"I wanted to write you love letters, but you were a bit too dense, so I had to settle for writing study notes," Bet teased with a smile.


    In reality, Yvonne''s grades had never been poor; the entrance scores for the police academy were aspetitive as any top-tier university''s.


    Butpared to a genius like Bet, she had always felt a little slow.


    For the same problem, he could find multiple solutions while she struggled to find even one. He could memorize a page of notes after one reading, while she had to study it for hours.


    "You must have looked down on me back then, didn''t you?" Yvonne said with a pout.


    "Not at all. Mostly, I was just worried our kids would inherit your intelligence," he joked, raising an eyebrow.


    Yvonne''s hand, holding the book, tightened, and the smile on her face faded. "If I hadn''t died, our child would be almost old enough for school by now."


    She had chosen her career as a police officer and had to ept the consequences. She had never regretted her choice, but it was a life filled with so many what-ifs.


    Before she could dwell on the sadness, Bet pulled her onto hisp.


    Yvonne let out a small gasp and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.


    Their eyes met, his dark and shining with a deep intensity. "Just grow up a little faster. When you turn twenty, we''ll get married. A few years after that, our child will be ready for school. For you, I can wait."


    To Bet, her return was nothing short of a miracle.


    His life, once devoid of hope, now had a future to look forward to.


    Yvonne nestled against his chest, her longshes fluttering.


    Perhaps she had returned to the world of the living because there were too many people she cared for, too many things left undone, And she chose to retrace her steps rather than move on.


    "Bet..." Yvonne pressed her cheek against his chest, but before she could


    speak, Monica''s voice echoed down the hallway.


    "Yvonne, Bet,e down for dinner..." Monica walked into the room just in time to see Yvonne scramble off Bet''sp in a panic.


    Yvonne looked like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, her eyes wide and anxious as she looked at her mother.


    Bet, however, was perfectlyposed, his gaze calm as he met Monica''s. "Monica."


    "You two..." Monica stared at them, stunned.


    "We''re together," Bet said, his voice serious. "We n on getting married."


    Monica''s reaction mirrored Mrs. Moore''s. After a moment of shock, a smile spread across her face, and she nodded.


    "It''s good that you''re together. After you broke up with the Walker girl we were genuinely worried you''d be a bachelor forever. Now that you''re.


    with Yvonne, we can


    he, we can finally rest


    easy."


    Then she added a gentle warning, "Yvonne is a good, sweet girl. If you dare bully


    her, don''t me me for getting rough with you."


    "You have my word, I won''t," Bet promised solemnly.


    Monica smiled and nodded, then reached out for Yvonne''s hand as she always had. "Let''s go down for dinner," she said lovingly. "The raviel will get cold. We know you''re allergic to seafood so today''s are pork and chive. It''s Mrs. Moore''s specialty-they''re so delicious they''ll knock your socks off."


    Monica led Yvonne out of the room and down the stairs.


    Bet followed close behind them.


    In the first-floor hall, the dining table was alreadyden with a holiday feast, all of it


    Mrs. Moore''s handiwork, a symphony of color, aroma, and vor.