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Slowly, Jordan shook his head. Not even worth the energy. He turned and headed
for the door. Just for your information, I won t have you talk about my future wife like
that.
Future wife?! You bring that black
Jordan shot a finger out at his father. Watch it. I stopped before, but I can t make
the same promise if you push me further.
You marry her and you can forget all about your inheritance.
Jordan s hand froze as his mind raced. It took a moment for him to muster enough
strength to turn around and fully face his father. You re right.
The old man smiled proudly. There, you see? I knew you would come to your
senses.
Jordan shook his head. You re right. I guess I can forget my inheritance. He
nearly ripped the door open as he walked through the threshold, slamming it closed
behind him.
Once he was outside, he leaned against the wall. All of his life he had wanted to tell
his father what he truly thought of him. All of the duties, following his suggestions,
orders and manipulations didn t matter anymore because now he was on his own.
Jordan made his choice, and he felt free because of it. He knew exactly who to
thank. He quickly dialed Renee s number, but the answering machine picked up. He left a
message and continued trying to call her, but each time she didn t answer he felt more
and more dejected. He could only hope she found his note. His heart couldn t take the
idea or possibility of the alternative.
****
Renee stared out at the ocean waves crashing against the shore. Jordan was gone.
She had even called the Villa di Rossi to find out if he was there, but no answer. And no
one, not even his friends or Jake Cole had seen him before he left. It was as if he
vanished off the island.
No, he left. And without a word of goodbye or to tell her where he was going. How
could she have been so stupid?
Renee let the hot tears fall from her eyes. She felt dejected, lost. Betrayed. How
could she have let herself go so far? Say those things to a man she hadn t known long?
When all the while he probably just wanted to get her in bed and then slip away. It hurt. It
hurt so bad to realize she was just another notch on his long belt.
With a cry on her lips, Renee ripped the sheets off the bed and tossed them on the
ground. She didn t care about the flower petals that littered the floor. They were already
curling and growing brown as if they knew their purpose here was a lie.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Renee wanted to crawl up in a ball and just disappear. She had known hurt before
but never like this. Not ever like this. It was deep hurt that only numbness could heal. But
how long would it take to get over Jordan Brentwood?
The sound of her phone ringing made her jump. She couldn t talk to anyone.
Somehow she knew it was Lauren on the other end. Instead of going to see who it was,
Renee crawled down to the side of her bed, pulled her sheet over her ears and softly wept
as the machine beeped.
2 weeks later
Renee waited for her doctor to finally meet with her. It was time to finally see her
doctor, especially she had been with Jo a man. She refused to say his name or
acknowledge him. Whenever Lauren would call, she would say she didn t want to talk
about him. Her sister had told her it wasn t healthy bottling things up but she knew if she
mentioned him or talked about how much he hurt her, she would become a weeping mess
all over again. At least this would give her a chance to get off the island and onto new
surroundings to help her forget& him.
Dr. Malkia Westmore entered the room with a bright smile on her bronze heart-
shaped face. Hello, Renee. Good to see you again.
Good to see you too, Renee said mustering a smile.
How s your family doing?
Very well, thanks for asking. My nieces are growing so fast. They practically sound
like women over the phone.
Dr. Westmore chuckled. I bet. Time is flying these days. Are you going to see
Lauren before you head back home?
Renee nodded. I m going to try to, yeah. If I can pry her away from work long
enough.
Well, I won t keep you long, Dr. Westmore said as she looked over the papers in
her hand. You seem to be in good health overall. Your cycles are regular. Keep up that
swimming you re doing. I know island living has turned you into a fruit and veggie
fanatic, which is great.
Renee smiled. She sensed something was coming from the sudden change in the
doctor s voice.
There is one thing that has me concerned. Now it s small right now but it looks like
on your scans that there may be a small cyst in your uterus. It may not be anything but I
would like to run some tests to make sure it isn t malignant. Even so, we may have to go
in and remove it so it won t spread and attack any other cells in your body.
Renee felt her mouth grow dry. She had to force the words to come out of her
mouth. What caused this?
Dr. Westmore folded her hands on her lap. Many things could be the cause, food,
water, the atmosphere. It could have affected your body before moving to the island. The
thing is, Renee, it s possibly that it could stifle you having children.
There it was. The big drop she was waiting for. Renee felt as if her guts were yanked
out of her and she was just a hollow shell left over to die. She couldn t scream. Nor could
she cry. She couldn t bring up the muster enough to do either one.
Is this& permanent?
We re going to take care of this before it gets worst. There is a chance that you still
may be able to but right now the cyst is making it impossible. I m so sorry, Renee. You
have my word that we will do everything we can.
Renee forced herself to exhale slowly and nodded. I thought I had everything under
control just a few weeks ago. I had a job, food, shelter& And then a man who she
thought was her everything walked into her life and dismantled it all. Now she her future
felt dark. Empty. I d like to get this done as soon as possible, Dr. Westmore. No matter
how risky or scary, I just want this done.
Dr. Westmore nodded. I d like for you to stay in town for a while. Maybe you can
stay with your sister?
Renee shook her head. I ll check into a hotel. I just want to be alone for a while.
All right. I ll schedule you in right away to start the procedure. Please don t
hesitate to call me anytime, okay?
Okay, her words were empty and hollow, exactly the way she felt inside. In the
depths of her mind, she heard Dr. Westmore say she could get dressed but it hardly
mattered. The numbness that came over her threatened to paralyze her. And she felt it cut
deeper once the hospital door closed as the doctor left her to dress by herself.
****
Jordan entered his patient s room, Mr. Jeffers, the last one he had to see tonight
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