Chapter 99

The two girls blinked twice, jaws dropped in awe as they stared at the older woman. Though she always answered the "Mrs." title in front of her name, none of them had ever taken time to think of the possibility she could be married, not to talk of having children! Perhaps there was much more to this woman than they knew.

Emerald found herself squeezing the hem of her black gown with her lean fingers. She was not sure if she was ready to revisit the dark days of her life. She had worked so hard to bury the thoughts behind her. Was she willing to return to old wounds? To peel open old scars? By the time she stopped to think far and pulled herself back to the present, she already had drops of tears rolling down her cheeks. Emerald laughed to herself, even though the girls did not join in her laughter. She pressed the back of her right palm to each of her eyes and sniffed to draw the tears back in.

So, she was doing this. She had never talked to anyone about it bef