Too late Mr cross

Elena It was drizzling. Everyone stood under their umbrellas. The atmosphere was heavy, soaked in sadness. I had cried so much it felt like the tears in my eyes had finally dried up. Damien stood at the far end. He looked calm, composed, but I knew he was breaking on the inside. This was his father’s burial. His mother held his hand, her eyes red from crying. Most of the people here didn’t know Richard like I did. They were his business partners, and a few were his family. Richard was like the father I never had. He was kind, caring, understanding. He paid for my mother’s cancer treatment until her last breath. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to go to college. But now I was here, watching him get buried. I would never see him again. It broke every single part of my heart. I tightened my grip on the umbrella when Richard’s body was being lowered into the ground. I didn’t know when the tears came back. They blurred my vision. When the grave was covered, everyone started leaving one after the other, but my feet stayed rooted to the ground. I couldn’t move. A part of me still didn’t want to believe he was gone. It felt unreal. Just a month ago, he had been at my college graduation, smiling like nothing could ever touch him, and a stupid heart attack had taken him away from me. Everyone had left, but Damien still stood in the exact spot. Slowly, he walked to the freshly covered grave and placed a flower on it. I walked toward him, placing my hand on his shoulder. He flinched. He stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then a tear slipped from his eyes. Without another word, he walked away. Everyone processed grief differently, and I knew Damien didn’t speak. Maybe that was his way of coping. I just didn’t know what to do to help him. I stared at the headstone. Why did you have to leave so soon? I whispered into nothing. After a moment, I turned around and walked away. I walked back into the mansion. The entire family was there, all of them grieving in their own way. I tried talking to Damien again, but he was with his mother and another man, so I just stood in a small corner, watching everyone interact. The piano filled the living room with the soft sound of Amazing Grace. Damien’s mother clinked her glass after a while, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “Today,” she said, her voice heavy with sadness, “Richard has been laid to rest. He had been battling a serious heart condition for years, and I never thought we would lose him this soon. But the deed has been done.” She paused, struggling to hold herself together, but tears still rolled down her cheeks. Damien walked to her and pulled her into a hug. She broke down against his shoulder, and he held her tightly. God, I wanted to help. I wanted to do something—anything—but I just stood there in that small corner. I took my seat when his biography was about to be read. Everyone went quiet, listening intently. Most of them were crying. I didn’t cry. I just felt a different kind of pain—one that made it hard to breathe, like it was pulling the air right out of my lungs. The same pain I felt when I lost my mom. When it was over, I gathered all the courage I had and walked up to him. “Hey,” I said weakly, offering a small smile. “How are you?” “Not good.” I pulled him into a hug. My arms tightened around him as he sobbed. “I’m really sorry,” I whispered. “I know how close you were to your dad. I miss him too.” “Oh my God, Damien!” a loud voice called from behind me. Damien pulled away immediately and walked quickly toward a woman in a silver sparkling dress. She pulled him into a hug, and the way he held her made my heart ache even more. “Who’s that?” someone beside me whispered. Another lady replied, “That’s his girlfriend.” “What?” I murmured to myself. He has a girlfriend… and I didn’t know. This was my cue. I picked up my bag and headed for the door, planning to leave quietly. No one needed to know. But before I could reach it, Mrs. Cross walked up to me. “Elena,” she said warmly. “Hi, Ms. Cross,” I replied, offering a small smile. She took both my hands in hers. “How are you doing?” I heard the concern in her voice. “I should be the one asking you that.” “Nonsense,” she said softly. “I saw you outside. I know how much Richard meant to you. He meant a lot to all of us.” I said, and we stared quietly at each other for a moment. “Where were you going?” she asked, lifting a brow. “Um… I was going home. Everyone here is family, and my presence isn’t really that important.” “Oh, sweetheart.” She pulled me into a hug. “Of course you’re important.” “The lawyer just arrived, and the will is about to be read,” she added. “That’s even more reason I need to go,” I said. She shook her head. “You should stay. Maybe he left you something.” I let out a small, awkward laugh. “No, he didn’t.” “He loved you like a daughter, Elena. I’m sure he did.” Without warning, she took my hand again. “Come sit.” Everyone was quiet as the lawyer began reading the will. I wasn’t really paying attention because I knew Richard loved me, but why the hell would he leave me something in his will? My mother had been the cook before she died. It didn’t make any sense. My gaze kept drifting to Damien and the woman in the sparkly dress. They held hands, and just that sight broke me. “The company,” the lawyer said, “would be sold and the money given to charity.” Gasps erupted in the entire room. The lawyer continued. “If my son does not marry Elena Williams.”