Chapter 24

After Preston’s passing, Cedric visited the Norwood residence weekly with the children so they could spend time with Louis. An unspoken agreement seemed to exist; no one mentioned Preston’s name. To Clarissa and Jamie, Preston had simply gone away, with no specified return date. However, whenever Cedric brought a cake, the girls always left a slice in the refrigerator.

The sad atmosphere in the Norwood residence gradually faded. Clarissa and Jamie, on the other hand, grew increasingly mischievous. They would turn the house upside down whenever their parents weren't paying attention.

One day, Jolene awoke from a nap to find the girls huddled in a corner, examining something. She paused, intending to startle them, but they ran to her, waving several pieces of paper.

“Mommy, who’s Starley?”

Jolene stopped. The papers looked familiar—Cedric’s love letters, hidden from her for seven years. She had searched their bedroom thoroughly, yet the girls had found them. Jolene found this amusing.

She returned the letters to their box and whispered to the girls.

When Cedric arrived, Clarissa and Jamie excitedly ran to him.

“Daddy, who’s Starley? Why did you write so many letters to her?”

Cedric’s eyebrows twitched at the sight of the letters. As he reached for them, he heard Jolene cough.

Leaning against the upstairs railing, she smiled slyly. Her expression revealed she had read the letters. Strangely, Cedric felt relieved his ten-year-old secret was out.

While the nanny took the girls outside, Cedric approached Jolene with the letters. Before he could speak, Jolene protested her innocence.

“It was your daughters who found them. I had nothing to do with it.”

Cedric embraced her, inhaling the scent of her hair. He smiled softly.

“These letters were for my Starley, after all. So, you can’t really say it has nothing to do with you.”

He was finally telling her the truth. Jolene pinched his ear.

“Be honest! When did it start? Why didn’t you tell me after we married?”

Cedric, as always, conceded first.

“I started writing those letters when you were seventeen. I fell for you when I was thirteen. Do you remember when we both had the flu? My parents were busy, so they asked your mother to care for me.

We were in the same ward. Your illness was less severe; you recovered faster. Every day, you brought me medicine or sweets. You were afraid of me, so you wouldn’t speak. You wouldn’t even wake me when I slept.

Sometimes, you’d sit by my bed for an hour. The medicine would get cold, and you’d doze off. When I woke you, you’d take the medicine and warm it up, saying cold medicine was bad for me.”

Cedric continued, “I’m quiet and reserved. My siblings and cousins were much older. Those my age were often my nieces and nephews. Most were scared of me. I was mostly alone.

You were the only one who greeted me politely. When you gave Preston gifts, you’d ask him to give me one, too. You were kind and polite, and I remembered that.

However, I knew you didn’t like me. There’s a significant age gap. So, I kept my feelings to myself. Luckily, I finally have the chance to tell you everything.”

Jolene didn’t recall the details, but Cedric’s enthusiasm brought tears to her eyes. While pursuing her own star, she hadn’t realized she was someone else’s guiding light.

She wiped her tears on his chest. In a choked voice, she asked, “Are you the Santa who always left gifts outside my dorm window at Christmas?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“The dress I wore to my eighteenth birthday party… did you put that with Preston’s gifts?”

“You figured that out, too?”

“I chose you as my arranged marriage partner.”

“I was over the moon…”