Chapter 6: The Wife Who Wasn’t Chosen

And me? I was newly married, in love with Samuel Jennings. When the news reached the South, I was already a month pregnant. The Jennings family was struggling, too. How could they stand up to the president’s pressure?

I didn’t want to leave my husband, but I didn’t want to see him suffer either. So, after I had Autumn, I wrote to my mother and told her I’d divorce Samuel Jennings.

That day, I handed him my letter. For the first time, gentle Sam Jennings lost his composure—his eyes went red. He tore up the letter and held me close. “I won’t allow it! You’re my wife! It’s my failure…”

I still remember the warmth of that embrace.

But the Jennings family couldn’t stand up to the president forever.

So, when Autumn turned two, I brought her back to the Shaw family in Maple Heights.

Sam Jennings, once so full of life, went quiet after that. Maybe, the last thing tying us together was that torn-up letter. At least, I was still his wife.

When I came home, my mother cried, “My Rachel, it’s the Shaw family’s fault for not protecting you.”

So everyone said, Rachel Shaw is proud and willful, and doesn’t get along with Sam Jennings. That’s what people always say.

After that, I left Autumn with my mother and spent every day praying in church, trying to numb myself. The old Rachel Shaw was gone.

At Autumn’s Sweet Sixteen, I finally saw Sam again. But we were both older then, changed. We couldn’t go back.

All those years, I wasn’t blind. I knew the old president died, a new one took office, and the Shaw family was back in favor. I knew, too, that before Mrs. Jennings died, she forced Sam to take a second wife.

Even though the Shaws were safe again, Sam and I—we couldn’t go back.

Rachel is still Rachel, but Sam isn’t my Sam anymore.

8

Extra Story · Modern Day

Autumn Jennings opened her eyes to white walls and the sharp tang of disinfectant. Hospital. She blinked, trying to remember how she got here.

There was a dull ache in her chest. Why was she in the hospital?