“Are you sure?” she finally asked. “People won't understand.”
Edward looked at her gently.
“They don't have to understand everything,” he replied. “But I want us to be honest with each other.”
Amara thought about the man who had listened to her, respected her, and made her feel that her thoughts mattered.
For once, she decided not to make a life decision based entirely on other people's expectations.
She said yes.
A Wedding Surrounded by Whispers
Their wedding was small and intimate.
There were no extravagant celebrations designed to impress strangers. There were flowers, a few invited guests, and two people who believed they had found something meaningful in an unexpected place.
Still, the whispers began almost immediately.
Some people were convinced that Amara had married Edward for his money. Others suggested that he had been manipulated in his grief.
People who had never sat with Edward through a lonely evening claimed to know his motivations. People who had never spoken honestly with Amara decided they understood hers.
The more the couple tried to live quietly, the more others seemed determined to turn their marriage into a public debate.
Amara was hurt, but she refused to spend every day defending herself against people who had already made up their minds.
She knew that a marriage required more than public approval. It required honesty, mutual respect, and the freedom for both people to make their own choices.
Ten days after the wedding, however, something happened that would stay with her for the rest of her life.
The Locked Drawer
One afternoon, Amara was organizing Edward's study.