Hidden Hills (29 page)

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That night, Claire walked through every room of her home. Each room held memories of Mark and she savored each one, bittersweet though they were. Finally, tears streaming down her face, she reached her bedroom where a framed picture of the two of them rested on her nightstand. She picked up the photograph and sat on the bed next to her open suitcase, tracing the lines of Mark's face with her finger.

“I love you, babe,” she whispered. “I always will.”

She took a shirt out of her suitcase, gently wrapped it around the picture, and nestled it among the folded clothes.

She rose and stepped into her walk-in closet. On the far wall was a safe. She undid the combination lock — their wedding anniversary — and opened the door. Then she slowly slipped her wedding ring off her left hand, placed it in the safe, and closed the door.