A Day Tea Die For
Page 12
It all sounded familiar. I told myself the same things again and again.
“I spent a lot of time torturing myself with guilt for things Chloe had done,” I told her. “She committed atrocities and I somehow was left feeling guilty about them. I don’t want to do that anymore. You shouldn’t either.”
She broke down in tears and reached out to hug me. I squeezed her tight.
“Thank you for calling 911. You saved our lives. You did something good today. Thank you so very much.”
Epilogue
I peered through the bay window of the honeymoon suite. Down below, the wedding guests were beginning to take their seats.
Beautiful satin bows were tied behind every chair, which made the entire wedding look so delicate.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Karen scolded from behind me.
I smiled. “I’m just peeking.”
“No. You promised you won’t be the event planner for your own wedding. Stop trying to micromanage. I’ve got this. It’s going to be a beautiful day. And, oh, Diana, you’re such a beautiful bride.”
I kissed her cheek. “Thank you for all this. You did an amazing job. I’m so happy.”
Karen and I were always close, but all the events that had unfolded solidified our bond in a way I couldn’t have predicted. After I helped the police catch Chloe, Karen was released from prison. She was so grateful to me.
When I told her that the Ivory Rose had closed for good, she convinced me to reopen it. She insisted that Chloe had taken enough from us, that she didn’t deserve to have the Ivory Rose too. With her support and the support of Ervin and Aunt Jolene, I decided to move forward.
Ervin was, to my surprise, just as eager for me to reopen as Karen. Although it took a while until he got back on his feet to help with hotel activities. His gunshot wound was not serious, but he still had to take it easy for a few weeks. I spent every day with him in the hospital. On most days, my mom stayed with me, keeping me company and comforting me the same way she had when I was a child.
I decided not to turn her in for attempting to taint the food at the grand reopening with poison. I was still hurt, but I didn’t want to see my mother in jail, and she showed me a real willingness to change.
One of the biggest changes she made was deciding to move back to Shadow Creek. She gave up her modeling agency and the life of luxury to reconnect with me. She still wore most of her old designer clothes, but I convinced her to stop buying anything new. She had adjusted her budget and I helped her out financially.
When I turned to the window again for another peek, I heard her voice. “Sweetheart, you look lovely.”
I grinned as she and Aunt Jolene stepped into the room.
“You like my dress?” I asked as I twirled. The soft lace fabric came gently off the floor. I felt like one of the princesses from the books she used to read to me.
“It’s stunning,” she said. “I’m so glad you decided to go with Carol’s Designs.”
She had helped me choose a designer for my dress, and I had no regrets. The experience helped us bond.
Aunt Jolene came up to hug me. “You’re going to make me cry, darling.”
“Don’t cry.” I wrapped my arms around her. “You’ll make me cry as well.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best. I’m just so proud of you. You deserve every ounce of happiness you get with Ervin. You’ve worked so hard and achieved so much.”
She wasn’t lying. Since I got back to the hotel, I did everything I could to shift our reputation. And with Chloe out of the way, it was finally working. I’d had four major events in the last year, and they were all unforgettable.
But I didn’t want to ignore the Ivory Rose’s past, especially not Donny’s death. I wanted my friend to be remembered forever. So, I had a beautiful stone memorial put in the botanical garden for all the victims of Chloe’s crimes.
I frequently went to that memorial to gain a bit of peace. I mourned the lives we had lost, but I no longer carried the guilt of the murders. It was unproductive and I didn’t think Donny would have wanted me blaming myself. I consciously set the intention that I wanted to spend the rest of my life being as happy as possible.
As hellish as my time with Chloe had been, I was so happy now. I was marrying the love of my life, owned a beautiful hotel, had my mother and my aunt by my side, and worked with my best friend. There was no better life for me.
It put me at peace knowing that Chloe was in prison. She was sentenced to life just six months ago. And in a weird way, her public arrest and incarceration helped to clear up the hotel’s name. There were no more silly rumors about curses. People weren’t scared to come to the hotel anymore. It was clear that behind the tragedies was one single deranged person, and she would never be at the hotel again.
Her mother ended up in a nice home for the elderly after proving to be so depressed by what her daughter did that she couldn’t take care of herself. I made sure to visit her on a weekly basis. Without her, we would never have caught Chloe. I was forever in her debt.
I glanced at myself in the vanity mirror. “Do you think Ervin will like the dress?”
“I know he’ll love it,” Ervin said from the doorway.
“Hey,” Karen yelled. “No seeing the bride before the wedding.”
“I couldn’t help it.” Ervin laughed. “I can’t stay away from this woman for five minutes. I had to come tell you happy wedding day, my love.”
I didn’t care about superstitions. I rushed into his arms. “Happy wedding day, Ervin.”
He gave me a kiss.
“That isn’t supposed to come until you say I do,” my mom called out. Everyone else just laughed.
Aunt Jolene winked at me, then took my mother by the arm. “Come on, let’s give our bridal couple a little privacy, shall we?”
Everyone listened except Clover, who peeked his head out from under the bed.
“Okay, Clover, I guess you can stay. But no getting on my dress. The orange hair is going to really stick out.”
He meowed as if to agree with me.
“Are you ready for this?” Ervin asked. “No cold feet?”
“Are you kidding?” I placed a palm on his cheek. “I’ve loved you since we were kids. I’ve never had a relationship like this before.”
It was true. Ervin was the only man who ever truly protected me. He had actually put his body in front of a gun for me. Not many brides can say they know their groom would die for them, but I can.
When I thought I was going to die, the only thing I could think of was Ervin. I only ever wanted him to have a wonderful life. I was so glad he would get to spend that life with me instead of without me.
I sighed. “I just wish my father could have been here to see this. But I’m comforted knowing how much he liked you when we were growing up.”
“And he’d be so proud of you, Diana. You may have entered the hotel industry, but you’re a detective in your soul. You will always be your father’s daughter. Though…”
“Though what?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Though I hope there are no more murder cases in your future.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m retired. For us, babe, it’s going to be all peace from here on out.”
He kissed my forehead. “I believe that. Thank you for everything you did. I know there were times when I doubted you, and that was wrong of me. You have such great instincts and you always knew what was going on. I’m glad such a smart, clever, analytical woman is about to become my wife.”
“You better be. You’re a pretty lucky guy.”
“That I am, that I am,” he joked.
And I was lucky too. For all the pain I’d gone through in my life, I finally felt like I’d earned every bit of happiness.
I intended to enjoy every second of my wedding and every minute of the rest of my life.
THE END
Thank you for reading A Day Tea Die For. If you enjoyed the book, please take time to review.
To
be the first to know about Elle's updates and new releases, join her mailing list HERE.
Connect with Elle Dalton
Follow Elle on Facebook