Daniel, the ring on my finger, were plastered everywhere. The headlines screamed abo

nstop with calls and texts f

niel Sterling' s nu

more steady than I felt. "I want to g

ly. There was no room f

Sterli

sal was made and accepted in front of two hundred of the ci

it was a whim! A reaction to wh

real to the rest of the world. Retracting it now would

out now would make me

gest we do?" I aske

ke this official and put all the rumors to rest, our families need to meet. I' ve alrea

? This was moving at lightning speed. I was

would come crawling back. I thought about the years of being

s escape, but an escape nonetheless. What did I ha

d myself say. "

k like a suburban McMansion. Daniel' s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, greeted us at the door personally. The

s. Sterling said, taking my hands in hers. Her smile

ed about my work, my interests. They listene

ntrast to my first din

o nervous, trying so hard to impress his mother, a

Mrs. Turner had looked me up and down and said, "

t, she had cut me off. "Jane, you run a small gallery. We'

e and changed the subject. He never stood up for me. Not once. He had left me to be tor

ng room, feeling their genuine kindness, the last vest

on. I would marr