbo. Only existing. Taking care of my body and my baby but there was no joy, no laughter, no hope left in my body.

How did people survive loved ones who went missing? I started obsessing over news stories of parents whose children had been abducted. Stories about college daughters whose cars were found empty at the side of the highway, and they were nowhere to be found. I was looking for some roadmap from their families as to how to deal with coping with these terrible emotions that I seemed to be drowning in. I had no idea how to handle this, so each day became the same. One day after another. Eating, sleeping, walking and waiting. It was excruciating but at the same time, every day that I didn’t hear bad news meant that there was still hope that he was still alive.

I sat in the family room. Chloe was curled at my feet. Alien was practicing flip flops in my stomach.

Beth came in, holding the phone in front of her towards me.

“Who is it?”

She pushed it closer to me, her lips pressed tight together.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Are you Mrs. Jackson Hunter?”

“Yes.”

“You are married to Jackson Hunter?”

“Yes,” my voice was a little squeak.

“We would like to inform you that your husband has been found alive.”

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