"Three days before the crash, Jackson went to his lawyers and withdrew the divorce petition," Catherine explained. "He never told anyone because he was too proud and too afraid—afraid you'd reject him, afraid you'd only stay out of pity—but he chose you, Aryyah; he chose your marriage before fate took that choice away."

The tears spilled over, and Aryyah couldn't stop them.

"I'm telling you this because I won't live to see how your story resolves," Catherine said gently. "But I need you to ...