The rain began to pour the exact second the casket started its descent into the earth. It felt as if the sky itself was mourning Olivia Walker—the woman Andrew had shared twenty-eight years of his life with. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself. Andrew stood motionless at the edge of the grave, ignoring the icy water running down his face, masking the few stray tears he couldn’t hold back.
A tight circle of people surrounded him: business partners, old acquaintances, and distant relatives he hadn’t seen in a decade. They had all gathered to honor the wife of a successful man, but Andrew knew the truth—most were there to see him. They wanted to see how the most influential man in the county would handle the loss of his partner.
— “Mr. Walker,” Steve, his long-time driver, said softly, touching his shoulder. — “The car is ready. We can head out whenever you’re set.”
Andrew gave a short nod but didn’t move. He stared at the fresh mound of earth and the white lilies Olivia had loved so much, trying to fix the image of her face in his mind.
Strangely, her image felt blurred, like a reflection in moving water. The last five years of her grueling battle with cancer had erased the Olivia he used to know. He had seen her exhausted and frail for so long that he’d almost forgotten the woman she was before: vibrant, laughing, with those deep dimples when she smiled.
The crowd began to thin. People approached, gave a firm handshake, and whispered practiced condolences. Andrew nodded automatically, barely hearing them. One thought kept echoing in his mind: he was now completely alone. They’d never had children.
The doctors had given them the news early in their marriage: Olivia couldn’t conceive. They hadn’t given up for years, flying to specialists in Boston and even trying a holistic retreat in the mountains. Andrew, a pragmatist, hadn’t believed in the latter, but he couldn’t say no to her.
None of it worked. Over time, he grew used to the quiet house, but Olivia never quite shook the guilt. He often wondered if that lingering sadness, that unfulfilled motherhood, had been what finally wore her health down. She seemed to fade from a quiet, internal heartbreak long before the illness took over.
— “It’s time,” Steve reminded him gently…
