“I trusted you completely.”
“No.” My voice finally broke. “You trusted your plan.”
Matthew didn’t defend himself.
For the first time since I’d known him, he looked genuinely lost.
“I never wanted your success.” He whispered the sentence almost to himself. “I wanted you to see what I saw.”
I shook my head.
“You never gave me permission to fail.”
“You trusted your plan.”
The silence that followed felt endless.
Then Matthew walked back to the cedar chest.
From the very bottom, he removed one final notebook.
Unlike the others, it wasn’t full.
Only the first page had writing.
He handed it to me.
My hands shook as I read.
When Ashley finally believes she doesn’t need me anymore… my job is finished.
Unlike the others, it wasn’t full.
My heartbeat slowed.
“The plan,” I whispered.
Matthew nodded.
“I said, ‘My plan is about to work. Ashley finally believes she doesn’t need me anymore. My job is finished.’”
