Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Unfortunately for Barclay, he was born to Tabitha, and she squandered whatever potential he had.
He could’ve lived a much better life, but it was wrecked by his own useless mother.
Barclay’s resentment boiled over. “What else do you know how to do besides cry? If you’d spent half as much time actually trying as you did stealing someone else’s man and playing the victim, maybe you’d be like Aunt Geneva by now. Dad must’ve been out of his mind to pick you over her
Stan, who had been loitering outside with his own thoughts, froze when he heard that. He had been blind–he saw it now, but it was far too late.
Tabitha nearly collapsed under the weight of her son’s bitter words.
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But Rocky and Salena were too shocked and overwhelmed to even notice her.
Not long after, both Rocky and Salena’s health declined rapidly. They died still waiting for forgiveness, passing away with nothing but regret and
heartache.
Geneva showed up at their funeral–but didn’t stay long. Tabitha never even got the chance to say a word to her.
With their parents gone, whatever was left of the bond between the sisters completely vanished. Tabitha knew she’d never see Geneva again–not in this lifetime.
From that day forward, Geneva’s name lived on, distant and untouchable. Tabitha continued her plain, uneventful life, with Geneva forever out of reach.
Geneva passed away peacefully at the age of seventy–three.
By then, the students she had mentored had become rising stars in the world of science, carrying on her legacy as Astaria’s new generation of researchers.
Conrad, now an old man himself, had planned to visit Geneva that day. But when he arrived, he found her quietly resting in her armchair–already gone.
He didn’t last much longer after Geneva.
Since neither of them had ever married, and they’d spent years working closely together, people speculated endlessly about whether something deeper had existed between them.
After their deaths, the rumors only grew louder. Their story inspired movies, TV shows, and novels romanticizing a love that, in truth, never was.
Conrad had known the truth. Maybe once, long ago, he had felt something–after all, Geneva had been brilliant, beautiful, impossible not to admire.
Geneva
But he knew she didn’t feel the same. Over time, that flicker of something more had quietly faded into something else–a sense of family, a mentor’s trust, mutual respect.
In the end, the reason he never married was simple: he realized love, marriage, and children weren’t what he truly wanted. The things that others chased -happy wives, kids, perfect homes–never mattered much to him.
And if it didn’t matter, there would be no point in getting married and bringing children into the world only to leave them behind.
Larry Wheeler had grown up seeing Geneva on TV.
Every time Geneva appeared on screen, Tabitha, Larry’s grandmother, would point her out and say, “That’s your great–aunt. She’s the most accomplished person in our whole family/You should look up to her.”
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Chapter 37
Larry took those words to heart. He’d proudly tell his classmates that the country’s top scientist was his great aunt. But instead of being impre laughed at him.
Feeling humiliated, Larry went home and confronted Tabitha. “Is she really my great–aunt?”
“Of course she is,” Tabitha replied. “She’s my sister–how could I be wrong about that?”
“Then why has she never reached out to us? Why didn’t we go to her funeral? And if you two are sisters, why isn’t there even one photo of you together? Larry asked.
Tabitha froze, her face clouded with embarrassment. She had no answer.
Geneva had done so much for her country and had been admired everywhere she went. Even after her death, she was honored with a grand funeral.
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But that had nothing to do with their family. They hadn’t even been invited.
Later, in middle school, Larry was going through some old boxes and came across a small wooden chest that had belonged to his grandfather. Inside, he found something strange–a marriage certificate from decades ago.
The groom was listed as his grandfather, Stan. But the bride wasn’t his grandmother. It was Geneva, his so–called great–aunt.
Tucked among the papers was a faded, yellowing photo of Stan and Geneva together.
Larry felt like he’d stumbled across some kind of buried family secret.
He brought the papers straight to his grandparents. “You always said Geneva was my great–aunt. But she was Grandpa’s wife, right? You lied to me this whole time. Grandma, you’re the one who came between them, aren’t you? That’s why she never wanted anything to do with us.”
Stan and Tabitha sat there in silence, too ashamed to meet Larry’s eyes.
Larry saw the truth written all over their faces. “How could you be so shameless to do such a thing? No wonder Great–aunt Geneva was so wonderful but never married. It was because of how you hurt her.”
One was Geneva’s husband, the other her sister–the betrayal must have been devastating. Larry felt sorry for Geneva.
He dropped the papers and stormed out. Stan, shaking, slowly bent down to gather them up.
But the photo–his only photo with Geneva–was gone. He searched the room over and over, but it was nowhere to be found.
They’d never taken a proper wedding picture. This one–clearly a stitched–together image–was all he had.
He wasn’t even sure why he’d kept it all these years. But sometimes, he’d take it out and stare at it, wondering what might have happened if things had gone differently.
Of course, they hadn’t. And Geneva had never forgiven the Motley family–or him.
He had stayed out of her life completely after that.
Funny enough, Floyd, even in his seventies, still bragged in interviews about having known Geneva.
But Stan, Geneva’s ex–husband, couldn’t even bring himself to mention their brief marriage–not even when people asked.
The books and movies about Geneva never included him. Not a single one.
He knew, even in death, Geneva wanted nothing to do with him. Her past had been carefully scrubbed clean. And with the government behind her legacy, no one dared dig into the parts she wanted erased.
Give it a few decades or a couple hundred years–and no one would know a thing.
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Chapter 37
Geneva had cut him out so thoroughly that she hadn’t even left him a footnote in history.
He had to admit, when it came to being cold, Geneva had gone further than anyone else ever could.
