Page 140 of The Rules We Broke
“You had everything,” she said quietly. “And you could’ve hadanybodyyou wanted.”
Aunt Lu’s voice was steady but sad. So, so sad. “I only wanted Isaac.”
Elizabeth’s eyes filled with something sharp and broken.
“He only wanted you, too,” she said. “He cried when he found out I was pregnant.” She paused, her voice cracking. “I was his drunken mistake.”
“Isaac never drank when we were together,” Aunt Lu said, her voice laced with confusion.
Elizabeth sighed and reluctantly answered, “He was drinking because he thought you were going to break off your engagement.”
Aunt Lu’s eyes widened. We didn’t need to ask who had planted that lie.
Her chin dropped to her chest, shoulders folding inward. “I was yourfriend,Elizabeth,” she whispered.
And just like that, she had her answer. A terrible, soul-crushing answer.
Years of pain. Years of silence. All born from a lie.
I looked at the woman who had started it all. The root of so much heartbreak. Did she regret it? She had to. She certainly hadn’t gotten the life I imagine she thought those lies would give her.
Elizabeth didn’t respond to Aunt Lu. Instead, she turned and looked directly at me. “Despite what you may think,” she said, “I love my sons. They’re all I’ve ever had. I want Brady to be happy. And as much as I don’t like it,you’rewhat makes him happy.”
She paused, her voice low.
“I won’t stand in the way of that happiness.”
And just like that, she stood and began to walk out.
“Elizabeth,” I called after her.
She stopped.
“If you ever try to again . . . I won’t be the loser.”
She looked at me—hard. But didn’t say a word.
She knew.
She left.
Aunt Lu and I both exhaled, the tension finally breaking. We sat there, stunned by everything that had just unfolded.
I reached for her hands, hoping to offer some comfort. “His last thoughts were of you. He wanted me to tell you he was sorry and that he loved you.”
Aunt Lu rarely cried. But her eyes filled with tears. She cupped my cheeks in her hands, her voice trembling. “Ella Lu,” she said, “go to Brady now. And don’t letanythingcome between you.”
She didn’t need to tell me twice.
I kissed Aunt Lu’s cheek and bolted upstairs, straight to my nightstand.
I opened the little burgundy box.
Inside sat a delicate round solitaire diamond ring. Smaller than the one I wore now. But somehow, I think I loved it more.
I carefully lifted it out and placed it atop the shiny new engagement ring—two promises, ten years apart, finally side by side.
Then I noticed something tucked beneath where the ring had been. A folded piece of paper.
