Free Eternal Hearts (Incurable Hearts 2) by Ellie R Hunter Page B

write this letter Ava is thirteen years old and living in London with her aunt. I have instructed Mr Jones to make contact with her after her sixteenth birthday. Of course I am leaving her a wealthy inheritance, it won’t make up for my absence but it will help her in her life somehow. Mr Jones will be giving her all yours and your family’s details to make it easier to find you if she wishes.
    You know how much I hate this tumour coming between you and I, yet only being able to imagine our lives together with our daughter is the ultimate punishment I have faced.
    The selfish part of me hopes you don’t hate me and can understand why I did what I did, but I don’t have any right to ask that from you. Being with you every day not saying anything has been hard especially as I know I won’t be around to explain when the time comes.
    You will probably assume Henry and Rose knew about Ava but I assure you they don’t. I have carried this secret with me since the day she was born, ninth of July 1996. I envy the future you both have, here’s to the next chapter in your life babe.
     
    Love your Jas xxx
     
    I took a large gulp of whiskey and wiped my eyes. I didn’t know if I was mad at Jas for not telling me or mad at myself for not being mad at Jas, for understanding how she felt. She wasn’t a bad person, she thought she was doing the best thing for everyone. Could I blame her for that? My head was absolutely shot to pieces, I couldn’t think straight. I sat drinking from the bottle, telling myself I was thinking things through but in reality I just sat there numbing the pain I constantly felt. For the last three years I have been lost without the woman who means everything to me, she withheld the most important secret she had from me, now that secret is staying at my mother’s house and I feel more lost than I did when Jas died. I have the support of my family, but it isn’t the same as what it would have been like if Jas was still around.
    I never made it to bed, I was numb enough before I started on the whiskey, now I don’t think I could have made it up the stairs if I tried.
     
     
     
    The whiskey done nothing to take the edge of the pain last night, its effect was less and less these days. I don’t think I am strong enough to be the one to help Ava put the pieces together of the life she should have had. However, as always I was kidding myself if I were going to let it be anyone else who helped her, even if the pain feels like it is going to kill me.
    “Morning boss, the foundations are ready” Jase said walking into the kitchen as I was making a fresh coffee.
    “Good, you survived the day without me then?” I mocked.
    “Not with Ava today?” he asked , helping himself to a mug of coffee.
    “ I’m going to see her later, I need to sort you lot out before I go anywhere” I joked.
    “I’m sure we can handle it, we know what we’re doing you know. You holding back?”
    It was times like this when I missed the old Jase, he was too observant nowadays.
    “It’s not that, Christ, I don’t know how to be a father,” I admitted.
    “You’ll figure it out because you’re a good guy and well, because you have to. You have a chance to make up for all those years,” he said.
    “She wants to know about Jasmine, everything about her” I told him.
    “She is bound to, could you imagine not knowing your mum and then finding out she is dead?”
    “I don’t think I can be the one to tell her” I admitted.
    “Of course you will be the one, I know you and you won’t let her down”
    He had a point, I want her to know about Jas the way I knew her, the only person who can do that is me. I exhaled loudly and grabbed my coffee.
    “Come on, let’s get some work done before you want to start painting my nails,” I teased, laughing as I headed for the back door.
    “Whatever” he said, following behind.
    Everyone had their jobs for the day, just because I owned the company didn’t mean I didn’t get my