After Elijah abandoned her, Amy didn't wait long. She married a man from the same village.
Whatever dreams she had died there. Her husband was a brute—violent, using his fists to settle arguments and his voice to demean. For twenty years, she served as his punching bag and pack mule, taking on heavy labor until she was broken in both body and spirit.
Amy Gray had swallowed twenty years of humiliation. Her liberation came only when her husband drank himself into a stupor, stumbled into the village pond, and drowned.
Not long after, Elijah Henson stood before her weathered farmhouse. He checked the address, inhaled sharply, and knocked.
The door creaked open. Their eyes met, and the world went silent.
Neither spoke. Tears welled instantly, rimming their eyes red.
Amy broke first. Her trembling hand rose to cup Elijah's face, her voice fractured. "Elijah... what took you so long?"
Her sobs intensified. "Do you know how long I've waited? You lied to me! You promised once you got into college, you'd divorce that woman and marry me. Look at me now—my hair is white, and you're only just showing up."
That woman.