ADVERTISEMENT
Heads turned. Whispers spread. Jason acted as if none of it registered. He led Rachel straight to the front row—Lily’s row—and sat down, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder like she was the grieving widow.
The pastor spoke of Lily’s kindness, her laughter, and the baby boy she had already named Noah. I couldn’t take my eyes off Jason, trying to understand how a man who claimed to love my sister could bring his affair partner to her funeral just weeks after she and their unborn child died.
When the final hymn ended and people began to rise, a man in a gray suit stepped forward. He appeared to be in his late fifties, calm and composed, holding a leather briefcase.
Jason’s head jerked up. “Now? We’re doing this now?” he snapped.
Mr. Hayes didn’t react. “Your wife left very clear instructions,” he said evenly. “Her will is to be opened and read today, in front of her family… and in front of you.”
“There is a section,” he continued, “that Lily specifically requested be read aloud at her funeral.”
The church in our small Texas town was heavy with the scent of white lilies and low, murmured prayers. At the front sat my sister Lily’s closed casket. She had been thirty-two weeks pregnant when she supposedly “fell” down the stairs. That was Jason’s explanation. A tragic accident. Nothing more.
My mother sucked in a sharp breath. “Is he serious?” she whispered, gripping my hand painfully tight.
ADVERTISEMENT