Chapter 63. The Cost of Sacrifice

Jacob

[Flashback continues]

Her words resonated strangely within the confines of those bygone walls, walls that Evelyn had painstakingly mended. Regrets, it seemed, were remarkably easy to cling to, weren’t they? Especially when you begin to lose those things most dear to you.

“It might appear that she has it all with you now, Jacob,” Danica began, her voice tinged with a note of caution, “but mark my words, regrets will come knocking. She’s young, caught in the whirlwind of her emotions. In time, when reason takes hold, when she begins to depend on her mind rather than her impulses, she’ll realize what she’s missing. And, Jacob, I’m sorry to say this, but why would you want her to bear the burdens that haunt your life? Your crazy ex is a constant headache, always after you, showing up everywhere you go, your uncles still hound you for money, you still haven’t recovered from those incidents in your youth, and your scars…they still run deep, perhaps too deep