Chapter 275 At the Cemetery

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Nancy took Yardley to the cemetery for the first time.

She had been putting it off for months. Not because she did not want him to meet her parents.

But because meeting them meant facing everything she had been running from.

The cemetery sat on a hill outside town. Quiet. Peaceful. The only sounds were wind and birds and an occasional car on the highway below.

Two headstones stood side by side. Simple. Gray.

No fancy engravings. Just names and dates. Grace Miller. Asher Miller.

That was all.

Nancy placed a bundle of wildflowers between the two stones. Store bought. Nothing special.

"Hey, Mom," Nancy said quietly. "Hey, Dad. I know it has been a while."

She paused. What was she supposed to say?

She did not remember their voices. She did not remember the way her mom laughed or the way her dad smelled after work.

She had fragments. Impressions. Nothing solid.

But she remembered what happened to them.

"The man who hurt you," she said. "He is not going to hurt anyone else. Not ever again."

Yardley stood a few feet back. He gave her space. He knew this was her moment.

He had spent the last few weeks digging into Xander’s past.

Not because he wanted to ruin him. But because Nancy had told him enough for him to know something was wrong.

So he pulled the threads. And the whole thing unraveled.

Here was what Yardley found.

Grace Miller found out about the deal between Nancy and Xander. She did not know all the details, but she knew enough to know it was wrong. She told Nancy to stop. She said no good would come from helping a man like that.

Xander found out about the conversation. He went to Grace directly. He told her to back off. He said if she kept interfering, Nancy would be the one to suffer. Not him. Not Grace. Nancy.

Grace believed him. She was afraid. She did not want to be the reason her daughter got hurt.

So she made a choice.She killed herself.

Asher Miller’s car crash was not an accident either.

Xander wanted to send a message. He wanted to scare Asher into backing off. He told the mechanic to cut the brake line just enough to cause a small accident. A warning. Nothing more.

But the mechanic cut too deep. Asher hit a curve at forty miles an hour. He did not survive.

The cops called it mechanical failure. The case was closed in three days.

But Yardley found the mechanic. The guy was still working at the same shop. Still had the same guilty conscience. He broke after ten minutes of questioning.

Two deaths.One man responsible.

And now that man was sitting in a Council holding cell, waiting to find out if he would ever see the sun again.

Yardley stepped forward. He knelt down beside Nancy and placed his hand on Asher’s headstone. The stone was cold. Rough under his fingers.

"Mom, Dad," Nancy said. She took a breath. "This is Yardley. My husband."

The word still caught in her throat every time she said it.

"I know I should have brought him here sooner. I am sorry it took me this long. "

Yardley looked at the headstone.

"Mr. and Mrs. Miller," His voice was low. Steady. "I wish I could have met you. I wish things had been different. But I want you to know that your daughter is not alone anymore. She has me. And she has a family now. A real one."

He paused.

"And I will bring her here every year. As long as I am alive. That is a promise."

Nancy’s head turned. She looked at him sideways.

She did not say anything. Neither did he.

They stayed there for a long time. The wind moved through the trees.

A crow called out somewhere in the distance. The sun climbed higher over the valley.

Finally, Nancy stood up. Her knees were wet from the grass. She brushed them off.

Yardley stood up next to her.

They walked back down the hill together.

His hand found hers halfway down the path. She did not pull away.

---

The highway stretched ahead of them, gray and endless. Nancy stared out the window, replaying what Yardley said at the cemetery.

Every year.

Like it was obvious. Like they had a future together.

She could not hold it in anymore.

"Yardley."

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you are okay with everything? With what I did back then?"

He did not answer right away. "It is in the past," he said.

"That is not an answer."

"You already told me you like me," he said. A hint of a smile in his voice.

Nancy blinked. "I did not say that."

"You did not say no."

She stared at him. She had no comeback.

"Your turn," she said. "Do you like me?"

He did not hesitate. "Yeah. I do. I have for a long time."

Nancy’s breath caught. She turned to look at him, but he was already looking at the road.

"Then why did you do all of this?"

"Because I like you. That is why."

Her heart pounded. She turned back to the window and let the silence settle.

She knew now. She had liked him back then. She had loved him. That was why she kept the baby. That was why she left him. Not because Xander told her to. But because she could not keep lying to someone she actually cared about.

The guilt must have been unbearable. She loved him. And that love cost her everything. That was why she blocked it out. Her mind could not handle the weight.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cold glass.

"I am going to tell my father," Yardley said.

Nancy opened her eyes. "What?"

"About Orion. That you are his biological mother."

Her stomach tightened. "What if he cannot handle it? He is not young anymore."

"He will be fine. He is stronger than you think."

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